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Queen of Hearts, Owner of None: BTW…you really need to tell your dad soon. It’s getting harder to hide you from him.

Me: Le sigh. OK. I just need another two or three weeks.

Queen of Hearts, Owner of None: I’ll try.

Me: Thank you! You’re the best! (kissing emoji)

Queen of Hearts, Owner of None: Obviously (crown emoji)

I laugh and toss my phone down just as Eric walks in with a tray of waffles.

My eyes light up because waffles are my all-time favorite breakfast food. I think I mentioned that to him in passing a while back. There’s no way he remembered that.

As he sets the tray down, I realize these aren’t just any waffles, they are Belgian waffles with whipped cream and strawberries.

“You remembered,” I say quietly as I look down at enough food to feed a family of four.

He smiles. “I remember everything you say, Ariana.” I think my heart just melted. How is this man real? Seriously? He has zero flaws. Other than the nagging suspicion that there’s something about his past that he’s not telling me, I can’t think of anything that’s not perfect about him.

“Eat up. No more hurkle-durkling,” he says.

I tilt my head to the side. “Hurkle-durkling?” I ask with a laugh.

He grins. “If you get the word snerdling, I get hurkle-durkle.”

I pull out my phone and search for the term. “Hey,” I laugh, “I am not lying in bed when I should be up and about,” I protest.

He raises an eyebrow.

I roll my eyes and giggle as I grab a fork and get myself a giant bite of waffle with a strawberry on top. I shovel it into my mouth and some whipped cream falls on my chin. Eric’s eyes watch it and then slowly he leans forward and licks it off. Holy shit! That was hot!

“Oh, the things I want to do to you, Ariana,” he whispers as he pulls away. I clench my legs together. “But we need to get up and going. Looks like there are a few trees down on the property that Buck and Earl will need to cut up, but everything else seems intact.”

I finish chewing and swallow. “That’s good. I…should go get a shower and take my stuff back to the guesthouse.”

“No,” he states as he puts a fork down with a strawberry still on it. He searches my eyes and I look back at him in confusion. “I want you to stay here.”

I sigh. “Eric…I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” he asks.

“Because, it’s too soon,” I state as if it should be obvious. I throw my hands up in the air. “What will people think?”

“I see. People won’t think anything because it’ll be between you and me,” he explains, motioning between us. “If there’s ever a night you would prefer not to sleep next to me, then you are always welcome to stay in the guesthouse or any of the guest rooms. But now that I’ve had you in my bed, I don’t want to go back. I want you here with me.”

I swallow. “But I still have the guesthouse?” I confirm.

He nods. “It’s yours as long as you want it.”

“OK. For now,” I state hesitantly.

He smiles and leans in to kiss me. Then, I hear a voice.

“Miss Ariana! Are you in here? You want to help me feed the lamb?” Lennox’s voice calls out from downstairs.

My eyes go wide as I look down at my naked body. Holy shitballs! I scramble to get clothes on and Eric chuckles. He leans forward and presses a kiss to my lips.

“Calm down. I’ll go distract him. School must have been called off because of the storm. Come down when you’re ready. I’ll explain that you stayed here per the doctor’s orders,” he says calmly as if a small child isn’t nearly seeing me naked in his bed.