Page 14 of A Home for Harmony (Blossoms #16)

SOME KIND OF COMMUNICATION

“ Y ou’re walking funny,” Micah said the next morning.

He hadn’t planned on having company for the night, but daring Harmony to keep up with him had sealed their fate.

He’d passed out about the same time she did. He felt the bed moving around at two in the morning and there was no way in hell he was letting her drive home and worry she might break down again, so he pulled her next to him under his arm where they both drifted back to sleep.

“I’m not sure I’ve had that much sex in a week, let alone a night,” she said. “How many condoms did we use?”

“Only three,” he said. “Over like five hours.”

“That’s a lot,” she said. “For me. And I came once before. Oh my God. I came four times last night. Did you slip something into my drink?”

He wanted to brush his knuckles across his chest but didn’t. That would be a cocky move on his part.

He could still think it though.

“Nope,” he said. “I’m just good.”

“You are,” she said, moving over to kiss him on the lips. He wrapped one arm around her waist. “Very good. Are you going to cook for me too?”

“I planned on it.”

She’d jumped in the shower after him and stayed there longer. He was sure she was trying to ease her achy body.

He might have been a tad bit rough last night and should apologize, but she was equally as rough. He had the scratch marks to prove it. Not just on his back but his ass cheeks too.

“Can I help?” she asked.

“If you want,” he said, moving back. “I cooked all the bacon on Christmas day.”

She bumped her hip into his as she moved over to make a cup of coffee. “I had plenty last night, thank you. You don’t want me to have to go on a diet, do you?”

One side of his lip and eyebrow went up. “You’re just a little thing as it is. I was afraid I was going to break you last night.”

“I might have had that thought too when you flopped down on me. Then when you joked about a heart attack, I thought you gave me one.”

“My bad,” he said drily.

She crossed the space between them and slipped her arms around his waist, holding him close. He froze for a heartbeat, unfamiliar with the kind of warmth she gave so freely. It wasn’t something women usually offered him.

“I liked that you felt you could joke like that. Maybe you can do it some more. I feel as if it’s hard for you to open that door a little to show your personality.”

He kissed her on the top of her head and had his arm around her for another one-armed hug. “You didn’t think that when it was happening.”

She stepped back when the coffee was done. “I didn’t think I’d be walking stiffly this morning either, but it’s funny how I was wrong on both counts.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have been as rough. But you’re the one who woke me up at midnight for another round.”

“I know,” she said. “I was getting ready to go home and thought, maybe one more for the road. Then we fell back to sleep.”

When she got up at two again to leave, he was too tired for sex but figured a little cuddling would put her back to sleep.

He didn’t remember if he ever cuddled with anyone in his life. Not a partner.

“Sorry you’re in the same clothes,” he said. She had a blue sweater on with a pair of stretchy jeans. Her socks were on her feet, her boots by the door where she carried them down.

She’d combed her hair and put it up in a messy bun on her head.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I showered and put these on before we met for dinner. As we know, they didn’t stay on me very long.”

She’d ended up sleeping naked next to him.

“The same,” he said. “What are you in the mood to eat?”

She shrugged. “Can I look and see what you’ve got?”

“Help yourself,” he said.

“I like your house, by the way,” she said with her head in the fridge. “How about omelets with some veggies?”

“That works,” he said, getting a big pan. He could make one massive omelet and they could split it.

There were eggs, cheese, peppers and tomatoes put on the counter.

“Do you normally eat all these vegetables or have them for Scarlet?”

“Scarlet likes to snack on raw veggies and hummus. Or salads. I’ve always got it here.”

If it looked as if it was going to go bad, he’d force it down.

“Is it okay to eat it then on her?”

“I do all the time,” he said. “Don’t worry.”

He got a bowl down and cracked eggs into it while Harmony cut up the peppers.

“You don’t have to work today, right?”

“No,” he said. “I do have to work tomorrow though.”

“And Scarlet will be home soon, right?”

He looked at the clock on the microwave and expected his daughter home before noon, but it was only seven. He’d bet anything she wasn’t even up yet.

“In a few hours,” he said.

“I’ll be gone after breakfast,” she said. “I don’t want you to have to worry about that.”

He’d pulled Harmony’s car into his garage last night. He said it was so it’d be warm for her in the morning or she wouldn’t have to clear or scrape the frost off, but it had more to do with anyone—like Trinda—driving by and seeing the car here late.

“It’s fine,” he said.

She poked him in the side. “You can be honest with me, Micah. You were clear last night at dinner. Scarlet has met no woman you’ve dated. I know I’m younger, but I’m not clingy and I’m not going to put you in any position that makes you feel uncomfortable.”

“Maybe I want to be in uncomfortable positions with you,” he said, smirking.

“There is that humor again. Those positions work just fine.” She cut up the tomatoes and he whisked the eggs and dropped them into the hot pan.

“What do we have?” he asked after a few minutes of silence. It didn’t seem to bother her as she was sitting at the table drinking coffee now. She didn’t even have her phone out looking at it when many others would.

“I don’t know,” she said. “What do you want to have? I think, for one, it has to be exclusive, and I should have said that last night before I attacked you in your house.”

“I think the attacking was mutual,” he said. “Being exclusive is a given. I don’t share.”

Her eyes widened some over the fierceness of his voice. Maybe he should have toned it down.

“Me neither,” she said. “Someone cheated on me once. It was hard to get past it.”

“Who the hell would cheat on you? You’re just about perfect.”

His stance was matching the tone of his voice now.

“That’s so sweet,” she said. “But no one is perfect. Other than you with that facial hair.” She was waving her hand in front of her face. “Seriously hot. Can you have facial hair in your job, or is it a personal preference?”

“They’ve lightened up on facial hair a little, but it’s a habit to shave before work. If I’m not working, I let it go.”

“So you won’t shave again until tomorrow morning?” she asked, getting up and moving closer to him.

He picked up the chopped veggies and dumped them on top of the egg to cook. He’d add the cheese and flip it over soon.

Harmony ran her hand over his cheek. “That’s right. I’ll do it in the morning.”

“What do I need to do to get you to text me a selfie before you shave it?”

Oh boy. Here they went with selfies.

“You’re joking, right?”

“No,” she said. “Let me guess, you’re not one for taking pictures with your phone.”

“I take pictures all the time with my phone, but it’s not of myself.”

She moved over and grabbed hers off the counter. “I want one now. For me to look at. Maybe share with my sister because she’s going to ask me a ton of questions when I tell her about last night.”

He let her stand in front of him, but he grabbed the phone from her and angled it the way his daughter always did.

Harmony adjusted his arm a few times to get it the way she wanted and he hit the button to take it. Then took a second for good measure.

“You’re only showing this to your sister?” he asked. He wanted to believe that she wouldn’t be blasting this on any of her social media sites.

“Maybe my sister-in-law too,” she said. “I won’t share it online. You have my word. I told you how I feel about it.”

“I didn’t know you planned on telling your family,” he said. “What are you going to say?”

She moved away from him and put her phone in her back pocket. “Erica knows about you. I told you that. I’m going to tell her we went on another date and that you’re of the smoky applewood variety.”

He let out a forced laugh and shook his head. “Be serious.”

“I’m trying to lighten it. When you talked about not sharing and I mentioned being cheated on, you looked a little mean.

” Guess she saw right through him. “She’s going to ask me if we had sex.

We are close like that, but not close enough to share details.

I don’t do that. I don’t really keep secrets either.

If this is a casual thing, then tell me so I know. ”

“I don’t know what it is,” he said seriously.

“You brought it up though,” she said.

“I’m not great with the dating scene,” he said. “And your generation is different than mine.”

“Don’t go back there,” she said. “I think we just take it one day at a time. My job is mostly flexible, so you let me know what works for you. I know you’ve got your daughter around too and she’s on vacation until after the New Year.”

Shit, he’d forgotten that.

Which meant Scarlet would want to spend most of it at his house.

“She is.”

He finished the omelet he’d been cooking, then slid it on two plates and brought them to the table.

Harmony had been making toast and it popped and she put butter on it, then they sat to eat.

He didn’t know how he felt about the silence now.

At least two minutes went by while they ate.

“How about you reach out when you’re available next,” she said, making the first move.

“So it’s only when we have time to do things?”

“I’d like us to be in some kind of communication,” she said, angling her head. “Text or phone calls, but I don’t think you’re big on those things.”

He wasn’t.

“I’ll try,” he said.

“Then there you go. We have a plan. I bet that makes you feel better.”

She was smiling. It did, but he wasn’t sure how it made her feel.