Page 87 of Take My Love

Laughter echoes from the kitchen. They’re standing around the island with items scattered everywhere. It’s hard not to think about what happened between us last night when my gaze shifts to the exact spot she was standing.

“What’re y’all doin’?” I ask.

“Bakin’ muffins!” Posey grins, adding some crumble on top of them. “We wanted to give you and Jamie some alone time.”

“Oh…” My heart races at how I’m going to get myself out of this. “Do we have popcorn? Jamie was askin’.”

“In the pantry.” She points behind Jackson.

“She loves salt and extra melted butter on top,” he says once I put a bag into the microwave.

Posey hands me a large bowl and puts a spoonful of butter in a bowl.

“Who’re you makin’ these for?” I ask over her shoulder, inhaling the floral scent of her shampoo.

“I was gonna send a few home with Jackson and Jamie, then save the rest for us. Assumin’ you like blueberry muffins.”

“Are you kiddin’?” I smile genuinely for the first time since dinner. “That’s my favorite.”

Once the popcorn is finished with the extras, I bring it back into the living room and finish watching the movie with Jamie. She doesn’t try anything beyond touching my leg but I do need to let her know I’m not interested in a second date.

“Wow…these smell amazin’!” Jamie exclaims when she sees the muffins.

I set the empty popcorn bowl in the sink and keep my distance from her, but subtly watch Jackson every time she moves closer to me. Perhaps he’s an overprotective brother type but it’s bordering possessive rather than protective.

“I saved some y’all to take home. Warm ’em up when you’re ready to eat and they’ll melt in your mouth,” Posey says, handing her a Ziploc bag.

“Thank you! Can’t wait to try ’em.” Jamie puts them in her purse that could double as a weapon with how big and heavy it looks.

Posey cleans up the kitchen while we chat and I quickly pitch in and load the dishwasher.

“Tonight was fun! Hopefully, we can do it again. Maybe go to the movies.”

“Definitely!” Posey says.

“I’ll actually be movin’ soon, so I won’t be able to for a while, but don’t wait on me. I gotta go furniture shoppin’ and get everythin’ for my kitchen and bathrooms.”

Posey stops what she’s doing and glances at me. “You found a place?”

I swallow down the lump in my throat. “Yeah, the one I looked at yesterday. They emailed me a bit ago to tell me it was mine if I wanted it. It’ll be available in a few weeks.”

Warren knows the landlord and gave me a good reference. It’s a smidge above my budget but I can make it work, especially if I find a different job that pays better. Not that I don’t like working at the goat farm, but the wages aren’t enough to be sustainable on my own. But finding a job around here is even harder than finding a nice apartment, so it’ll probably take a while before I find something.

“That’s so excitin’!” Jamie beams. “We’ll have to throw you a house warmin’ party. I could help you shop too if you want. I’m pretty good at house design.”

“She is,” Jackson agrees. “Should see what she did to my new place. Looks like a HomeGoods warehouse.”

“You’re such a liar!” Jamie flicks some of the crumble at him. “It’s cute and cozy.”

“Just what every single man wants,” he deadpans.

I snort. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll be okay. I can’t buy everythin’ at once, so I’m gonna get the essentials first and go from there.”

Posey avoids eye contact with me while the rest of us talk. If I didn’t know any better, she’s not happy about me leaving, which is confusing since she kept saying I was here temporarily.

Once we’re done, Jackson asks Posey to walk with him to his truck, leaving me and Jamie inside the house.

“Thanks for tonight.” Jamie slides on her shoes, adding a few inches to her height. “I had fun.”