Page 16 of The Spider Queen

“You gonna let me in?” he asked.

“Depends.”

“On?”

“What kind of sandwich did you bring me?”

He grinned. “Egg and cheese on a croissant.”

“No bacon?”

His smile slipped. “I didn’t know if you ate meat.”

I laughed. “I’m just teasing.” Pushing away from the doorframe, I gestured for him to come inside. “Thank you for bringing me breakfast. Though for the record, I love bacon.”

“I’ll know for next time.”

A thrill of pleasure skittered down my spine when I thought of this happening again. I went to the cupboard and grabbed us plates. Hunter unpacked the bag and set a to-go cup of coffee at a place setting.

“I didn’t know how you took your coffee, but I brought you sugar in the raw. Couldn’t grab milk.”

“I have cream.” I went to the fridge, pulled it out, and held it up to him. He shook his head and took a sip of his black coffee. I doctored mine until it was mostly cream and sugar. “That’s good.”

“How would you know?” he said with a laugh. “That’s not even coffee anymore.”

“Coffee is a vehicle for the fat and the sugar.”

He shook his head in amusement. “There’s a café on the corner of my block. I got it from there.”

“That place does it right,” I replied.

We sat down and didn’t talk again until our sandwiches had disappeared. I wiped my mouth with a napkin and took a sip of my coffee. “So, that was a pretty bold gesture…you just showing up on my porch.”

“But I brought food and drink,” he reminded me with a grin. “I’m courting you.”

“Courting?” I snorted. “We’re in the South. Not the South in the 1800s. And usually there’s a waiting period. We met yesterday afternoon, you took me to a weird bar slash junk shop last night, kissed me goodnight, and then brought me breakfast this morning.”

“I don’t believe in waiting periods.”

I raised an eyebrow, causing him to laugh.

“I had fun yesterday. I wanted you to know that,” he said.

“So, you’re being completely transparent.”

“Yep.”

“No games. No gimmicks.”

“That’s right. Just good old fashioned courting.”

“Huh,” I said, taking another sip of my coffee.

“What?”

“I think I could be into the courting thing. Do you have a last name?”

“Jones.”