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"I don't know, really," she said. "Get my notes finalized and sent off to Los Angeles for Monday. But not much else, I guess. How about you?"
I gave her a grin over my shoulder as I went to get the rolls. "I don't do a ton of planning ahead these days," I said. "Probably see my nieces, hang out with Cormac. Do something festive. You in?"
April looked startled, her eyebrows shooting up into her messy gorgeous hair. "Um."
"Just say yes," I suggested, sliding a spatula under a gooey roll and putting it onto a plate.
"I don't want to intrude. I'm sure your brother wonders why I'm here all the time."
I pressed my lips into a wry line, thinking about what my brother had probably already deduced. "I'm pretty sure Cormac has figured out why you're here."
"Great." April crossed her arms and leaned a hip into the counter.
"Say yes," I prodded, carrying both plates to the small round table.
When April didn't answer, I put the plates down and then turned back to her, spinning her by the shoulders and sliding my arms around her waist. "Don't overthink," I suggested. "I don't know what this is either. What I do know is that since you forced your way in here, scaling my gate and breaking into my house, I've been happier than I think I've been in years."
April's brow wrinkled adorably at that. "Really?" Her voice was a hesitant whisper.
"Really." I bent my head and kissed her then. I might have no idea what we were doing, but I was going to let it play out. I had nothing to lose, after all, and this felt good and right. Nothing in my life had felt good in such a long time, I didn't care what it meant or how long it lasted. I was just going to close my eyes and hold on.
April's body relaxed in my arms and she pressed herself to me, her softness meeting my muscle and creating a reassuring warmth between us that told me I’d convinced her. At least for now. "Okay," she said quietly.
* * *
‘Festive’ that day ended up meaning spending most of the day in bed with intermittent runs to the kitchen for food. I did actually answer my phone when Cormac called though, and invited him and the girls for dinner. "April will be here too," I said, smiling at April, who was texting with someone on her own phone at my side. I thought it was her friend Lynn, but it might have been Annabelle. Either way, I’d glanced over, seen the words "underwear," "sexy," and "five times" and figured I was better off minding my own business.
"There," I said, putting my phone onto the nightstand and then rolling to position my head on April's soft stomach so I could look up at her. "I did something productive."
"I'm staying for dinner?" April asked, raising a brow at me over her phone.
"Didn't I already convince you to stay and stop overthinking?" I pressed my hand to the side of her thigh, sliding it slowly up her side to her hip. "Maybe you need more convincing?" My body was languid and loose, and for once, my ankle wasn't screaming at me. It turned out that all I needed to feel better was to have sex with April five or six times a day.
April put her own phone aside and let her hands fall into my hair. The gentle tug and rustle of her fingers made my eyes slip shut in pleasure. "I feel kind of useless and lazy though," she said. "We've been in bed all day."
"Most people would kill for the luxury," I said. I was thinking of the luxury not just of being in bed, but of having April there with me, having her soft moans in my ear, her pliant body in my arms.
"But most people," April said, "people like me, for instance, have jobs to do."
For some reason, April's words stung a little bit, but I did my best not to react. I left my head where it was and tried to focus on the movement of her fingers on my scalp, on the warm satisfaction tingling through my body. There were plenty of days ahead where I could go on feeling worthless. I didn't want to do that today. I gathered my motivation and sat up. "We have a job to do," I said, turning my head to smile at her.
"We do?" Her brows lowered over blue eyes and she frowned.
"We're making dinner for Cormac and the girls. We have an hour and a half."
April's face took on a comical look of horror. "Is that all? But I have to shower! And I don't have any clothes!"
I frowned. "Showering is not a problem. I have showers here."
"How novel," April quipped sarcastically. "A house with a shower."
"But you'll have to wear your clothes from yesterday," I said. "Unless you really favor soccer jerseys and shorts." My eyes wandered to the window beyond the bed. Shorts and a jersey didn't seem like the right thing for the current cold weather. "Or warmups."
April sighed. "I'll be okay. If your brother already thinks we're sleeping together, I don't need to advertise it by showing up at dinner in your clothes." She slid her hand into mine atop the comforter. "But after dinner, I need to go back to the hotel."
The thought of saying goodbye to April tonight had my heart protesting already, but I wasn't completely sure whether it was because I wanted her to stay or because I just didn't want to be alone. Having her here had been such a good change from my previous lonely existence. But if I wasn't appreciating April for April—but only as a warm body keeping me company—well, I owed it to her to find out.
She stepped from the bed and shot me a glance over her shoulder as she headed for the bathroom. "See you downstairs."
