Page 53 of Princess and Country

Dahlia

Iwoke up to the scent of pancakes and grits. My mouth watered. I touched the sheets beside me. They were cold. Propped on my elbows, I scanned the bedroom. No trace of my man.

Things had been smooth between us in the last month. Better. Much better. We’d been surfing a wave of calm, and hope had taken root inside me. Just thinking about it made me giddy. And it sent a grin to my face.

“Good, you’re awake,” Jeff said as he entered the room with a tray in his hands. “Made you breakfast, Princess. Hope you’re hungry.” He flashed me a smile. One that transformed me into a puddle of mush. His eyes shone as he drew the drapes open.

“Starving.” Jeff placed the tray in front of me. Blueberry pancakes. Orange juice. Grits. Half a grapefruit. And a single red rose. My stomach grumbled as if it agreed with me.

“You did all this?”

“Yeah. And you haven’t seen anything yet.”

I bunched my brows together. “Tell me.”

“Not a chance. It’s a surprise.”

I tugged at the hem of his black T-shirt, pulling him toward me, and batted my eyelashes.

“Please.” I used my sultriest voice. Jeff pinched his lips together and shook his head.

“No. Forget it. I’m not telling you. Eat. You’ll need all the strength you can get later.” His lips brushed mine, and my heart hiccupped. He leaned back, his tone now husky. “Come, join me when you’re done.” He exited the room only to come back seconds later. “And by the way, forget your morning shower. It’ll have to wait.” He winked. Heat pooled in my lower belly. What did he do this time? I still stared at the doorway minutes after he disappeared, wondering what my boyfriend had planned.

Last weekend, he’d prepared a picnic, and we spent the afternoon in Milwaukee Park, cuddling on a blanket, watching kids fly kites.

I dressed in ripped-at-the-knees blue denims and an off-the-shoulder white cotton shirt and tiptoed into the kitchen, trying to spy on Jeff’s secret project. I heard a table saw going in the garage, so perhaps we would build a terrace in the backyard or a new shelf for the living room.

I yanked open the door leading to the garage. My eyes widened.

Jeff’s pickup truck cargo bed was filled to the brim with wood planks and boxes.

The sight of my boyfriend, shirtless with his muscular back glistening with sweat, emptying the contents on the garage floor, sent electric bolts through me.

My tongue swept my bottom lip as I admired him.

Each day, he looked more and more like the version of him I grew to love. The storm in him was still brewing, but it had decreased to a containable category-two hurricane instead of a ruining-everything-in-its-passage category-five tornado.

I cleared my throat. “Hey. Will you tell me what we’re building today?”

Since the day Jeff bought the house, we’d spent countless hours doing all kinds of DIY projects together. It was a passion we shared, and we were good at it.

Jeff pivoted on his heels until he faced me. “Hey, Princess. How long have you been standing there?” I shrugged. “I have a whole day planned, but if you keep ogling me like this, we won’t get anything done.” He tipped one eyebrow, and I sighed before returning his smile.

I firmed my back. “Okay. I’ll stop. If you promise to never put a shirt on. A girl needs some fantasy to get through her day.”

Jeff strode my way and held out his hand. “Fine. We have a deal.” I shook his hand, but he didn’t let go and pulled me to his hard chest, rubbing his sweaty skin against me, his hands tickling my waist, his laughter contagious.

I pushed back, my lips fixed into a permanent smile. “Okay, what’s the plan? I can’t wait to get started.”

“You know this out-of-this-century room we call a bathroom? We’re stripping it down to its studs and building it back up. I got the black tiles you love so much,” he said, pointing to the white boxes lined up on the floor next to his truck, “and referred to the vision board you sent me a while back for the rest. I hope it’s all right with you.” Jeff gazed at me with a lopsided smile.

My heart danced in my chest.

I jumped into his arms and looped my arms around his neck.

“You’re kidding, right? It’s perfect. Ohmygod. I love you so much right now.”

Jeff spun me around before putting me back down. “Let’s get to work then.”