Page 19 of Hold the Pickle
“So he hits a home run?”
Something akin to a growl forms in her chest. “I knew this was a bad idea.”
I hold up my hands. “I’m all for a good sexy read! Don’t worry about it.”
She moves as far from me as possible, sitting on the corner of the bed. It’s back in blue ruffle mode, my Transformer bedspread neatly rolled up by the wall.
I scrape together the dregs of my lasagna and swallow. Dang, that’s good. But I’m headed toward a wall of exhaustion. I can feel it.
Still, I should try to smooth things over. “It’s fine. You’re going to find out things about me. I’m going to learn stuff about you. We’re adults. It will be okay.”
She flips through the pages, her cheeks pink. “Okay.”
“Maybe we can do a book club.”
She lifts the book in the air like she might chuck it at me again.
“No need for violence! I’ll do the dishes.” I head into the kitchen, picking up both of our plates from the bar.
“I’ll help.”
“No, you cooked. I can clean.”
I watch her from the corner of my eye as I scrub the cheese off our plates and set them in the dishwasher.
When I’ve put away the leftover lasagna and cleared the bar, I notice she’s back to reading the book, this time without hiding the cover.
That’s better.
7
NADIA
Ilean against the wall, my feet pulled up onto the bedspread and my arms around my knees, as Dalton cleans up dinner.
It’s good to know he’s willing to help. I had imagined doing everything for a messy, overworked man playing the doctor card.
But he seems perfectly at home at the sink and knows how to load the rack in the dishwasher.
Our exchange about the romance novel was … interesting.
I have an entire suitcase of them below the bed. I know Dalton won’t go looking for them. I can already tell he’s not a snooper.
But I’m not going to set them out even though there’s a cute set of shelves over the end of the bar.
I’m not embarrassed by my book collection, although the word cock might appear slightly more than, say, insideWar and Peace. But I barely know Dalton, and I’d prefer to dole out information about me in a controlled manner.
And yet, learning that I can’t stop readingFirst Base to Loveeven knowing full well Dalton was on his way to the apartment, might be an essential fact. I thought for sure I could make it to the end of the chapter before he walked in from the pool.
I hadn’t thought he’d be so interested. The Dalton I’ve known so far has mainly been … well,tired.
Which brings us to the next problem.
Who is going to get the bed?
My knees protest my position, so I straighten my legs right as Dalton sets down the dish towel on the bar and sits on the sofa.
We face each other across the large room.
