Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) (26 page)

Nikki was startled, but in a good way. “That would be great! If we can’t, can we at least talk on the phone?”

“Of course. Often. I have a good feeling about all of this, I guess because I’ve enjoyed this weekend so much.” Tony pulled her down to sit beside him on one of the gliders on the patio. He draped his arm around her shoulders, and she took his other hand, threading their fingers together. Looking at her pale fingers entwined with his dark ones, his cock twitched a little. He wondered what his dark hand would look like on her pale breast, and tried not to think about it. Thinking like that would make the agreement they’d made very hard to keep, and he didn’t want to rush things. But damn, it would be good to find out.

Looking back up, he found her gazing at him like he was a sundae complete with whipped cream and a cherry on top, but the trepidation in those turquoise eyes made his heart spin. They practically screamed
Don’t hurt me.
He thought of all of the lonely nights he’d spent, even with Dottie sleeping beside him, and all the lonely nights Nikki had spent too. He hoped to make all of that a distant memory, but he knew he couldn’t do it in a day, a week, or even a month. It would take time. And they might not have as much of that as a younger couple, but they had enough. Taking her chin in his hand and pulling her face to his, he kissed her, a long, sweet, closed-mouth kiss, and he felt something hard and cold inside his chest start to crack wide open.

As he kissed her, Nikki’s mind raced. This was it, her last, best chance. This was a kind, honorable man, beautiful and wounded and hungry for something she had plenty of – care, concern, and the love he’d never found in his adult life with a woman who wanted to be with him in every way. Nikki almost felt like she was floating as she realized,
If this guy is being straight with me, and I think he is, I might actually have a shot at a life.
She’d asked for a friend and companion, but she had a feeling she’d found a lot more. If she’d been looking, she might’ve missed him. But he’d found her, and she was more than glad. She was ecstatic.

“This was the best day I’ve had in a long, long time.” Nikki turned to Tony on the porch. “Want to come in?”

“No. I’d better get going. Work will come early tomorrow morning, and we both need to get some sleep.” Tony slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. “But I don’t want to go a single day without seeing you if we can manage it, okay?” He planted a sweet little kiss on her mouth.

“I don’t want to go a day without seeing you either.” She kissed him back. He kissed her again, this one longer and hotter. Her knees felt like spaghetti, and she wanted him to hold her closer, but he pulled back so he could see her precious face and make a mental snapshot to keep it with him until he could see her again.

“I’ll call you before bed.” He gave her a quick peck on the lips, then turned to wave before he got into the Mercedes. She watched his taillights disappear down the street and out of sight.

Before she could get her makeup off and change into her pajamas, the phone rang.

“Just wanted to say goodnight.” His voice was bright. In her mind, she could see his gorgeous smile.

“Thanks.” She hesitated, then took a chance and said, “I miss you already.”

“I miss you too, sweetie,” he told her without missing a beat. “Get some sleep, beautiful girl. Hope I see you tomorrow.”

“I hope so too.”

T
ony smiled when the text came in the next day. He’d planned to call her when he got home, but this was even better; Marla had sent her home early and she was cooking! Damn, he wished he had something nicer to change into. He didn’t know what she was cooking, and he didn’t care. It wasn’t about the food anyway.

When he got out of his work truck in front of her house he could smell whatever she had on the stove. He bounded up the front steps, but the knob was locked; two seconds later, the door popped open. “Hey, babe! Come on in!” She hugged him around the neck, and he planted a big kiss right on her mouth.

“I tried the knob. I thought the door would be unlocked since I called when I left work.” That seemed odd to Tony.

“I never leave my door unlocked. Anybody could just stroll in.”
She’s cautious; that’s good,
Tony thought. He wouldn’t have to worry about her if she approached everything so guardedly, and he definitely wanted her safe.

“What’s that amazing smell?” He inhaled deeply.

“Let’s see . . . a beef roast; roasted beets, turnips, and carrots with beet greens; and boiled okra. Oh, and a mixed greens salad. Hungry?”

“Starving! By the way, thanks for asking me to come over. I really wanted to see you,” Tony said, taking her hand.

“I can’t think of anything that would make food taste better than to eat it across the table from you.” She put her free hand on his cheek. “Let’s eat it before it gets cold.”

Once in the kitchen, she handed him a plate and pointed to the stove. “I don’t get all fancy. Just serve yourself. Eat all you want. If you eat it, I don’t have to store it. And, for the record, everything I’ve fixed is very healthy, so you can pretty much have all you want.” She smiled; he could tell she was proud of herself, and he was thrilled. No woman except his mother and the hired help had ever made him a decent meal.

He took the plate and forked out a hunk of roast beef; Nikki handed him a small ladle and he ladled some of the
au jus
over it. He wasn’t sure about the vegetables; he’d never had them roasted before, and certainly not beets, but they smelled good, so he took a good-sized spoonful. When he got to the okra, though, he almost balked. Nikki had put a spaghetti server in the pan and, when he scooped up a strainer full, a gooey substance ran down in strings. As he stared at it, Nikki laughed. “Afraid?”

“Um, no. I . . .”

She laughed again. “It’s yummy. Just wait – you’ll see!” She took her plate, filled it, and sat down at the table with him. “Let’s get it over with. Like this.” Nikki took an okra pod on her fork and stuck it in her mouth. Tony watched with curiosity as the stem end reappeared between her lips, and she bit it off and put it back on her fork, depositing it on her plate. Then she chewed the pod for a second and swallowed. “Now, you try it.”

Tony took his fork and picked up a pod. The stringy liquid dripped from it. He popped it in his mouth, then mimicked her actions and paid close attention as he chewed. It was surprisingly delicious, kind of peppery and sweet. “That’s amazing!” he smiled softly at her. “It looks so disgusting, but it tastes so good.”

“Wonder how many men have said that over the years?” She smiled down at her plate, then looked up at him from under her brows and broke a huge smirk. That made him laugh. After the okra success, he wasn’t afraid of the roasted vegetables. They were very spicy and had a warm, comforting flavor, and the taste of the roasted greens mixed into them was very unusual and sort of exotic.

Everything she’d cooked, every dish, tasted like it was full of hugs, all designed to make the people enjoying them feel cherished and loved. Tony tried to remember anything Dottie had ever cooked that had been edible – nope, nothing. He almost choked as his eyes welled up.

“Honey, what’s wrong? Don’t be afraid to tell me – is it that bad?” She wasn’t sure – had she done something wrong?

Tony put his fork down quietly, then dropped to his knees beside her chair and wrapped his arms around her waist. What could he say to make her understand what this little bit of heaven had meant to him? How could he explain to her she’d just tipped his heart toward her, that she’d spent a small amount of time to do something that made a big difference in his day, in how he saw himself, in how he felt about her? “This is possibly the best meal I’ve ever had. No woman’s ever cooked a meal like this for me – ever.” He felt himself choking up again, and he laid his head in her lap. Her fingers danced softly down through his hair, massaging his scalp to calm him, and he felt her hand shaking ever so slightly.

Then he felt her straighten up as she lifted his head and turned his face toward her. “Well, they should have. You deserve to have somebody do nice things for you, cook you good, healthy meals, go the extra mile for you. You deserve to be special to somebody. And you’re special to me,” she announced. “Now, I want you to sit down and enjoy a meal cooked especially for you. And if I fix something you don’t like, you tell me and I’ll fix something else until I find something you do like. I’ll gladly do it over and over.” She kissed his forehead and pointed at his chair.

Tony sat back down and took up his knife, then discovered he didn’t need it – the roast was so tender that it fell apart. With every bite, he smiled a bit broader, until he couldn’t contain his delight. Nikki was smiling too.

“So, how was your day?” he asked, grinning at her over a forkful of vegetables. It was the most normal thing he could think of to say. And he desperately wanted to enjoy what appeared to be the first normal meal of the first normal relationship of his previously abnormal life.

They talked and laughed for a long time at the table, occasionally touching hands or kissing. By the time he’d helped her clean up the kitchen, it was after eight.

“Want some tea or coffee? A beer?” Nikki asked.

“Nah.” Tony walked to the door, then turned and placed his hands on her hips. “Probably need to get going. Work tomorrow and all that. And if I don’t leave soon,” he murmured, kissing her forehead, “I won’t be able to. And I don’t know if we’re ready for that yet.”

Her lower lip popped out in a pout, but she fake whined, “Well, be that way!” Taking his hand and kissing it, she looked at it, really looked at it. His hands were strong but refined, with long, thin fingers, nails perfect and smooth, and a little bit of dark hair on the backs of his hands, which she found incredibly sexy. She thought about how much she’d love to have those hands on her, then reached up and ran her hands through his hair, put her fingers on the back of his head, and pulled his face to her, kissing him long and hard.

Tony couldn’t stop himself; he pressed his tongue against her lips, and they parted for him. Finding her tongue, he sucked it into his mouth, then ran his back into her mouth, probing into it over and over and never wanting it to stop. She moaned, a long, low sound of want and longing, and he felt every inch of his body start to tingle. His arms wrapped instinctively around her and pulled her tight to him, and he ran his hands down to her ass and pulled her pelvis against his. Nikki felt his erection against the softness just below her navel, and she moaned even louder and tipped her head, reaching further into his mouth with her tongue. Tony could feel the hardness of her nipples pressing into his chest, and he ran his hands back up her back to the hook of her bra; when his hands touched it, he stopped and pulled back, taking a deep breath and locking his eyes with hers. Their ocean-like blueness scanned his face and she smiled.

“Wow.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Uh-huh!” she whispered, then leaned in and softly kissed his chin.

“I, um, probably should go.” Never taking his eyes from hers, he reached behind him for the doorknob, waved his hand around until he found it, and turned the knob until the door popped open.

“Yeah, I guess so. I hope you liked dinner and, um, everything.” She blushed a little.

“I didn’t like it – I loved it. Everything was amazing. Especially you.” Tony kissed Nikki on the forehead and turned to the door. “Call you in a bit?”

She smiled. “I hope so.” He gave her a quick peck on the lips and closed the door behind him.