Didn't Expect You (Against All Odds #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,32
to her isn’t real.
I don’t do anything. Instead, I stay still, waiting for her to wake up. It’s been a long time since I’ve woken up next to a woman, and this time we didn’t even have sex—or a fight to justify the lack of fucking between us.
Brock is the one who stirs first and gives me that, we have to walk now face. I push myself out of the bed, change, and we head outside for his morning walk.
When I come back, Nyx is in the kitchen, moving her luscious round ass to the rhythm of Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova” while singing at the top of her lungs.
“Morning,” I greet her.
She turns around and smiles. Her big brown eyes sparkle when she sees me and says, “Happy Birthday.”
I had no idea she knew, but I bet Ford or Persy gave her a heads up. This is the moment when I should say, “Thank you. I’m thinking about having those conference calls from Seattle if you don’t mind. There are things I have to attend to personally.”
Instead, I ask, “How are you feeling?”
“Much better. I told you it was the ziplining and maybe bad sushi.” Her voice is so mellow and relaxed. I like this Nyx. The one who isn’t checking emails, worrying about work, or trying to make sure everyone around her is doing alright.
“I made you coffee. This time I didn’t add anything to it.”
“Thank you. You didn’t touch the sushi,” I remind her.
She glances at me, her eyebrow arched, and I’m judging myself too. Was I paying too much attention that I knew exactly what she ate? She mentioned not liking raw fish. I heard the story about living in Korea and getting sick after eating hoe at a restaurant. There’s so much I want to ask her about her life while growing up, the places where she lived, the different cultures she experienced.
There’s so much I want to know about her. This is why I don’t leave. I’m around because she’s interesting and not because I am attracted to her beyond her beauty, right?
“Observant,” she declares and hands me a plate with pancakes and eggs. “What do you want us to do today?”
Leave you at home. Escape from you.
“We could go for a hike,” I offer, hoping that she can do it without getting sick. “Unless you’re not up for it. Then we could do something less—”
“I’m feeling great,” she reassures me, smiling at me tenderly.
While drenching my pancakes with maple syrup, I ask, “You’re not having breakfast?”
She sighs and shows me a cup of yogurt. “I’m going for something light. A bowl of blueberries, yogurt, and tea. Mom texted me earlier to remind me that I should eat more often and in small portions.”
“Is she still thinking that you are…” I trail my voice, taking a bite of pancakes. “Mmm…these are delicious. They are like pieces of clouds. Your mom doesn’t seem like a regular mother.”
She grins.
“Everything I bake comes out fluffy, even pancakes,” she states and then adds, “Mom is different. I’m impressed that she hasn’t quit and moved to some remote town in South America.”
“Would she do it?”
She nods, eating a spoonful of fresh blueberries.
“In a heartbeat. I’m sure my parents stay because we’re tight.” She looks at me and shrugs. “It’d be hard to live far away from them. Mom is going nuts because Callie moved—and we don’t know where she’s at.”
“Say the word and I’ll have that info for you,” I offer again. “What do you usually do on Sundays?”
She looks at me and twists her lips a couple of times and sighs. “Work?”
Perhaps I connect with her because we’re not so much different. Maybe I’m here to learn something from her. To teach each other that there’s more to life than making deals. It’s not like I have my shit together, but I can balance my life a lot better than she does.
“You are a workaholic. I should take you under my wing and teach you how to balance out life with work,” I offer wondering if that’s something we could do.
“Maybe in a couple of weeks. I’m working on two important cases and closing the third one this Monday,” she informs me. “Once I close them and my boss is off my ass, I can take a weekend off.”
I want to tell her that weekends are supposed to be always off, but it seems like a waste of energy. She’s too focused, and maybe that’s one of her best qualities.