future and most importantly—they saw me.
Corey didn’t say a word as he reached down to cut a piece of the pancake on my plate. His eyes lifted to mine as he raised the fork to my lips. Without hesitation I opened my mouth, as soon as the fluffy pancake touched my tongue it tasted like Heaven. A moan of pure bliss came from me as it melted in my mouth.
Corey was smiling at me when I finished chewing.
“How in the hell did you learn to cook like this?” I asked in wonder.
“My mom.” Warmth spread through my heart, as I pictured this tattooed man hanging out in the kitchen with his mother.
“She taught you well. The other night you said something about having sisters too; do they know how to cook like this?” Corey threw his head back and laughed.
“Not at all. Abby is the next best but she spends most of her time eating out. Lainey would burn boiling water and Karly has just always used the fact that she is the baby of the family to her advantage, to get others to cook for her.” The brightening in his eyes and growing smile was enough to tell me how much his family meant to him. Those girls were no doubt very special to him and from everything I knew thus far—I was sure they loved him just as much.
The turning wheels in my head clicked at a new little discovery. “Wait a second, A.L.K., the initials in your tattoo— that’s after your sisters, isn’t it?”
Corey shot me a wink with a smile. Not only was this sexy man a great cook, fun to be around and easy on the eyes but now I could add ‘a heart of gold’ to his list of attributes. I reached out and placed another kiss to his cheek. He smiled and returned one to mine before we both dove into the delicious meal in front of us.
We ate in silence devouring everything in sight. There wasn’t enough praise I could give Corey for the amazing breakfast, but I was sure by the appreciative little sounds escaping me—he could tell I approved. When we finished, I stood up to start clearing the plates, but he made me sit back down as he brought them to the sink. The sink filled with warm soapy water and Corey began washing them without hesitation.
“You cooked breakfast, you do not have to do my dishes too.” Corey shrugged, submerging his hands in the water with a sponge.
“I don’t mind, it’s nice to have breakfast with someone.” Those very sweet comments really needed to stop—my foolish heart had already suffered more than any single heart should. The last thing I needed was to find myself hooked on another man and risk heartbreak…again. Especially since this little arrangement was only temporary before I returned home. However, little-by-little every time I saw him, he was becoming something more in my eyes. At the same time, maybe it wasn’t a bad thing to just have someone that I could be close to as a friendly companion. As long as that was all I allowed it to be.
“You know you never answered my question.” Corey’s eyes darted over to mine, as he continued washing the dishes.
“What question would that be?”
My chest tightened and my heart was beating rapidly as I asked, “Am I one of the woman in your life?” He nodded, remembering the conversation we had earlier.
“I’ll say this much—I can’t recall the last time I made breakfast at another woman’s house.”
“But this—whatever this is—it’s nothing serious, right?” A lump in my throat was gulped down as I awaited his response. Even though I wanted to make it clear to him, I needed to remind myself that diving into a relationship with him had heartbreak written all over it. No matter how much fun we were having, I wasn’t going to let either of us be led on—I just couldn’t. I received a sideways, cautious glance before he dried off his hands and moved to the counter opposite me.
“Is that what you want?”
That was something I wanted to be absolutely clear about. I looked him square in the eye to give him my answer.
“Yes, I don’t want anything serious.” After taking another minute to examine my expression and assure himself I was telling the truth, he shrugged in a nonchalant manner.
“Then we’re nothing serious.” A twinge of despair broke through my chest. The reason for the emotion was lost on me