Because if he’d stood there much longer, staring at her, he had a feeling he’d have lost control and done something real stupid—like pull her into his arms and lay one hell of a kiss on her. He’d thought about doing that very thing whenever he looked at her mouth.
“I’ll put breakfast on the table.”
He nodded. “Where can I wash up?” he asked, glancing around. Her place was small—even smaller than his apartment had been.
“There’s a bathroom down that hall. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“Okay.” He moved down toward the hall while wondering if this place came with furniture, because none of it seemed to suit her. He recalled how decorative her home had been in Miami. It had had her personal touch. But then again, she had said her move to Alexandria was likely only temporary.
It didn’t take him long to wash his hands and return to where her kitchen was located. She had placed several platters on the table. “You didn’t have to go out of your way for me, Toni.”
“I didn’t mind. I know how much you like to eat.”
He nodded. Yes, he did. He wondered if she remembered just how much he enjoyed making a meal of her, as well.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted bacon or sausage, so I prepared both. I have maple syrup to go with the biscuits and I also made grits.”
Maple syrup. He could clearly recall what he’d done with a small bottle of maple syrup that had been in their hotel room during one trip to Savannah. He had poured every last drop out of the small bottle onto her naked body and then licked it off her. He wondered if she remembered that day.
“Looks like this is going to be my special day,” he said.
“Trust me, Drew. It comes with a price. I plan to get a lot of work out of you.”
He raised a brow. “I thought I was helping you unpack boxes.”
Toni smiled. “You are.”
“Then, maybe I should ask just what’s in these boxes.”
She laughed and the sound invigorated his insides. It had been a long time—nearly five years, in fact—since he’d last heard her laugh. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed it. Until now.
“Well…there are only three, but they are rather big.”
“How did you get them up the stairs?” he asked.
“I didn’t. The delivery man brought them up. One is a television. I am hoping you will also be able to mount it on the wall for me.”
He smiled, deciding not to make a remark about how good he’d always been at mounting her. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”
“And I need to set up my office. There’s a box that contains my desktop computer and printer.”
“Don’t tell me you brought Buster with you.”
She threw her head back and laughed, and again, the sound filled him with delight. The first time he had visited her in Miami, she had introduced him to Buster, the name she’d given her desktop computer, when she’d given him a tour of her house. Although she also had a laptop, she considered Buster a faithful friend. It had been the first computer her grandparents had purchased for her when she’d left for college. They had definitely gotten their money’s worth out of it. She’d admitted Buster had been overhauled quite a few times.
“Yes, I brought Buster. And you better be nice to him.”
“I’ll try,” he said, sitting down at the table. “What’s in the third box?”
She joined him at the table, looking away when she said, “It’s my antique jewelry armoire.”
He didn’t say anything, but merely stared across the table at her. The standing, cherry oak antique jewelry armoire had been a birthday gift from him. They had spent the weekend in Savannah and had seen it during one of their walking tours in the historic part of town at an antique shop.
She had immediately fallen in love with the piece, and he had wanted her to have it. More importantly, he had wanted to be the one to give it to her. At first, she’d protested and given him all kinds of reasons why he should not buy it for her. He’d relented…or so she had thought. However, he had made arrangements with the owner of the shop to ship it to her in Miami. He would never forget the phone call he’d gotten from her the day it had arrived. He’d convinced her to keep it, and that it wasn’t nice to