13. Mabel

Mabel

I could tell that Joshua thought I was nuts, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. Instead, he seemed kind of… charmed. I thought of all the times I’d shared theories like my dog god theory with my ex-husband.

“You’re being ridiculous Mabel,” he’d say. “Where do you even get these crazy ideas? You need to get your head out of your fantasy world and act like a grown up.”

My ex had never appreciated my innate sense of whimsey, or the somewhat unique way I had of looking at the world. It was just who I was. He’d done his best to kill that spark inside me, but now that he was out of the picture, I was embracing myself just the way I was.

That was the great thing about being forty. I’d heard from so many of my friends that when they turned forty they’d stopped worrying so much about what other people thought, so turning forty and getting divorced in the same year was like giving myself permission to become a new person. The person I was always meant to be, even if some people found her outrageous.

I took a bite of my pot pie, gathering a piece of flaky crust with the savory ingredients inside. I moaned in pleasure.

“This pot pie is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever put in my mouth,” I told Joshua.

His eyes darkened as his gaze flew to my lips. I didn’t have to be a mind reader to follow his train of thought. Oops. I hadn’t meant that to be sexual. Joshua shook his head slightly, realizing that he was staring.

“It’s one of my favorite things to make,” he said, his voice a little gravelly.

He’d looked so at ease in the kitchen that I couldn’t help but picture us doing that every night. I’d always wanted a partner to cook with. Then I pushed that idea aside. I’d tried the happily ever after route and it hadn’t worked out for me. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again, even for a life-changing pot pie.

I looked around at his apartment. It was nice enough, but his place was smaller and more dated than I’d expected with Joshua being a doctor. Not that material things mattered to me, but this looked like the kind of apartment a man moved into right after his divorce. It was spartan and lifeless, like the kind of place you’d hang out in while you looked for a better place to live.

“Have you ever been married?” I asked him curiously.

“No.”

“Lived with a woman?”

He smirked. “No. I’ve lived alone since I graduated college.”

Oh good, he was a commitment-phobe. I knew that for a lot of women that would be a red flag, but not for me. Now I knew that I didn’t have to worry about him getting too serious. The last thing I wanted right now was another serious relationship. I still wasn’t even sure if I wanted a relationship at all, even a casual one, which made me wonder if maybe he’d be open to a friends with benefits kind of thing.

I wasn’t totally sure how those things worked, but I was pretty sure it was super casual. I had no idea how to ask him about it, so I kept quiet and ate my delicious meal.

After dinner, we settled on Joshua’s couch to watch a movie. After a few minutes of discussion, we realized that we both loved that old Mel Brooks movie Young Frankenstein, so Joshua found it on one of the streaming services and we settled in to watch the movie.

We were maybe five or ten minutes in when Esmerelda came over, standing on her hind legs and bouncing to let me know that she wanted to come up on the couch. My ex-husband had always been adamant that animals didn’t belong on the furniture, but since we’d split up, I’d let my dog have the full run of the house.

Joshua clearly picked up on Esmerelda’s not so subtle plea to come up on the couch because he leaned down and picked her up, setting her on the cushion between us.

“You don’t mind her being on the couch?” I asked in surprise.

He shrugged. “She’s not going to hurt anything, as long as she doesn’t jump down by herself. That’s a long distance for such short legs.”

Joshua didn’t even give a thought to his furniture. Looking back later, I’d pinpoint this as the moment that I started falling in love with Joshua Martin.

Esmerelda sat between us for a few minutes, then climbed over my lap, wedging herself between my body and the arm of the couch. I moved over a few inches to give her some space, then she laid on her side and pressed her feet against the arm, pushing against me with her back. I moved over some more. For a small dog, she was surprisingly strong.

As I moved closer to him, Joshua put his arm around me.

“I guess Esmerelda wants us to get cozy,” he chuckled.

I snuggled into his side, feeling more content than I had in years. When I glanced at my dog, she was watching us. I knew it sounded ridiculous, but I had the distinct feeling that she was trying to push me and the handsome vet together.

We watched the movie quietly for a little while until the unmistakable sound of Esmerelda snoring reached us. I shook my head.

“My dog’s a character.”

Joshua smiled. “I wonder where she gets that from.”

I stilled, wondering if I was too much for him. I’d been ‘too much’ for too many people over the years. I looked up to ask him, well I wasn’t sure what, but before I could say a word, Joshua’s lips crashed down on mine.

Our kiss last night had been nice. Tender but passionate. But this kiss was different. It was immediately hot. This wasn’t a polite first kiss, it was two people ready to take what they wanted. I shifted to face Joshua, desperate to get closer, and when that didn’t work I threw a leg over his lap and straddled him.

In the back of my mind I wondered if I was being too aggressive, but Joshua didn’t seem to have a problem with it. His palms came to my ass, squeezing my butt cheeks and sliding me closer to his hard body.

“Joshua.”

I gasped his name as we pulled apart to catch our breath before going in again. Goodness, I didn’t know that kissing alone could be so arousing.

“You are so damned sexy,” he growled, bringing his lips back to mine.

This kiss went on and on, growing wilder the longer it continued. I grabbed Joshua’s shoulders with my fingers, holding on tight while I ground my hips against his growing erection. It felt bigger than I was used to, and I was suddenly desperate to feel him inside me.

Then I realized that I was probably being too forward and even if I wasn’t, I needed to slow down for myself. I was attracted to Joshua, probably more attracted to him than I’d been to anyone in my life, but I needed some time. I wasn’t emotionally prepared to have sex quite yet. Maybe that made me a prude, but I knew myself. I needed time.

Joshua must have sensed me disengaging because he slowly ended the kiss. When our lips parted, I just stared into his caramel colored eyes for what felt like forever. I lifted one hand to cup his cheek and felt his growing scruff against my palm. Ruthlessly I shut down the image of that scruff scraping against my inner thighs.

“Sorry to jump you like that.”

His eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline. “Are you kidding? You can jump me whenever you want.”

I swung back to sit next to him again, noticing that even though I thought she was sleeping, Esmerelda had moved over even more, forcing me to sit closer to Joshua than I was before. He widened his legs a bit and adjusted his hard-on with a slight wince, and for some reason that made me blush.

Joshua smirked.

“Gah! I’m so bad at this.”

“At what?” he asked, turning to look directly at me.

“Dating.”

“I think you’re doing okay,” he said. “You’ve definitely got the kissing part down.”

His arm came around my shoulder again, hugging me to his side as he looked back towards the TV screen. He pressed a quick kiss against my temple then said, “Oh look, it’s the good part.”

“The whole movie is the good part,” I laughed.

“I know, that’s what makes it so great.”

I spent the rest of the movie snuggled up against him with Esmerelda sleeping on my other side. By the time the movie was over it had started raining, wind blowing the drops against the window in sheets of rain.

“Oh crap, I didn’t realize it was going to storm tonight.”

“Did you walk over?” he asked.

“Yeah, I hardly ever use my car since I moved to Starlight Bay.”

“I’ll drive you two home then,” Joshua offered. “You shouldn’t walk in his. It’s pouring out there.”

“I’d appreciate it,” I said gratefully. “Esmerelda doesn’t like the rain. Plus I didn’t bring her rain jacket.”

One blond eyebrow rose and I wagged my finger at him.

“Don’t you dare make fun of me for making my dog wear a raincoat,” I said primly. “She gets cold.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Joshua replied, his lips twitching again. “Why don’t you wake her up and we’ll hit the road.”