Chapter 7

7

DAMON

A llie seems touched that I would offer to get up early and drive her to her apartment to change, then to the diner. How could I not? First off, the poor girl is finding this heatwave exhausting, and she should save her energy for being on her feet in the kitchen.

But also, selfishly, I want every single person in town to know that we’re together, especially the men. There are a lot of lonely guys on this mountain, and I don’t want a single one getting any ideas about the sweet new girl with the sparkling laugh and bright blue eyes.

Allie grins from what I have already decided is “her” side of the truck, taking a careful sip of the coffee I’ve prepared from my spare traveler mug. “This is really good,” she says. “I don’t have a proper coffee maker in my apartment yet.”

“When you work at a diner, there hardly seems to be a point.”

“Yes, but I do plan on taking days off now and then.” She grins as we pull up in front of Fran’s. “I’ve been working every possible shift for my first month, but I should be able to slow down at some point.”

I want to tell her she should slow down right the hell now before she makes herself sick, but know I need to tread lightly. I also know for a fact that if I offered to help with her rent, she would flat out refuse.

But I can sneakily help her save money on groceries. I park, then come around to help her out of the truck. “You know,” I say, as casually as possible, “it was nice cooking for another person. I don’t know what your schedule looks like, but I’d love to do that on a semi-regular basis.”

Allie shifts her purse and coffee so that she can sling an arm around my neck, stretching up for a kiss. “Do I get to cook sometimes too?”

“If you like. I’m pretty good at chopping, so I’m happy to be your sous chef.”

“Or DJ? For some of my dishes, the right music is crucial.”

Looking into her dazzling eyes, I’m torn. Somewhere in the back of my mind a voice is whispering to take things slowly with her and reminding me that any pressure or stress probably wouldn’t be good for her. On the other hand, I want to ask her out again for tonight. Want to tell her that wherever this relationship is going, I’m in. That I’m her man.

“Are you okay?” Allie grins, waving a hand in front of my eyes. “For a second there you looked…” She laughs, rolling her eyes. “Like I probably do when I get the migraine lights.”

“Lights?” My arm slips around her waist as I hold her close. “Oh, right. When Mom got migraines, she said that she had swirling patches of light that disrupted her vision.”

“Swirling sounds cool.” Allie laughs again. “Usually I get a chain of bright orange triangles traveling in an arc across my left eye. They have neon green edging and flash with a weird, shaky pulse. It’s like being at a rave inside my head, but I’m wearing the completely wrong outfit.”

I guess she’s used to it, and that’s how she can make light of something so serious but still… I don’t know whether to be worried, sympathetic, or laugh with her.

My deep chuckle makes Allie giggle as I duck down to kiss her temple. “Maybe after work tonight, you can make a list for me of everything I’m supposed to do if you ever see these lights when we’re together.”

Her palm lands in the center of my chest as she looks up at me. “Damon, I’ve been dealing with all the stuff for a long time. I’m fine. Really. I don’t expect you to take care of me if anything goes sideways.”

She sighs heavily, pulling on the collar of her t-shirt a bit more to get some air flow down to her luscious breasts. I can tell she’s wearing a light tank top again, not a bra, and her perky little nipples are so tempting that I’m dying to suck them.

“I could just do without all of this heat,” Allie groans, rolling her eyes. “That’s the one thing that’s knocking me over the edge. It makes me feel claustrophobic, which is stressful, and then everything starts to clench.”

“Did sleeping in the air-conditioning help?”

“Yes! So much. Thank you for that – it was like somebody hit my inner reset button.”

My lips drop to her ear. “Is that the little button I was licking last night?”

Her cheeks flame. “Public,” she hisses sharply, but her eyes are dancing. “You cheeky little?—”

I cut her off with a slow, tender kiss. Having Allie in my arms like this makes me want to cancel today’s work and take an unplanned day off for the first time ever. It would be worth the hassle just to hold my beauty all day while we watch movies, cook, and get to know each other even better.

“I have to go,” she whispers, pulling away reluctantly. “Text me this afternoon?”

“Of course. I’ll be sure to—” My phone squawks with the ringtone I reserve for the VFFT.

Allie’s eyes fly wide. “What the heck is that noise?”

“Fire call. Gotta go. Talk later.” I give her a lightning-fast kiss, then leap into my truck, punching the address into the GPS.

Allie waves, calling out “Be safe!” as I wave back.

Thank goodness she didn’t seem offended that our goodbye was cut short. It’s important that she understands my schedule is often out of my control.

Keeping Allie air-conditioned and healthy, on the other hand… I want that to be under my control. Not to control her , of course. Just to keep her as healthy and happy as possible. And to let her know that I’m in this for the long-haul.

I’m already one hundred percent certain that we belong together.