Page 100 of For Better or Hearse
Standing, she sweeps a delighted gaze over the table. Coffee. Pastries. Benedicts. “The whole menu.” Sashaying past him, shepeeks over her shoulder and grins. “You don’t have to show off anymore, Doctor Whitford. You already got me into bed.”
Frowning, he grasps her hip. “That wasn’t the point of this.”
She eats like a toddler, and if he can give her sustenance once a day, it eases his mind.
“Don’t look so serious.” She plants a kiss on his lips, then surveys the table, lifting cloches and inspecting the food. “You can tell a lot by a person’s breakfast order.” Ash lifts the lid on a bowl of oatmeal, makes a face, slams it down with a clang. “What are you, Nathaniel Whitford,” she says, holding out an invisible microphone, “choosing to partake in today?”
He plays along. “Wheat toast, eggs over easy, and granola and milk.”
“Ah. A simple, practical, extremely boring meal.”
He laughs. “It’s more to ward off the Whitford family curse of high cholesterol.”
When she uncovers a bowl of tropical fruit and Greek yogurt, her eyes light up. Nathaniel takes note.
Ash claims the bowl and pours out two cups of coffee. Once they’ve both picked their breakfast, they slide back into bed. Ash, naked, curls up against the pillows. They sit and eat. Fall into a simple, easy silence that Nathaniel likes too much.
Nothing has ever felt better than being with this woman.
Beside him, Ash picks through the fruit. Mango. Pineapple. She smiles. Spears a hunk of coconut.
“How is it?” Nathaniel asks.
“Perfection. Did you know coconut’s my favorite fruit?” She wrinkles her nose. “Favorite nut?” With a shrug, she kicks her impossibly long legs over Nathaniel’s lap. “My mom always made me these snowy white coconut cakes for my birthday. Historic coconut cakes like ten feet tall.” She waves her fork in the air above her. “Truly gargantuan. One year, she was taking it from the oven and dropped it. Smashed it all over the ground. She stood there, stunned, and then she started to cry.” Color deepens on her cheeks. “So Tessie and I grabbed forks, popped a squat and ate it off the ground. Then my mom joined us. It was the best fucking birthday.”
He smiles at her smile. “Sounds fun.”
She nudges him with her foot. “Which reminds me. You still owe me a coconut.”
Amusement fills him. “I’ll be sure to swing by the grocery store.”
Rolling her eyes, Ash flops back against the bed. “Tell me something fascinating about you. Really wow me, Nathaniel.”
“See this?” He nods at the scar on his shoulder.
“What’s that from?” Her eyes glitter. “Knife attack on the port bow?”
“Patient in the ER stabbed me with his ballpoint pen when he woke up from anesthesia.”
“War wound. How tragic.” Leaning in, she sweeps her red lips across the puckered scar.
His heart jumps. Not to mention his cock.
Ash’s brows draw together. “Did you always want to be a doctor?”
He wraps his hand around her foot. Red toenails. He waits as she tenses and is relieved when she relaxes and doesn’t pull away.
“I wanted to be a marine biologist.”
“You got close.”
“I did. What about you?”
“Junk food taster, age eight. Then trash compactor. I loved smashing things.”
He chuckles. These brief, fleeting moments where she drops her guard. He craves them.
“I used to want to be a doctor,” she offers.