Leo(A Sign of Love Novel)(33)

I nod no, “Just coffee and fruit is plenty for me.”

“Okay, help yourself to coffee. Cups above the coffee maker. Milk in the fridge, sugar on the counter.”

He turns back to the stove and cracks a couple eggs into a pan as I go about getting myself a cup of coffee, no sugar, generous milk.

I sit at the counter sipping my coffee and admiring Jake's ass until he pours his omelette on a plate and joins me, adding bacon and fruit to his plate.

“I have cereal, too if you’d prefer that.”

“No, really, this is perfect. I usually don’t eat much in the morning.”

“Well, babe, things have changed for you. You’re gonna have to keep up your energy now,” he winks, trying to contain the teasing smirk and looking extremely pleased with himself.

I pick up a skinny piece of cantaloupe, “Oh, right. This should do the job,” I say, eating the fruit in two small bites and discarding the rind on the napkin in front of me.

He bursts out laughing, stands up and scoops me up and plants me on his lap on the bar stool, straddling him. He nips at my neck and tickles my sides, making me squeal and giggle. “I can see I have more to prove to you, minx.” Then he’s nipping at my ear and growling as his hands roam over me and I can barely catch my breath I’m laughing so hard.

“Okay! Okay! No more! Seriously, Jake!” I squirm into him and it’s not lost on me that he feels good…really good.

He’s laughing too, but he growls one more time for show. “I can see it’s sinking in for my girl now how much she’s gonna need a good breakfast.”

I press into him, rolling my hips, turned on again, “Okay, seriously, speaking of sinking in… “ I say, licking the dip at the base of his neck and kissing up to his jaw.

He groans, “Evie, I thought you said you were sore…”

I sigh, sitting up. "I am. Maybe some tylenol would take the edge off enough...?"

He bursts out laughing again, “Christ. I’ve brought a sex demon to life.”

I laugh, climbing off him, but he might be right. “Okay, so then what are you going to do with me today?”

“Ever been to the zoo?” he asks.

“Actually, no,” I say, surprised. “You’re gonna take me to the zoo?” I grin thinking that that sounds fun. I never got to do any of that kind of stuff as a kid and so I suppose there’s a lot I’ve missed out on. And I don’t exactly have the extra cash to spend on weekend outings now…

“Cool. Do you have shoes that’ll work for walking?”

“Yeah, I brought a pair of sneakers.”

“Okay, good, I’ll take a quick shower and we’ll get going.”

He finishes his breakfast quickly as I enjoy my coffee and then he drops his dishes in the sink, kisses me on the cheek and heads to the shower.

A minute or two later, I get the naughty idea to surprise him but when I try the door, it's locked. I frown slightly. Okay….

I head back to the kitchen and instead wash the pans in the sink from last night’s dinner, including the breakfast pans and load the dishwasher. As I’m finishing up, Jake enters the kitchen in a pair of jeans and a black pullover. His beautiful carmel hair is perfectly tousled and still a little damp. I go to him and put my arms around his waist, inhaling his delicious, fresh woodsy scent and lying my head on his chest for a minute. It seems impossible that I missed him for the ten minutes he was showering but I can't deny it, I did. I lift my head and grin up at his masculine beauty and he's smiling down at me. He leans and kisses me on my forehead, whispering, "My Evie. So sweet." before pulling away and going to put his shoes on.





**********





It's probably one of the best days of my life. It's a beautiful, crisp fall day, slightly cool but with lots of sunshine to take the worst of the chill off. Jake and I hold hands as we walk through the zoo, laughing and chatting easily. I'm seriously fascinated by some of the animals and watch them for long minutes before looking over at Jake who seems to always be looking back at me with a grin. He seems to enjoy my reactions as much as I'm enjoying the experience.

We stop for hot dogs and ice cream for lunch and as we're sitting there eating, a peacock walks right by us. Apparently, they freely roam the zoo. I gasp and pick up my phone, trying to get a picture, following the bird around like a crazed prom mom. Jake is laughing at me from the table as I dance around like a nut, trying to get a shot, when suddenly the bird saunters right over, halts in front of me and spreads his feathers in a show of beauty like I've never seen before. I'm frozen as I stare, spellbound by this beautiful creature. He prances in front of me for several seconds before I unfreeze and snap picture after picture, cooing to the beautiful boy before he preens off for greener pastures.

I suck in an excited breath as I hurry back to Jake. He's sitting at the table with a little frown on his face. "Look!" I squeal, showing him the pictures of the gorgeous bird who clearly wanted to show off for me. He makes little "big deal" grunts as I'm scrolling through the pictures and so I glance at him quickly, noting his expression, "You're jealous of a bird?" I ask incredulously.

"What?" he says? "No!" But I can tell he's lying.

"You're jealous of a bird." I say. It's not a question. I look back at the pictures. "He IS gorgeous. Goddddd, soooo gorgeous," I say, moaning out the syllables in an exaggerated way and throwing my head back.