Some might think that was mean, not letting Lexi off the hook easily, but I’m confident she took that text exactly as I meant it. A joking gesture to let her know I wasn’t mad at her. If I was, I would have told her her bag was on the front lawn. And Lexi clearly took it the way I knew she would, as she showed up at my door with her ukulele, knowing I’d be charmed by her and it.

Lexi chuckles and answers my question. “Well, I had no clue Brian was so wise, and there were lots of words exchanged, but he basically reminded me to think for myself and to follow my heart.”

“Wise words indeed,” I observe.

“So am I forgiven?” she asks solemnly.

“There was nothing to forgive,” I tell her truthfully and without the generalized teasing that’s been going on since she got here.

“Well damn,” she says morosely, and with sad eyes continues, “If there’s nothing to forgive, then that means I technically did nothing wrong, which then translates into no spankings, right?”

Another muttered Czech curse as I shake my head at her. “You’re so bad.”

“Well, Gray says you are too, but here I am,” she quips.

Laughing, I again put my hand around the back of her neck and guide her toward the living room and then the kitchen. “Before we get to spankings—and I’m sure there are some in our future—I’m starving and I’ve got dinner ready. Let’s eat.”

“Oh my God,” Lexi says on a deep inhale as we enter the kitchen. She pulls away from my hand, sets her ukulele on the small dining table, and walks zombielike toward the food I have laid out on the island counter. “What in the holy heaven is this delicious-looking stuff?”

Grinning, I step up to the counter and point to the items on the platter. “This is vepřová, which you Americans fondly call roasted pork. This is knedlíky, which are bread dumplings, and here is zelí, which is your basic sauerkraut.”

“You cooked all this?” she asks as she looks at me in amazement.

Nodding, I tell her, “I wanted to share a traditional Czech meal with you, and this happens to be my favorite.”

“You can actually cook?” she asks with even more amazement.

“In my house you learned to cook or you didn’t eat,” I tell her, and then instantly regret it the minute her eyes turn sorrowful, so I quickly add, “All I mean is that my parents worked so hard and were always so busy, and along with my hockey schedule, there weren’t a lot of family meals.”

“Oh,” she says softly as her eyes go back to the platter of food. “But still…this is incredible.”

“So you’re impressed?”

“You’re so getting laid,” she says dramatically. “But probably not tonight. Well, I’m not sure about that. I should taste the food first before I commit.”

And I laugh again. A deep belly laugh, because she’s funny and cute, she pulls something from me I didn’t know existed, and being around her makes me feel fucking good. There’s no doubt I’m going to get laid at some point, and I honestly don’t give a shit if it’s tonight or in the foreseeable future.

—

“Favorite movie?” Lexi asks as she sits on the opposite end of the couch from me, casually strumming her ukulele. Not really playing a song, but just different chords as we talk.

“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” I say with no hesitation.

“Never saw it,” she responds. Another casual strum, her fingers very light on the strings.

I shift on the couch, scooting my body down a bit more. We’re on opposite ends, facing each other. Lexi ditched her boots and she’s sitting cross-legged with her back against the armrest. I’m laying sprawled on my back, also having removed my shoes. My body is longer than the couch, so my legs are slightly bent, with my feet resting on the cushion at the sides of her hips.

“Not surprised,” I say lazily. “I think it was made before you were born.”

“If it’s so old, how come you’ve seen it?” She’s stopped strumming and is watching me with her head tilted to the side.

I shrug. “I like action movies. Even the older ones.”

“I like chick flicks,” she says with a grin. “What’s your take on them?”

“That you should never ask me to watch one with you,” I tell her adamantly.

I’m thinking there are a lot of ways I’d be happy to spend my time with Lexi, but I do have my limits.

Lexi snorts at my response. “I’ll give you a pass.”

We’ve been sitting here lobbing questions at each other since we finished dinner over an hour ago, and in that time I’ve learned some very interesting things. For instance, she was bitten by a copperhead snake when she was fifteen while hiking in the woods with friends, and to get over her fear after that, she took a snake-handling course through a local wildlife agency. Though it was no surprise to me, I learned she’s a daredevil and a bit of an adrenaline junkie, bungee jumping being her favorite rush. She’s highly allergic to bees and carries an EpiPen in her purse. She’s also slightly allergic to shellfish, but that doesn’t stop her from eating it. Lexi’s favorite food is spaghetti, she hates carrots, and is a terrible baker, but she continually tries with repetitive failure.

Lexi likes to read psychological thrillers, has a soft spot for dogs, admitted the fact I work with golden retriever rescue was a major point in my favor, and once got arrested for underage drinking when she was seventeen. She snores lightly when she sleeps, hates taking baths, preferring a shower instead, and almost choked to death once when she was dared to try to swallow a tablespoon of cinnamon.

I’ve learned a ton of other inane stuff about her, but some important stuff as well. Her favorite flower is a yellow rose, her birthday is week after next—she’ll be twenty-seven—and she’s never had a relationship last longer than six months.

“Best vacation you’ve ever had?” I ask her, since it’s my turn to question.

“That’s easy,” she says with a fond smile. “When I was eleven, my mom took me to Disney World. She had saved up for like three years to be able to do it, because as you know, teachers don’t make all that much money, but it was amazing. She rode all the rides with me, and I had so much junk food I almost got sick. It was amazing and my lesson from it was if I have kids one day, I’m going to start saving up money a lot sooner so I can take them when they’re a little younger.”