With a soft smile on his face, Lindsey leaned into the doorframe as his eyes followed the blonde around the kitchen.
She was standing at the stove, swaying back and forth slowly as she chopped up vegetables into tiny cubes for the soap she was brewing. And gosh, he thought she was just stunning.
She was wearing in his white button up shirt, long hair pulled up into a claw clip with her reading glasses on the end of her nose and not an ounce of makeup covering her beautiful face... She made him weak in the knees.
"It's not nice to stare..." she teased with a gentle smile as she finally glanced back over her shoulder at him.
He had just gotten out of the shower, so his curls were still wet, his eyes were just then beginning to look as tired as he felt and he had just changed into a pair of sweatpants and a t- shirt.
She felt the same way about him.
He chuckled softly, pushing himself away from the door to trail further into the room. "I would consider it admiring." His hand met her hip, slipping it around her waist as his chin fell on her shoulder from behind. "Admiring you." He whispered, another smile tugging at the corners of his mouth when he felt her sink right back into him to be held.
She slowly dropped everything in her hand as her eyes fell closed and her head tilted to the side. "Okay, that's better." She joked with a faint smirk as her hands dropped down to his to graze her nails up and down his forearm.
He was still grinning, leaning down to press a little kiss to her neck as his eyes scanned over her side profile. "This smells good." He announced in a soft tone of voice as he unintentionally got distracted.
She immediately tossed her head back against his chest, letting out a deep laugh at how random that was. "Here," she reached out with one hand, picking up the wooden spoon and handing it to him. "You can stir." She smirked, no longer interested in that but instead more focused on him.
He chuckled, taking the spoon but still keeping her wrapped up with one arm. "I have been told that I am quite the cook." He was full of it and she knew that... He had made her breakfast once already.
Stevie nodded softly, feeling so calm, she could have sworn he was going to put her to sleep. "Add in the garlic." She motioned towards the cutting board as she lightly bit down on her bottom lip.
They ended up making dinner together that night, just like that... She told him exactly what to do and he followed along, making it easier for the both of them. He didn't have to guess and she didn't have to cook.
"You did good." She was sitting across from him at the circle table by then- the only thing separating them was two plates, a bottle of wine and a single lit candle.
Lindsey's eyes moved up, instantly locking with hers. "Thank you..." he playfully bowed, which caused her to smile in return. "I had a really good, really gorgeous instructor." He added with a gentle, silly wink.
With a faint giggle, she slowly brought her glass of red wine up to her lips to take a sip. "Very funny." Stevie nodded as her cheeks began to grow a little more pinkish than before. "I've been meaning to tell you," she mentioned after a short moment of silence had come and gone. "Your daughter seemed incredibly kind..." She was a little reluctant to bring up his family, only because she was certain that it wasn't the easiest thing for him to talk about.
She couldn't imagine losing her spouse, not like that and she really felt for him and his children... But if they wanted to share anything more, it was something they probably needed to talk about.
"She's great." Lindsey assured, really happy to hear that. "She actually told me that you sounded really cute on the phone." He admitted with a soft smile as he thought back to the conversation he'd had with her before he left to head back to Nantucket.
Laura was blunt... One of the toughest people he'd ever known- a lot like his wife was and since his two daughters were such important pieces of his life, their opinion really mattered to him.
When you lose someone things take time to work themselves back together and while his kids were still navigating life without their mom, Lindsey had figured it out... It wasn't easy, but he was far better than he had been and even though he missed her every day in different ways, he also knew that she would have wanted him to keep going.
She would have been the first to push him towards someone else- someone that made him happy and he did... It came quick, but there Stevie was.
And Laura thought that was incredible... She wanted that for him, too.
"Oh," Stevie let out a little giggle, shaking her head lightly. "That is so sweet." She assured as she pursed her lips to the side a tad.
"Both my daughters are definitely unique." Lindsey said that in the proudest way possible.
"Is Laura the sweet girl that spent Christmas in Maui?" She wondered in such a gentle voice as she tried to be curious, but also not wanting to make him uncomfortable either.
He cracked another smile, actually happy to talk about his kids... He thought they were cool and he knew Stevie would think so too. "Mallory is in Hawaii with her friends, having the best time." Lindsey nodded his head.
"That's amazing." Stevie agreed, always finding it to be incredibly exciting when young people are out, living life to the fullest. "And they're okay with this...?" She asked a second later, even though she was a little nervous.
She thought it was soon to tell their children, but he had already talked about her to Laura and then Stevie felt like she'd made a fool of herself when she called... So she wanted to make sure, even though she knew that there was still the possibility that they wouldn't even work out and she was definitely getting ahead of herself.
"Hey," he whispered lightly, reaching across the table to take her hand in his. "Stop worrying, okay?" Lindsey was being very sensitive with her, already well aware of what that look in her eyes meant.
Her lips turned up, batting her lashes unintentionally as she gave his hand a soft squeeze. "I-" just as she was getting ready to tell him that she really appreciated his calm demeanor, the phone ringing caught their attention. "Hm," she hummed lightly, slowly letting go of him to stand. "I should get that." She didn't want to, but as someone's mother, she always felt very obligated to... Just in case.
Lindsey smirked softly, watching her venture through the room to get the phone off the counter as he took a drink from his crystal glass.
"Hello?" Stevie picked up the phone on the third ring, almost certain that it would be Brooke, ready to talk about her day... like usual.
"We have to talk, Stevie." Tom's voice caused her stomach to drop and without any hesitation, or a second thought, she pulled the phone from her ear and placed it back down on the cradle.
"Wrong number." She shrugged, shaking her head as she began to head right back to Lindsey.
