Love on willow loop, p.5
Love on Willow Loop, page 5
“It’s a mouthful. Nobody likes to call you by a long name. But I do like it. I told my mother I approved. My dad even liked it,” I babbled on.
“I’d like to call you Taloriah. I think it fits you better than Tori.”
“Well, I mean, I’ve had the name Taloriah my whole life. Tori just made an appearance in grade school and stuck.”
“Taloriah.”
“Yes? Did you need something? Another prescription refill? Do you need me to walk Mumford? How’d you find me?”
He grabbed a fry from my hand and dropped it in my mouth. “Stop talking. I’m trying to tell you something important. Earlier this week, you mentioned this was your favorite place to get fries.”
I chewed and studied his mussed-up hair. I liked it when he didn’t style it. I nodded then shoved another fry in my mouth. If I couldn’t keep my mouth busy, I wasn’t going to be able to stay quiet. Ian knew me so well already.
“You texted me. You told me you loved me.”
“Actually, I meant to tell Rhian that I loved you.”
He shook his head and smiled. “Too late. You told me you love me.”
“Please just kill me now, because I didn’t think it took this long to die of embarrassment. This is a very, very slow death.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. I’ve never been so happy someone accidentally texted me. Do you know that I was going to accept that job because I didn’t think you liked me? I had my phone in my hand to call them back when you texted. Because, you see, there was this girl I was interested in. I didn’t think she liked me back. I didn’t think I could handle watching her walk dogs down my street every day if I couldn’t be with her.”
I threw my hands in the air. “What do you mean you didn’t think I liked you? I made you soup. And a candle.”
He grabbed my elbows and tugged me closer. “You’re so kind and thoughtful to everyone, everything around you. You baby my dog, you baby the neighbor’s dogs, you even sing your beta fish to sleep at night. I was worried that I was reading too much into your kindness. I wasn’t sure if you treated everyone the way you were treating me. I thought I was looking through rose-colored glasses and imagining you liked me too. I didn’t want to push you if you didn’t like me too. But now all bets are off, because I love you, Taloriah. I would even put up with that crazy beta fish for you.”
“Beulah is going to throw a fit.”
He nodded and smiled, showing the chipped tooth. “I know. Isn’t it great?”
“Are you sure you love me? Or are you just using me to get to my beta fish?”
“Well, now that you mention it...”
I smacked his shoulder and he laughed. He leaned closer and stared at my lips. I liked where this was going, but then I remembered something.
I planted a hand on his chest. “Wait! You guessed my name, but I still don’t know what you do.” He grinned, flashing his front chipped tooth that I would miss when he got it fixed. I gently brushed my thumb against his top lip. “Also please don’t ever get this tooth fixed.”
He shook his head. “It’s not exactly good advertising when your local dentist has a chipped tooth.”
He smiled all the way, his tooth on full display.
“Wait, you’re a dentist?”
He chuckled and nodded.
I started to laugh with him. “You had a chipped tooth—and I’ve been calling you toothless!”
“I’ve grown kind of found of that nickname,” he admitted.
“As long as I get a picture of you and me and your chipped tooth before you get it fixed. I happen to really like it, and the fact it brought us together.”
“I think you have Mumford and Beulah to thank for that.”
I studied his happy face. “I can understand why Mumford brought us together, but I’m a little confused how Beulah did. Was I right? Did she help you heal faster?”
“No, she didn’t help me heal faster. She made me realize how I felt about you.”
“I told you she was therapeutic. She really is a wonderful fish. Smart, talented, and a great listener.”
He sighed. “Taloriah, I wasn’t talking to the fish; I was getting jealous of her.”
“Jealous? How?”
“That beta fish gets so much love and attention from you, I was feeling a little left out.”
I grinned and spoke in my best sympathetic voice, “You poor little thing. Was it the part where I rubbed your shoulders and fed you soup when you felt neglected? Or was it when I was fluffing up your pillows and bringing you books? We can’t have you feeling left out.”
“Can I help it that I love having all your attention on me?”
I shook my head. “You’re hopeless, Dr. Ian. I’m so glad you got a concussion and needed someone to take care of you. It gave me a chance to get to know you.”
“Yes, well, about that. Mumford and I might have been watching you from our living room window the day we met. Usually, I’d go home on my lunch breaks and we’d play fetch within the backyard. But that day when I got home he refused to budge from his place at the front window. When I looked out, I realized why. The prettiest girl I’d ever seen was walking a pack of goats down the road.”
I laughed. “Oh, I’m so glad you remembered that I’m a goat walker.”
“Anyway, I said to myself that I’d better get more involved in this community by meeting that girl. It was all on the up and up, I promise. I was only trying to be a model citizen and wave at you when I walked past you.” He pretended to flick some lint off his shoulder. His self-righteous voice made me giggle. “Mumford had a different idea of how we could get to know each other.”
I reached up and rested my hand against his cheek. “Remind me to thank Mumford for pulling you into that lamp post and knocking me to the ground. Falling in love with you was the easiest thing to do.
He nodded. “I have a serious question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you kiss chipped-toothed dentists?”
“If this chipped tooth cutie doesn’t kiss me soon, I might knock out the rest of his tooth.”
He grinned and stepped closer to me. “Taloriah, thanks for saving me.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips gently against mine. One hand pressed against my back while his other hand came up so that his thumb brushed lightly against my temple.
It was perfect.
He was the first person to accept me as I was.
Sure, I had people who loved me, I didn’t doubt that for an instant, but usually they wanted me to change. They wanted me to be a less bold, less true version of myself, but Ian never once put me down for being me.
“You accepted me. You never made me feel strange. You never told me the five million ways my business could fail. You never told me I needed to stop talking. You even like my purple hair. You’re exactly the man I’ve been waiting for. Someone who could love me, and someone I could love openly and wholly in return.”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “I don’t think anyone could be as happy as me to hear you say that. We’re going to have fun together, you and I.”
I leaned toward him and planted a kiss on his swollen lips.
“That we are, Toothless.”
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Did you love Love on Willow Loop? Then you should read Mr. H.O.A. by Carina Taylor!
A condemned apartment building means I'm stuck sleeping in my car. My carefully planned future—gone.
It's just bad business to admit to being homeless when you're the top selling real estate agent in the county. So when a fellow evictee, Nola, comes up with a solution to my homeless situation, I take her up on her offer.
An empty house with a gorgeous roommate? Sign me up.
I didn't know that staying at her friend's house would lead to us pretending to be married.
I didn't know I would get elected to be president of an HOA I have no business being a part of.
And I'm beginning to suspect my beautiful, devious, fake wife isn't telling me everything.
What happens when we get another roommate, and our deception moves to the next level?
Nola is the whirlwind I didn't want in my life—but she just might be exactly what I need.
Also by Carina Taylor
A Love Like This
Neighbors Like That
Christmas Like This
Friends Like These
Vacations Like This
Tuesdays Like That
Fake It
Love on Willow Loop
Mr. H.O.A.
Miss Trailerhood
Carina Taylor, Love on Willow Loop
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“I’d like to call you Taloriah. I think it fits you better than Tori.”
“Well, I mean, I’ve had the name Taloriah my whole life. Tori just made an appearance in grade school and stuck.”
“Taloriah.”
“Yes? Did you need something? Another prescription refill? Do you need me to walk Mumford? How’d you find me?”
He grabbed a fry from my hand and dropped it in my mouth. “Stop talking. I’m trying to tell you something important. Earlier this week, you mentioned this was your favorite place to get fries.”
I chewed and studied his mussed-up hair. I liked it when he didn’t style it. I nodded then shoved another fry in my mouth. If I couldn’t keep my mouth busy, I wasn’t going to be able to stay quiet. Ian knew me so well already.
“You texted me. You told me you loved me.”
“Actually, I meant to tell Rhian that I loved you.”
He shook his head and smiled. “Too late. You told me you love me.”
“Please just kill me now, because I didn’t think it took this long to die of embarrassment. This is a very, very slow death.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. I’ve never been so happy someone accidentally texted me. Do you know that I was going to accept that job because I didn’t think you liked me? I had my phone in my hand to call them back when you texted. Because, you see, there was this girl I was interested in. I didn’t think she liked me back. I didn’t think I could handle watching her walk dogs down my street every day if I couldn’t be with her.”
I threw my hands in the air. “What do you mean you didn’t think I liked you? I made you soup. And a candle.”
He grabbed my elbows and tugged me closer. “You’re so kind and thoughtful to everyone, everything around you. You baby my dog, you baby the neighbor’s dogs, you even sing your beta fish to sleep at night. I was worried that I was reading too much into your kindness. I wasn’t sure if you treated everyone the way you were treating me. I thought I was looking through rose-colored glasses and imagining you liked me too. I didn’t want to push you if you didn’t like me too. But now all bets are off, because I love you, Taloriah. I would even put up with that crazy beta fish for you.”
“Beulah is going to throw a fit.”
He nodded and smiled, showing the chipped tooth. “I know. Isn’t it great?”
“Are you sure you love me? Or are you just using me to get to my beta fish?”
“Well, now that you mention it...”
I smacked his shoulder and he laughed. He leaned closer and stared at my lips. I liked where this was going, but then I remembered something.
I planted a hand on his chest. “Wait! You guessed my name, but I still don’t know what you do.” He grinned, flashing his front chipped tooth that I would miss when he got it fixed. I gently brushed my thumb against his top lip. “Also please don’t ever get this tooth fixed.”
He shook his head. “It’s not exactly good advertising when your local dentist has a chipped tooth.”
He smiled all the way, his tooth on full display.
“Wait, you’re a dentist?”
He chuckled and nodded.
I started to laugh with him. “You had a chipped tooth—and I’ve been calling you toothless!”
“I’ve grown kind of found of that nickname,” he admitted.
“As long as I get a picture of you and me and your chipped tooth before you get it fixed. I happen to really like it, and the fact it brought us together.”
“I think you have Mumford and Beulah to thank for that.”
I studied his happy face. “I can understand why Mumford brought us together, but I’m a little confused how Beulah did. Was I right? Did she help you heal faster?”
“No, she didn’t help me heal faster. She made me realize how I felt about you.”
“I told you she was therapeutic. She really is a wonderful fish. Smart, talented, and a great listener.”
He sighed. “Taloriah, I wasn’t talking to the fish; I was getting jealous of her.”
“Jealous? How?”
“That beta fish gets so much love and attention from you, I was feeling a little left out.”
I grinned and spoke in my best sympathetic voice, “You poor little thing. Was it the part where I rubbed your shoulders and fed you soup when you felt neglected? Or was it when I was fluffing up your pillows and bringing you books? We can’t have you feeling left out.”
“Can I help it that I love having all your attention on me?”
I shook my head. “You’re hopeless, Dr. Ian. I’m so glad you got a concussion and needed someone to take care of you. It gave me a chance to get to know you.”
“Yes, well, about that. Mumford and I might have been watching you from our living room window the day we met. Usually, I’d go home on my lunch breaks and we’d play fetch within the backyard. But that day when I got home he refused to budge from his place at the front window. When I looked out, I realized why. The prettiest girl I’d ever seen was walking a pack of goats down the road.”
I laughed. “Oh, I’m so glad you remembered that I’m a goat walker.”
“Anyway, I said to myself that I’d better get more involved in this community by meeting that girl. It was all on the up and up, I promise. I was only trying to be a model citizen and wave at you when I walked past you.” He pretended to flick some lint off his shoulder. His self-righteous voice made me giggle. “Mumford had a different idea of how we could get to know each other.”
I reached up and rested my hand against his cheek. “Remind me to thank Mumford for pulling you into that lamp post and knocking me to the ground. Falling in love with you was the easiest thing to do.
He nodded. “I have a serious question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you kiss chipped-toothed dentists?”
“If this chipped tooth cutie doesn’t kiss me soon, I might knock out the rest of his tooth.”
He grinned and stepped closer to me. “Taloriah, thanks for saving me.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips gently against mine. One hand pressed against my back while his other hand came up so that his thumb brushed lightly against my temple.
It was perfect.
He was the first person to accept me as I was.
Sure, I had people who loved me, I didn’t doubt that for an instant, but usually they wanted me to change. They wanted me to be a less bold, less true version of myself, but Ian never once put me down for being me.
“You accepted me. You never made me feel strange. You never told me the five million ways my business could fail. You never told me I needed to stop talking. You even like my purple hair. You’re exactly the man I’ve been waiting for. Someone who could love me, and someone I could love openly and wholly in return.”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “I don’t think anyone could be as happy as me to hear you say that. We’re going to have fun together, you and I.”
I leaned toward him and planted a kiss on his swollen lips.
“That we are, Toothless.”
Don't miss out!
Click the button below and you can sign up to receive emails whenever Carina Taylor publishes a new book. There's no charge and no obligation.
https://books2read.com/r/B-P-GHNI-UGHAB
https://books2read.com/r/B-P-GHNI-UGHAB
Connecting independent readers to independent writers.
Did you love Love on Willow Loop? Then you should read Mr. H.O.A. by Carina Taylor!
A condemned apartment building means I'm stuck sleeping in my car. My carefully planned future—gone.
It's just bad business to admit to being homeless when you're the top selling real estate agent in the county. So when a fellow evictee, Nola, comes up with a solution to my homeless situation, I take her up on her offer.
An empty house with a gorgeous roommate? Sign me up.
I didn't know that staying at her friend's house would lead to us pretending to be married.
I didn't know I would get elected to be president of an HOA I have no business being a part of.
And I'm beginning to suspect my beautiful, devious, fake wife isn't telling me everything.
What happens when we get another roommate, and our deception moves to the next level?
Nola is the whirlwind I didn't want in my life—but she just might be exactly what I need.
Also by Carina Taylor
A Love Like This
Neighbors Like That
Christmas Like This
Friends Like These
Vacations Like This
Tuesdays Like That
Fake It
Love on Willow Loop
Mr. H.O.A.
Miss Trailerhood
Carina Taylor, Love on Willow Loop
