“I’m,” I pause, considering my words carefully. I hate lies, but I could spew two truths that are worse than one lie right now.
“What is it?” she asks, looking around eyes staring at the kitchen island where she was sitting with Koa, kissing the hell out of her when we came in. “Claudia, I’m?—”
I laugh when I realize what she assumes, “Absolutely not,” I shake my head. “You two should be naked every second he’s home, in every room of his house. You’ve been apart for so long, Nalani. Too long.”
“The beds are really nice though,” she grins.
“You should be christening every room. Which is why, the nights Koa is home, it should be just you two.”
She shakes her head, “We want you here.”
“And I want to be here, I will be here, every night that you don’t have the opportunity to have hot sex on every surface of yourhome, Nalani.”
“But—”
“Remember, I was going to take over your place when you moved in? And we talked about this just a couple of days ago?”
“Yes, but?—”
“I need this too,” I admit.
“Where are you going?”
“I booked a room for the next few nights. And when Koa is on the road?—”
“You’ll be here with me.”
“If that’s okay?” I ask just to be sure.
“It’s more than okay,” she says, eyes getting misty. “This city isn’t exactly safe. You should stay somewhere with security and?—”
“Trina in HR had travel book it,” I say before she spirals. “And remember, I lived in the city before.”
Nalani blinks. “Like lived, lived?”
“I did part of my clinical internship rotations for my degree. I lived in Bushwick, in this tiny hellhole that should never have been rented to a human. The heat barely worked, the windows rattled, and the train shook the walls every time it went by.”
Nalani winces. “That sounds awful.”
“It was,” I laugh softly. “But after that ended, I went back to California to finish my last semester.”
“And found out you were pregnant,” she says gently.
“Yeah. I found out about a month after I got back.” My voice softens.
Nalani exhales like she feels every part of that with her. “You went through all of that alone.”
“I had my mentor and her partner. They’ve been a huge support,” I say. “I promise you we’re safe. Always.”
“You have the code, and you should share your location just in case.”
“I do, and I will.”
“You need things, so many?—”
“Bags packed and in our room,” I assure her. “Now go jump your man.”
We cross the bridge,and within minutes we’re pulling up in front of the Bridgeview Grand Hotel, and I can’t help but smile, it is stunning, of course it is. When I get myself and Savannah out, the bellhop empties the contents of the cargo space in the back of the vehicle and onto a luggage cart.
