“Maybe,” I grumble as he leads me downstairs to the shop, where Powers greets us both.
“As you can’t find your cell, I’ll message Powers if there are any issues, or you can call me on the landline, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll be back for our date.” He leans down and kisses me. “Be good.”
“I’m always good.” I sigh as I watch him leave. I plonk myself down in one of the chairs and pout before Powers hands me a bagel spread with cream cheese. “Thanks.”
“You okay?”
“Just trying to figure out what Midas Mc Sneaky pants is up to.”
He chokes on his bagel before wiping his mouth. “What do you mean?”
“He’s being kinda secretive, and he took my cell phone.”
“Are you sure you didn’t lose it?”
“I’m sure. I just don’t know why he took it or where he’s going today. I bet he comes back with it though. I gave him a nice out by pretending I left it at the clubhouse.”
“You don’t seem all that pissed,” he hedges.
I shrug. “At a guess, he’s having G put spyware or tracking on it. Gotta up his stalking game somehow.”
“I don’t know who’s more nuts, him or you.”
I look over at him as I swallow my next bite of food. “We’re normal when we’re apart, but when we’re together, we’re like bleachand vinegar.” I tag on when he frowns, “Toxic as fuck,”
“Wait, if it’s that bad, why do you guys want to be together at all?”
“Because we’re also explosive in all the best possible ways. I don’t know what to tell you, Powers. If I were an outsider looking in, I’d tell myself to run for the hills. But I know I’m not faultless in this. And the only time I like running is when he chases me.” I blow out a deep sigh.
“He’ll hurt me again. But I’ll hurt him too. And then, if we can get our acts together, we’ll heal each other. There is no one else that can do it, for him or for me. It’s Midas, or it’s nobody. For a little while, I thought being alone would be better. And yeah, in some way, it was, but there was always a hole where he should be. It never shrunk and never felt less gargantuan with time. It felt like a huge void in my life that I had to pretend wasn’t there while not falling into it. And now he’s back, all I want to do is kiss him. It feels like I’m stuck in the world’s most fucked-up game of Chutes and Ladders, and we’ve been forced to go all the wayback to the beginning of the game and start over. Neither of us is going to win. We’ll have to start over half a dozen times at least because we’re making it up as we go along. But if we lose, at least we’ll lose together.”
“So what you’re saying is prepare for fireworks.”
“See, I knew you were a smart prospect.”
By the time I’m all prettied up for my date, I’m a nervous wreck, which is ridiculous. I know Midas, and he’s not going to do anything to upset me, especially not now. So why my stomach feels like I swallowed a swarm of bees, I don’t know.
I smooth my hands over my dress, the one Midas liked so much in the changing room. I rest my hands on my bump and look at myself in the mirror. Am I really doing this? Dating Midas feels a little like stepping out into oncoming traffic, yet I can’t walk away.
I hear the door open, so I leave the bathroom and walk out to see him. I pause halfway across the room when I see what he has in his hands. I blow out a shaky breath and keep walking, his gaze scorching a path over my skin as he drinks me in.
I take the vase of seeded dandelions from him and place them on the kitchen island before taking a step back and finding him pressed against me. Turning in his hold, I look up at him before cupping his jaw. “Thank you.”
He moves to kiss me, but I twist at the last minute when I see the bandage on his neck.
“What happened?”
“Nothing, I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You have a bandage on your freaking neck, Midas. That’s not?—”
His lips cut me off, but only for a moment before he pulls back. “I promise. I’m not hurt. Let me show you.”
I nod and watch as he takes a step back and slips off his cut, handing it to me. I frown but keep watching as he tugs his T-shirt up and over his head, tossing it my way as well. That is when I see he has a bandage over his heart, too. I reach for it with trembling fingers, my hand pressing against his chest.
