He stepped even closer. “I don’t think you’re catching my vibe, sweet Ava.”
I waved my hand at him. “You can drop the ‘sweet’ moniker. It’s nice and all, but I’m not—”
He gently tugged at a lock of my hair. “It’s who you are to me. My sweet Savannah, who underestimates herself.”
My gaze darted to a point behind him and back to him. “I don’t underestimate myself.”
“You’re not paying attention,” he said, edging closer.
I nodded. “Yes, I am because you’re being so extra, as Cat says.”
He stared into my eyes for a beat. “Pronouns matter, Savannah.”
“Okay. I mean, I heard you—”
“Mysweet Ava.”
A tingle shot through me. “I’m not yours.”
His brow ticked up and down. “Not yet.”
I froze. “What do you mean, ‘not yet?’”
“Do you want to be mine?”
Was he being serious?
He said, “I’d like to be yours.”
My eyes widened. “Don’t lie to me. You’ll lose your job… and your patch.”
He shook his head once. “Won’t lose my patch, and I care more about you than my job. I can find another job. I can’t find anotheryou.”
I put a hand on my hip. “Punc, you don’t mean that. The dancers love you and say nobody’s better at dealing with the rowdy assholes than you are.”
He put his hand over mine at my hip. “I can train my replacement. There’s a lot on your plate, so give it some thought.”
“What about Alanis? She’s my rock and has been for as long as I can remember. No way am I doing something that jeopardizes my friendship with her.”
He gave my hand a squeeze. “She already ripped into me at the hospital weeks ago. Told me not to jack you around. It pissed me off that she’d think I’d do that.”
I bit back my grin. “She’s a great friend that way.” Another thought hit me. “She’ll be the same with me about you.”
His chin sunk toward his neck. “No, she won’t.”
I tilted my head. “She will because she loves you far more than you realize.”
He rested his hands on my shoulders. “You don’t understand. I won’t let her say shit like that to you. Nobody’s making problems for you. I’m eliminating as many of your problems as I can. And I candefinitelykeep my sister from being a problem here.”
“That’s sweet - if heavy handed - but you can’t promise that.”
“I just did. Are you going to bed soon, or what?”
I nodded. “Right after I shower. I’ll lock the door after you.”
His eyes widened. “After what your sister said, I’m spending the night. I’m not leaving you two alone in this house,” he said, his tone so firm it was solid.
I opened my mouth to argue, but between his tone, his stance, and the determination in his eyes, he wasn’t going to relent on this.
