He’d followed her on both before… and walked across pitched rooftops to find her when things had gotten to be too much.
He nudged her lawn chair with his toe.“All the amenities, too, I see.”
She spent enough time up here that she’d invested in a cheap lounger and plastic table.Nobody had needed to know.
“It’s my Shangri-La, baby.”
“Definitely a step up.”He tested out the sturdiness of a nearby utility box.Deciding it would hold him, he hopped atop it and let his long legs dangle.
“Still, it’s not all that safe up here, Rox.”
The corner of her mouth twitched.“It is when you’re carrying this.”
She produced her pepper spray from beneath the blanket she’d wrapped around herself.His eyebrows rose in surprise, but then he let out a laugh.
That soft chuckle made her press her legs together tighter.She hadn’t heard him do that for so long.He was the one who’d always had the easygoing personality, while she had the flash-fire temper.He was the one who’d made her laugh when times got tough.
She tucked the spray away and pulled the blanket up to her chin.Maybe a coat wouldn’t have been a bad idea… like a parka with two inches of down and fur around the hood.She was suddenly feeling way too exposed.
“It’s three o’clock in the morning, Roxie.Why aren’t you in bed?”
Because it had been a big night for her, and that bed was so damn empty.
And he had showed up.
Take your pick.
“Are you drunk?”she asked.
“I’m feeling it,” he admitted.“You?”
She pursed her lips, gauging her inebriation.“I’m a bit tipsy.”
He raked a hand through his hair.The breeze was already ruffling it, making it look so soft and thick.She squeezed her hands together and flinched when she nearly triggered her pepper spray.Tucking it against her hip, she tried to find a better place to settle her hands.
“I’m sorry I tried to hit you earlier.”She’d already apologized for that, but somehow, she didn’t think it had stuck.
“I appreciate you pulling your punch.”
“I was protecting my sister.”
“That’s a good instinct to have.”
She rolled her head along the plastic headrest.He looked so sexy just sitting there atop that big metal box, all tough in that leather jacket, but so approachable with his baby face and rock-hard body.With the bluish light cast all around them, everything seemed provocative.
“They’re curious about you,” she whispered.
“I’m curious about them.”He flicked a rock off the utility box, and it skipped along over the hard roof surface, ticking aloud with every bounce.“What’s it like?”
“Seeing myself?Weird.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Roxie pressed her chin into her blanket.He meant having family.Blood relation.“Weird,” she repeated.
“Do you feel different?”
“In some ways.”She felt more grounded than she had in a long time, but if she were to admit the truth, she wasn’t content.She wouldn’t feel whole until she found out why they had been given up.
