I stifle an instinctive response offamily sucks. I have Zen and I have Mimi and I know family can be great.
But when I think of my siblings and my parents and the rest of my nieces and nephews,family sucks.
When I think about my business partner and newly former best friend,family sucks.
But this woman—Duchess—has family that she loves enough to feel bad for hurting, no matter how good her intentions.
Her hair lifts in the breeze, and it’s instinctive to tuck it back behind her ear for her.
Soft. So soft. And deliciously curly.
I want to sink my hands in it and twirl it around my fingers and grip it while I kiss her.
She sucks in a breath but doesn’t pull away. If anything, she leans closer. “You shouldn’t be nice to me. I hurt people who are nice to me.”
“We all do.”
“Not like this.”
“You’re being very hard on yourself for someone who went out of her way to do nice things for dozens of people and animals tonight.”
“That’s not enough to make up for what I did.”
There’s so much more to her story, and I want to hear it. I want to hearallof it. “If it helps, I’m a disaster myself. Helping me is a bigger burden than you could ever imagine.”
Her lips tip up again. “You arenot.”
“Oh, I am. I thinkI’myour biggest good deed tonight.”
“Youwantto be my biggest good deed tonight.”
“Guilty. But I had a shitty day. Wouldn’t I be a good good deed?”
“My high school English teacher would have a field day with that sentence.”
“See? I’m trouble. I need good deeds done to me.”
She laughs again.
And then she shrieks and leaps to her feet, swatting at her hair and spinning in a circle. “Get it offget it off!”
Behind us, a cat yowls and takes off into the night.
“What—” I start, vaulting to my feet as well.
“Get it off!”
“Get what off?”
She’s dancing in a circle, shaking her fingers through her hair. “Bug! Lizard!Lizard bugin my hair!”
“Hold still. Let me see.”
“I can’t hold still! Creepy crawlies.Creepy crawlies!”
I grab her by the shoulders on her next circle around. “Duchess. Let me see.”
“It was—wait.Wait. Was that a cat? Was that afreaking catplaying with my hair?” She quits fighting and looks up at me, her hands dropping away. “Tell me that was a cat playing with my hair.”
