Chapter Twenty-Six
Luke
We talked until dawn about everything and nothing, and by the time we fell asleep, not much had changed. Except everything had. We loved each other. It hadn’t been enough in the past, but perhaps it was now.
Mia’s alarm woke me an hour after we’d knocked out. I rolled over to a face full of her hair, and the never-ending night we’d spent together came floodingback in reverse order.
I opened my eyes to the memory of her broken expression when she’d come outside with the policewoman, and reached for her before comprehending the fierce urge to cage her in my arms and never let go. Her body moulded to mine, her curves fitting to my harder muscle, and I held her tight, breathing her in until she squirmed to turn off her alarm.
“Shit. I have to go.”
I nodded and didn’t try to stop her as she rose from the bed still dressed in last night’s clothes. “I’m coming with you.”
“Seriously? To spend your morning delivering flowers all over the county?”
“Yup.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
I absolutely fucking did. Even without the threat to her safety, the thought of being away from her for even a second did odd things to my heartrate. “Shut it, Amour. I’m coming.”
She smirked and left the room to use the bathroom while I changed my clothes.
When she came back, she had wet hair, and damn if my good intentions didn’t fly out the window. Since the night I’d slid my fingers inside her all those weeks ago, barely an hour passed when I didn’t think about how much I wanted her, even when we hadn’t been on speaking terms.Now things were kind of resolved between us, I was hotter for her than ever. Icravedher.
Mia laughed and wagged her finger. “Don’t go looking at me like that, matey boy. I’ve got work to do.”
“I’m not looking at you like anything.”
“No? So why do I feel like I’m naked already?”
Answering the question would’ve involved contemplating what I’d do if the situation was different.How I’d throw her down and make her scream. I didn’t have the self-control for those images right now, so I settled for a shrug. “That’s your imagination, not mine.”
“Whatever. Get in the bathroom. We need to go.”
Fifteen minutes later, we got in the scarred van and drove out of town to a stately home that had been repurposed as a swanky wedding venue. Sweeping driveway, landscaped grounds,it was the stuff of dreams if you cared about shit like that.
I didn’t, and the Mia I’d grown up with hadn’t either. As we pulled up at the entrance, I wondered if that had changed.
“Still awake?”
“Huh?”
Mia rolled her eyes. “You’re such a zombie without your eight hours.”
“Four, actually. I’m militarily trained to function on fuck all sleep.”
“Interesting.”
“Is it?”
She opened her door. “Yes. I want to know more about that part of your life.”
I couldn’t tell if she was serious, and she was out of the van before I could ask. I got out too and trailed her to the back, thankful we’d thought to spray the board blocking the broken window the same colour as the rest of the van. God knew what anyone around these parts would’ve made of us rocking up sportinga chipboard bodge job. “What do you need me to do?”
“Carry stuff.”
I could do that. I loaded up with boxes and followed Mia into the venue. We ditched our haul in the grand hall and went back for a second run.
