“They’re not supposed to, no.” He shifted to the side, blocking me from the view as if also offering himself as a just-in-case shield.“Not taking chances with you after what happened last time you were outside.”
We were shot at. How could I forget?“Sorry.” I peeked around him at the view. The outside reminded me of one of those thousand-piece puzzles. Too beautiful for the chaos surrounding us.
“Sounds like you guys are making progress in there.” I stepped away from the glass doors. “Almost like this is your job.”
“I’m feeling more and more out of my element by the second, to be honest.” He pulled the floor-to-ceiling curtains closed and turned to face me.
“Jet lag can do that.” My hands fell to my sides as I resisted setting them where they ached to be. On him. His face. Pretty much anywhere, as long as we were connected.
“I might feel off for another reason.” His husky words settled between us.
“Have anything to do with something or someone I know?” I lifted one innocent shoulder, a much better pianist than actress.
He sent me a lopsided smile, his dimple on display. “Maybe.” He reached for my waist and took me by surprise by hauling me against him. “It was taking everything inside me not to do this before. Not to hold you on that plane aside from one quick hug.”
I set my hands on his chest. His heart was beating as fast as my own.
“Are we erasing the wordafterfrom our minds for the time being?” I slid my hands up to the sides of his neck, brushing the pads of my thumbs along his stubbled jawline. “Hanging out in the moment?”
“May not be a good idea. Not sure I can go back to waiting until after if we do.” His fingertips tightened where he held my waist. Desperation to draw me even closer burned from his skin to mine, right through our clothes.
“The world is on fire,” I whispered, breathing him in. Absorbing every second of every moment with him while we had it. “All around us. And we’re standing in the middle of it.” And as it turned out, I didn’t need air outside—just air with him.
His gaze flicked from my lips back to my eyes. “I won’t let it touch you. You know that, right? I’ll put out every fire to keep you safe.” His voice hitched.
“Just not the fire burning between us, okay?” I swallowed. “I like that one.”
He brought his mouth to my ear. “And I like that one, too,” he whispered just as a voice called out from the living room, letting us know Trevor had arrived.
Chapter Forty-Five
Audrey
Alejandro untangled our bodies before anyone spotted us, then offered his apologies to Trevor about Eden when he joined us in my bedroom, then left the two of us alone.
My stomach and heart hurt watching him go, and I now knew I couldn’t wait until after to tell him how I really felt. My choice of the pink bag wasn’t good enough. He needed to hear it from me now, not later.
“Audrey.” Trevor’s use of my name drew my attention back to him as he pulled me into his arms.
“I’m so sorry about Eden,” I whispered as he held my head to his chest with one hand, keeping his other arm at my back. A broken sound I heard in his lungs came out as a gruff breath a beat later. “Everything will be okay,” I reassured him, trying not to break down. The last thing I wanted was him trying to comfort me. “Wewillget your sister back, I promise.”
“Mitch needs her, which makes her safe from danger right now,” he said in a strangled voice. “So, yeah, I know she’s going to be all right. And no trades happening, either.”
I stepped back, looking up at him. “I feel abutcoming.”
“More like amaybe.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “Riding here with Echo has me worried I won’t want to stop operating again after.”
That was quite a differentafterfrom the one I’d been discussing with Alejandro.
“I don’t want to upset you or Chase, though. I’m not even sure if it’s possible to pick up again and operate, but—”
“But maybe it is,” I said in understanding. “And you can be both a dad and a hero, you know. You were before.” I squeezed his arm. “I don’t get a say in what you do, but if you’re asking for my thoughts on it, I want you to be happy. If that’s operating, that’s operating.”
His shoulders fell. “Why are you so great?”
“I thought I was a pain in the ass?” I teased. “Always moody.”
“I was kidding about that.” He briefly closed one eye. “Mostly.” He rested his hand over mine. “Does he know we’re just friends? That we’re only going to be friends even in light of what we found out Mitch probably did to us?” His gaze moved to the open doors.
