Interesting.
“So I’ll pack, then we’ll go to yours and pack you up, then head to the airstrip. They will drop us at Brook.”
“That’s hardly a bus ride, Newman.”
“Sure, but they’re dropping stuff to Tex in Brook, so not a detour after all.”
“Why is it you’re not listening to me? How hard is it for you to understand that I don’t want or need your help? Seriously!”
“No, I got that actually. But here’s the thing, Hope.” Newman turned her and gripped her shoulders. “Something’s off with you at the moment. I’m not sure what, but my take is creepy Jay has done you over good. So come back to Howling and regroup.”
She blew out a breath in frustration and it smelled of lemon and honey, a surprisingly erotic combination. Who knew?
“I’ve got this,” she said with very little strength in her words. “I’ve been handling my problems for years, I don’t need anyone’s help.”
He found a small mole, just above her left eyebrow. It was barely noticeable unless someone was standing as close as Newman was. He wondered if anyone else had ever noticed it, besides her family.
“I’m not going back, Newman, and you can’t make me.”
He planted a kiss on her lips because he couldn’t not.
“That took me back to grade school.”
“Don’t kiss me again,” she snarled.
Newman smiled. Once in his room, she watched as he packed.
“You sure you don’t want to press that stuff before you put it in your Hermes travelling case? Maybe you should do up all the buttons on those shirts, it would help keep them all the same shape and size.”
“I like to be neat, so shoot me.”
She laughed. The first real one he’d heard.
“You’re neater than my grandmother used to be, and that’s saying something.”
“When did she die?”
“When I was six.”
Her words were flat and cold, telling him it was a painful subject. So her father had left and her grandmother died in the same year. Couldn’t have been an easy time for anyone in the Lawrence household.
“Why am I standing here watching you?” Hope turned for the door. “I’m done with this, Newman. Seriously, I can’t believe I’ve let you do what you have so far. Dress me, and then feed me. That’s not like me. Maybe I hit my head last night.”
“You step another foot in that direction, and I’ll take my favorite Louis Vuitton belt and tie you down with it.”
She made a huffing sound but didn’t move. Newman finished his packing, then pulled up the bedcovers.
“Why are you doing that when they’ll change it anyway?”
He shrugged. “It’s nice for the staff to see it neat.”
“I can’t believe you do stuff like that.”
“Not all of us live like a sloth.”
“I just don’t live like a soft pretty boy.”
“I bet those homespun sheets pill real bad.”
