“Are you telling me or yourself?”
“Both.” She takes another step toward me. “Now?—”
“Are you really going to strike me?” I ask, cutting her off mid-sentence, not because I didn’t want to hear what she was about to say but because she hadn’t intended to finish the sentence.
“I was going to.”
“And now you’ve changed your mind?”
“How did you know?”
“It was only a guess.” The odds were high. “I need a date.” Her brows slightly pull together, and I know I caught her off guard.
“That’s lovely for you. Now move, and I will not repeat myself.” The date comment triggered her; I might actually get struck. I hear the other door open, but I don’t turn to see who it is. I know it’s Mac. “Maybe you should ask your doctor friend here to accompany you.” I can tell she wants to say more. I’m sure about a few other things she knows, but she cuts it off at that.
“Unfortunately, as you can see, my sister is working, so she won’t be able to accompany me.”
“I play second to no one. You have a death wish. You’ll be lucky if I let either of you live. In fact….” She trails off, what I said catching up to her. In her anger, she stepped too quickly. As much as I’ve seen how worked up she is over me, we can’t have her making missteps, not because of me.
“I would never ask you to play second.”
“You don’t have a sister.”
“I’m glad to know I have done so well in keeping her hidden.” I watch as her demeanor shifts.
“You’re protecting her.”
“I’m allowing her to choose how much she wants to be involved not only in my life but also in the world I often operate in.”
“I understand this.” She gives a slight nod. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“Same.”
“Yeah, sure. Same,” Bonte and Mac say from behind me. All of them are watching this play out.
“Can I see the MRI machine?” Mac asks.
“No,” Naomi answers before my sister can. I shift out of the doorway so that she can pass. I mean to let her, but my hand comes out, stopping her. I spread it across her stomach. She turns her head slightly and drops it back to meet my gaze. “What are you doing?”
“Only wanted to tell you that I’m glad you had a safe flight and that I missed you.” Her eyes search my face.
“You mean that.”
“I do.”
“Okay.” She nods at this; maybe the fight we’ve had is over. “You can kiss me again,” Naomi says. “That’s what lovers dowhen—” I don’t need further explanation. I lean down, pressing my mouth to hers.
The way her whole body softens as I pull her closer to me is addictive. When I slide my tongue across the seam of her lips and they part for me, I think I might have won the fight.
Not that I’d ever tell my sunshine that; we’re not there… yet.
Chapter Twelve
NAOMI
“It’s like we’re getting Cinderella ready for the ball.” Bonte is highly entertained by all of this, even if Eros did crash this trip. I’m surprised it took this long. It has also always been Mac, him, and me. I don’t want to push him out. He can’t help he was born with a dick.
He’s in the suite next door with kittens in tow. He dipped out when I started getting ready. As long as he doesn’t get in the way, I don’t care what he does. I have a new understanding for his obsession.
