Use your words.
“There’s something I want to say.” Not really, but hadn’t I decided this was the best course of action? Could I backtrack and ask him if I could just text him? Then I wouldn’t have to stare into his beautiful blue eyes while I gathered my wits about me.
Seriously, how could this man be so good-looking? Was it the warm gaze he studied me with? The brown skin that made me want to run my finger down the length of his forearm? Or was it the kindness in every single action? Then again, it might be those nerdy black glasses he broke out when his contacts irritated his eyes.
“Tell me. I’ll listen to anything you have to say.”
Which was probably why my heart beat as fast as one experiencing sinus tachycardia. My heart even palpitated, which surely wasn’t normal.
You’re not a cardiologist, so stop freaking yourself out and get this over with.
“Chris, I l—”
“Aunt Erykah!” Cheyenne yelled as she stomped up the stairs.
Chris and I both jumped and swiveled to look at the stairs.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” I tried to get my brain to switch gears. But I honestly didn’t know whether I was annoyed by the interruption or relieved.Probably the latter. See how your heart rate has already slowed down?
It was true, despite the scare Cheye gave me with her vocal cords working overtime.
“There’s something in the basement.”
Judging by that furrowed brow, Cheye would have deep lines in her forehead well before she hit middle age.
“What’s in the basement?” Chris asked.
“I don’t know.” She threw her hands up in the air. “You have to come there and look. What if it’s a monster?”
“Are you sure it wasn’t Charlie making a noise?” I asked. The dog snored louder than anyone in the house.
“He’s sleeping next to Ash. I checked.” She walked up to Chris and wrapped her hands around his arm. “Come on. Look.”
He flashed me a look that saidYou coming with?I nodded, trying to hold in a smile at the way he allowed Cheye to pull him to standing. I knew she didn’t have that much strength because she’d tried that maneuver on me, and I hadn’t budged.
“All right, we’re coming,” Chris assured.
“Aunt Erykah doesn’t have to. You’re the one with mus-kles.”
I slapped a hand over my mouth, my shoulders shaking as I held in the laughter.
“You meanmuscles?”
“That’s what I said.” She stopped midway down the flight of stairs and turned around, a finger on her lip. “Shh. We gotta catch him. He’s in the bathroom.”
“Oh. Right.”
Chris made a motion with his arm, but I couldn’t see what he did since I was behind them. I assumed he zipped his lips, and the thought had my mind cataloging all the ways Christian Gamble made my heart flutter. He was just so good.
Chris walked into the bathroom and flipped on the light. A winged creature fluttered and made some kind of noise. I screamed. Or was that Cheyenne? As if trying to figure out the same thing, she looked at me and screamed again. Higher. Longer. Then she lunged for me. I swung her in my arms and immediately went to the girls’ room. I hurried in, then shut the door.
“What was that?” Cheye asked.
I turned to stare at Ash, who hadn’t moved. How she slept through the screaming was beyond me.
“Whisper, ’kay?” I spoke in a low tone to Cheyenne.
“What was that?” she loudly whispered.
