“I don’t mind. I can wait.”
The slow drunk of infatuation fizzled into nothing as old habits shouldered their way to the front of Joe’s mind. He took a smart step back, out from under Cal’s hand, and gave his jacket a quick tug as though a careless fit would betray more than hewanted. For a moment Cal’s hand hung in the air, and then he curled his fingers to his palm and let it drop to his side. He looked amused as much as anything, his mouth tucked up wryly at the corner, but it was the detached smirk of someone who wasn’t surprised.
“Get rid of that.” Joe nodded at the bear as he straightened his tie, the lavender silk cool under his fingers. “Keep your mouth shut.”
Cal snorted as he bent down to get the bear. He shoved it roughly back into the envelope and then stuffed the package into the back of his jeans.
“Don’t worry,” he said as he backed up to lean against the sink. “I know my place.”
Joe gave him a frustrated look. It wasn’t like that. Still bad enough on its own, but not that. The urge to apologize, explain, or order caught in Joe’s throat at thesame time and stuck there. He didn’t know which would win, because Kristen swept into the kitchen before he could get anything said.
“What the hell, Joseph?” she demanded as she threw her handbag at him. The heavy, purple leather pouch bounced off his forearms as he raised them to guard his face. “You don’t get to dump me and leave the country. What was I supposed to tell people? Why wasIsupposedto tell them?”
Because he was a coward, Joe thought viciously. He tried not to look toward Cal, reluctant to see the guardedlackof expression on Cal’s face.
“Kristen,” he said as he put his hands in his pockets and straightened his shoulders. “This is unexpected.”
“I ran into her downstairs,” Edward said. He never spoke fast, but the measured cadence of his speech sounded more arch than usual.It was the sort of voice that thought it knew something you didn’t. “She came to find you.”
“I came tokillyou,” Kristen corrected sharply as she dragged her coat off.
It was a bad choice of words, under the circumstances.
