I’m about to ask where, but he’s in my space with his arms around me before I get the chance.
My brain short circuits at the contact.Ellis-freaking-Wilder is hugging me.And even worse, I lean into him, soaking every drop of the comfort he’s offering.
How a simple hug and some soft words from a man who hates me on most days can soothe my soul, I’ll never know.
Safe to say this hug—everything about us, really—is anything but simple.
The sound of the front door opening has us jumping apart like two polarizing magnets.
“Hello,” Nora singsongs as she flounces into the kitchen.
“Oh, you’re home,” I stammer, taking another step away from Ellis, all but flattening myself against the wall.
“I couldn’t stay away another second,” Nora confesses, causing me to smile despite the turmoil rocketing though me.
“She’s not lying,” Atlas adds, his face giving away nothing, but his voice is warm with love. “She even asked if we could come home around midnight. I convinced her everything was fine.”
They exchange one of those loaded looks only couples deeply in love are capable of.
“And by convinced me, he means he showed me the camera feed approximately a hundred times.”
“Ca-camera?” I choke, my eyes flying around the room in search of it. Sure enough, there’s a little blue light flashing on the bookshelf.Can this morning get any worse?
“Yup,” Atlas says popping thep, his lips curling up into what can only be described as a shit-eating-grin. “I’ll admit, I always thought Nora was exaggerating when it comes to the two of you, but y’all sure looked cozy last night. Intimate, even.”
Deny, deny, deny.“I don’t have the faintest idea of what you’re talking about.” I suck in a deep breath and tap my index fingers against my thighs five times before slowly exhaling.
“Other than the two of you”—he lifts his brows—“you know, was everything okay? No… trouble?”
Now it’s Ellis and me exchanging looks—not the same kind as Atlas and Nora, thank you very much. “Um…”
“Don’t like the sound of that,” Atlas growls, low and lethal. “Someone better explain and in a hurry.”
“It’s just…” I interlace my fingers behind my back as I rock on my heels, enough nervous energy running through me to power a lighthouse. “I?—”
“She freaked herself out thinking she heard something outside,” Ellis lies smoothly. “I checked, there was no one. It was probably just a racoon or branch scraping the house.”
“Yup.” I force a laugh, wondering why on earth he’s not telling Atlas about the note. My brain is spinning like a top as I struggle to make heads or tails of all of this. “You know me, such an overactive imagination.”
“I think you just thrive on drama,” Ellis unhelpfully adds, winking at me over Atlas’s shoulder.
Atlas snorts, and I decide it’s time to go—if only to keep myself from spilling the beans. “I hope y’all had the best time,” I say to Nora, who’s now holding James on her hip while she wipes his hands and face. “I have a lot to do today, so I’m gonna head out.”
“Lunch this week?” she asks.
“Sounds good.” I cross to her and give James some love before grabbing my bag and hoofing it out the front door without so much as a goodbye.
I want nothing more than to hightail it home, but when I crank my car, I’m quickly reminded I need gas—and caffeine since I ran out of Nora’s house without a drop of coffee.
Luckily, there’s a gas station right before the highway, where I make a quick stop, filling up before running inside for an energy drink and a muffin. Weird as it is, they get them day-old from a local bakery, and I am obsessed with the banana nut.
“That it?” the clerk asks.
“Breakfast of champions,” I murmur, tapping my card before heading back out.
I set my drink on the hood of my car so I can open the door, but someone calls my name before I can open the door.
My heart thunders in my chest as I crane my neck, scanning the parking lot for whoever yelled for me
