“Let me take a little of the stress off your shoulders.”
“How do you plan to do that?”
“Good food, good wine. Maybe a nice massage later?”
I let him pull me closer, my hand moving slowly over the front of his chest. “Why are you so good to me? I treat you like crap.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Sure I do. I’m always using you and then pushing you away.”
“Maybe that’s what gets me off about you.”
I shook my head because I didn’t believe him.
I brushed my fingers through his hair, tucking a piece of it behind his ear. “Don’t fall in love with me, Dante. I’m a hot mess. And I’m not ready to love anyone else.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know if I ever will be.”
“I know that, too.”
“And things are about to fall apart again.”
He buried his fingers in my hair, twisting my head so that he was looking right in my eyes. “Tell me what’s happening. Is it about Sam?”
Tears burned in my throat, but I’d made a promise.
“No.”
He knew I was lying. I could see it in his eyes. But he didn’t argue with me. He simply pulled me closer and kissed me. I melted as I always did, moving into his arms like my body was meant to be lost in his arms. He picked me up after a minute and carried me into the bedroom, his touch the only thing that kept me from quite literally falling apart.
Dinner burned, but we didn’t care.
I was lost in a dream, laying with Luke on the beach, whispering to each other about our future and the promises we once made to each other. But this little song—just three chords playing over and over again—drowned out his words. I rolled over and realized I wasn’t actually on the beach, but lying in my own bed in my own bedroom, dozens of miles from Galveston. And it was Dante’s phone that was playing that irritating little song.
I could hear the shower. And his phone was on the side table, ringing like it had every right to be there.
I reached over and snatched it up with the intention of just silencing it. But then I caught sight of the name and number on the screen.
Honeysuckle Nursing Home.
Honeysuckle…I knew that place. Luke’s mother lived there. He’d had to place her there five years ago when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He was her only family and it was the safest place for her while he was off saving the world with the CIA. As far as I knew, she was still there.
Why would Honeysuckle Nursing Home be calling Dante?
They left a voicemail, and I so wanted to listen to it, but his phone was locked with a passcode I couldn’t figure out before he turned off the shower. I put the phone back and rolled over, curling up against my pillows before he came into the room, sitting on the far side of the bed with just a towel around his waist. He picked up his phone and looked at me for a long moment. Then he got up and stepped into the hallway. I could hear his voice, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Then he was back, dressing silently. He bent to kiss my temple, then he was gone, the closing of the front door vibrating through the entire house.
Whatever they’d called about must have been important. Did he have a family member there? Or was he moonlighting, doing some sort of security for them?
I suddenly realized I knew almost nothing about Dante. I didn’t know if he had family, and if they were old enough to be in a place like Honeysuckle. But the man was from New York. Wouldn’t his family be back there?
It was…odd.
Chapter 7
Hayden
It was late when I knocked on Sam’s door. I’d stopped at home to change, feeling like a fool in the suit that I’d been wearing all day. And then I found myself sitting out in front of Sam’s condo, watching her shadow move over the windows, trying to get up the courage to do something I’d been dragging my feet on for much too long.
I wanted her. I’d wanted her for three years.
I don’t know why I waited so long, but I was regretting it.
“How do you plan to do that?”
“Good food, good wine. Maybe a nice massage later?”
I let him pull me closer, my hand moving slowly over the front of his chest. “Why are you so good to me? I treat you like crap.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Sure I do. I’m always using you and then pushing you away.”
“Maybe that’s what gets me off about you.”
I shook my head because I didn’t believe him.
I brushed my fingers through his hair, tucking a piece of it behind his ear. “Don’t fall in love with me, Dante. I’m a hot mess. And I’m not ready to love anyone else.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know if I ever will be.”
“I know that, too.”
“And things are about to fall apart again.”
He buried his fingers in my hair, twisting my head so that he was looking right in my eyes. “Tell me what’s happening. Is it about Sam?”
Tears burned in my throat, but I’d made a promise.
“No.”
He knew I was lying. I could see it in his eyes. But he didn’t argue with me. He simply pulled me closer and kissed me. I melted as I always did, moving into his arms like my body was meant to be lost in his arms. He picked me up after a minute and carried me into the bedroom, his touch the only thing that kept me from quite literally falling apart.
Dinner burned, but we didn’t care.
I was lost in a dream, laying with Luke on the beach, whispering to each other about our future and the promises we once made to each other. But this little song—just three chords playing over and over again—drowned out his words. I rolled over and realized I wasn’t actually on the beach, but lying in my own bed in my own bedroom, dozens of miles from Galveston. And it was Dante’s phone that was playing that irritating little song.
I could hear the shower. And his phone was on the side table, ringing like it had every right to be there.
I reached over and snatched it up with the intention of just silencing it. But then I caught sight of the name and number on the screen.
Honeysuckle Nursing Home.
Honeysuckle…I knew that place. Luke’s mother lived there. He’d had to place her there five years ago when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He was her only family and it was the safest place for her while he was off saving the world with the CIA. As far as I knew, she was still there.
Why would Honeysuckle Nursing Home be calling Dante?
They left a voicemail, and I so wanted to listen to it, but his phone was locked with a passcode I couldn’t figure out before he turned off the shower. I put the phone back and rolled over, curling up against my pillows before he came into the room, sitting on the far side of the bed with just a towel around his waist. He picked up his phone and looked at me for a long moment. Then he got up and stepped into the hallway. I could hear his voice, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Then he was back, dressing silently. He bent to kiss my temple, then he was gone, the closing of the front door vibrating through the entire house.
Whatever they’d called about must have been important. Did he have a family member there? Or was he moonlighting, doing some sort of security for them?
I suddenly realized I knew almost nothing about Dante. I didn’t know if he had family, and if they were old enough to be in a place like Honeysuckle. But the man was from New York. Wouldn’t his family be back there?
It was…odd.
Chapter 7
Hayden
It was late when I knocked on Sam’s door. I’d stopped at home to change, feeling like a fool in the suit that I’d been wearing all day. And then I found myself sitting out in front of Sam’s condo, watching her shadow move over the windows, trying to get up the courage to do something I’d been dragging my feet on for much too long.
I wanted her. I’d wanted her for three years.
I don’t know why I waited so long, but I was regretting it.
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