“People are just—” I press my lips together, then let out a breath. “—mean.”
“Someone was mean to you?” The frown he’s wearing deepens as his eyes roam my face.
“No, just some drunk idiot being an idiot.” I let out a breath. “I took Harris and Molly to dinner downtown tonight, and when we were leaving, Harris bumped into a guy, causing him to spill his beer down his shirt, and he called Harris a—” I cut myself off, because I can’t repeat that word. “Anyway, it was just upsetting.”
“I can see that,” he says, and even though I shouldn’t, I like that he looks as angry as I feel. “I wish I would have been there.”
“Me too,” I say without thinking, and he looks surprised. Clearing my throat, I take a step back from him, and he lets me go. “I need to get my bag.”
“I’ll get it.” He opens my door, grabbing my keys and purse, then places his hand against my lower back.
When we reach my front door, I remember he was here when I got here, and I didn’t let him inside. “Did I leave the door unlocked?”
“No, I have a key.”
“Of course you do.” I laugh, shaking my head, then slip off my shoes so I can carry them upstairs. “So did you get everything in Vegas taken care of?” I ask, even though I’m not sure what exactly it is he was doing there.
“No, that’s why I came back early—to convince you to go back with me in a few days.”
“What?” I stop and turn to face him as my heart pounds.
“I don’t like you being here and me being there,” he says easily as he places my bag on the counter in the kitchen, and I stare at him, swearing I hear the thud when my jaw lands on the floor. “We won’t be gone long. Maybe a week tops.”
“You want me to go back to Vegas with you?”
“I do.” He crosses his arms over his chest and leans his hip against my island. “Do you think you can get some time off in the next couple of days?”
Could I? Absolutely. But me flying to Vegas and staying with him in his home seems… well, it seems huge, like something people who’ve been together for months would do. “What’s the look on your face mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know what the look means? You don’t know if you can get time off, or you don’t know if you want to come home with me?”
“I’m getting a cat,” I tell him instead of asking him the question on the tip of my tongue, that being—what the hell is going on between us?
“You’re getting a cat?”
I lick my lips and nod. “My sister July is a vet. I don’t know if I told you that before.” He shakes his head. “Well, she is, and when she was over at dinner yesterday, she convinced me to adopt a kitten that was dropped off at her office.”
“All right, so we’ll take it with us.”
“What?”
“We’re flying private, and as far as I know, there aren’t any rules about taking animals across state lines.”
“You’re serious?”
“I wouldn’t suggest it if I wasn’t.”
I study him for a long moment, then bite my lip. Maybe this doesn’t need to be a big deal. Maybe I need to quit trying to put a label on us, just go with the flow, and stop trying to complicate things. Maybe I should just have fun and let whatever is going to happen, happen.
“Okay.”
“Yeah?” He pushes away from the counter and prowls toward me, his eyes darkening as he gets closer. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”
“Was it?”
“Yeah.” He kisses me soft and sweet while one of his hands tangles in my hair, the other going down to cup my ass. “I thought I was going to have to do more to persuade you.”
“How did you plan on doing that?” I sound breathless even to my own ears.
“I didn’t really have a plan.” He kisses down my jaw, then nips my neck. “I just knew I wasn’t leaving without you.”
“You weren’t?” My heart feels too big for my chest.
“Fuck no, I’ve missed you these last couple of days,” he says, and my hands find their way to his shoulders, my fingers digging into his flesh.
“I’ve missed you too.” I laugh as he lifts me off the ground, then dumps me over his shoulder. “What are you doing?” I hold onto his waist as he carries me up the steps to the second floor.
“Going to show you just how much I missed you.” He squeezes my ass, and I close my eyes, hoping like hell this isn’t too good to be true.
Chapter 10
April
WITH THE SUN casting shards of light around the edge of the blinds in my bedroom, I lie awake, listening to the sound of Maxim’s heart’s steady beat. Having him back with me last night meant I slept like I haven’t in days. I missed him more than I let myself realize. I missed waking up to him, being held by him, his presence in my space, and the way he makes me feel.