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“If you’d heard his and Theo’s conversation earlier, you would say otherwise.”
Okay, she’s got me. “Fine, I’ll bite. What do you know? Not that I care…”
“Well, you know my fiancé has no chill. When Tate called to fill him in on what happened with Chad, he was making all these macho demands, telling him how it was going to be. I could hear him yelling through the phone.” She pauses to allow that to sink in.
“Impossible. No one tells Theo Monroe what to do but you.”
“Agreed. Yet Tate did. By the time they ended the call, Theo was on the phone, making all these said demands, threats, you name it. From what I could hear, he has his FBI buddies taking down the studio and putting it out of business. And if I’m right, he put in an offer to buy the building with the intention of turning it into a homeless shelter!”
What. The. Fuck?
God, I love Theo.
“He did all that?”
“Yep. So, whatever your man said tomyman, it must have been some serious stuff. And I don’t think a man with no feelings goes out of his way to do all that.”
Okay, I just got all mushy-gushy inside.
I look over my shoulder at Tate. His attention is on the television. He didn’t bother to pause it and wait for me, but he’s so obsessed that I’m far from mad. It’s too damn cute.
“Hey, I gotta go.” She starts to say something, but I disconnect the call and sit next to Tate, adjusting to face him. I wait for him to tear his eyes off the screen, which takes longer than I expect, and look at me.
“Everything okay?”
I move to straddle him, thankful he doesn’t stop me. “I’m just going to come out and say it, but first, I’m gonna do something and don’t want you to stop me. It won’t last long, but I need to do it.” Fighting past my emotions, I lean forward and press my lips to his.
“Mindy.”
“I know you said you don’t want this. And I respect that. I won’t put you in a position that jeopardizes your job. I just want to say thank you.”
“For what?”
“For the way you stuck up for me today. Throughout this entire fiasco, you’ve made me feel safe. Most of all, you’ve opened my eyes and made me realize I do deserve better. So, thank you.”
Time passes in long, drawn-out ticks, the silence heavy between us. Then he nods ever so slowly, and I blow out a breath.
“Great. Now that that’s out of the way, I’m deducting superhero points for you watching the show without me.”
The right side of his mouth curls. “I thought you’ve already seen it?”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s important to re-digest every detail now.” I break our connection and lean back against the couch, ignoring that my entire body is buzzing. “Tell me everything I missed.”
Getting comfortable, he rests his arm on the back of the couch. “Well, for starters, Rebecca is a bitch…”
Chapter thirteen
Tate
It’s close to midnight when she finally falls asleep, her body curled up on the couch, her head resting against my shoulder. I focus on the TV, but her words keep replaying in my mind. Regret burns inside my chest. My body’s reaction to the way she sashayed with such fire and beauty into Monroe’s office that day should’ve been my first cue to run.
She’s a force of nature I wasn’t prepared for. She was right; she doesn’t need anyone protecting her. She’s armed herself with a hard shell and owns it, but in those moments when she allows her armor to slip, the pain flashes in her eyes. The loneliness. At times, it feels like looking in a mirror.
We are more alike than I’d like to admit. Absent parents. A life we didn’t ask for. Like her, I’ve carried the burden of being alone. And I’ve never had anyone give me a goddamn speech like she did.
My chest became tight, and by the time she was done, I could barely breathe. And that kiss? It almost broke me.
I’ve never known what it’s like to need somebody so fucking bad it hurts. The way it keeps a man up at night aching for something he can’t have. She’s wild and sensitive. She radiates a spark for life. She has baggage. The last thing she needs is someone else’s added to it, and that’s all I have to offer. I’m a drifter. A man with a record and a dark past that haunts me daily. A nobody with his own pile of shit I refuse to bring to her door.
