My gaze flickers to Nicholas. It’s hard to understand his reaction. Then he averts his eyes and focuses on Oliver.
That just seals it for me. Nicholas is not ready to learn about Adrian and why I need to find Raymond just yet, maybe in a month or two. What we have is too damn fragile to risk right now.
“Alright, can we at least go look at them again?” Matt relents.
Oliver turns to me. “You closing up any time soon?”
“Yeah, that was the last checkup. Ashley just left. Give me two minutes to clean this up.”
Oliver nods, and they walk out with Mickey. I turn to find Nicholas still standing near the entrance of the tent. “Youneed any help?”
“Nah, I’ve got this.” I sanitize the equipment and arrange it in its boxes while Nicholas stands there fidgeting.
“So the event looks like a success?” he says after a while.
“It was. I did around forty checkups. We’re expecting a huge boost in the number of clients. And the last time I checked the adoption numbers, we found homes for three kittens and five puppies.” I crumple the exam table paper.
“That’s so great. I’m so proud of you.”
I crunch the paper some more to stop the heat from traveling to my face at his words. This is so lame, just like everything else he does.
“And I don’t think I have said this before, but thank you for bringing Mickey to my life.” His voice gets closer with every word. “I’ve read the guy’s file. Mickey is happy now, all because of you.” He stops right behind me, our bodies almost touching.
My back heats up despite the small gap he’s left.
“I’m so confused about the whole thing, a little scared too, and very, very angry,” he whispers right into my ear.
I still.Of course, he’s angry. All I do is make his life complicated. I’ve cut him off from his friends, made him lie every day, and just when he thought he could breathe for a minute, I’ve brought a new problem into his life.
“I’m feeling a lot. But Elliot,baby, not because of you.Neverbecause of you,” he continues.
I wish I could believe him. I really do. I take a deep breath, fighting all the thoughts trying to overtake my mind.Not the right time or place, thoughts.
I turn and meet his gaze. “Only you can come into a tiny tent that reeks of wet fur and attempt to make it romantic.” I shake my head.
“Attempt? This is romantic. You’re overwhelmed with romance right now.” He snatches the crumpled paper from me and drops it into one of the garbage bags. Then pulls me into him.
I get on my tiptoes to meet his soft but eager mouthhalfway. When those lips get particularly demanding, I push him back. “This is gross.Youare gross.”
“But you love me.” He winks at me, sending my heart into overdrive.
I do. I so do, but saying it still makes me sweat. Like reminding the universe again and again would just challenge it to conjure up ways to fuck everything up. So, I do what I do best. Distract him.
I close the distance I’d just created and grab his hair, pulling him closer. This kiss is a statement. A plea. An apology. I try to channel everything I’d never say, hoping he’d feel it all.
He pulls me impossibly close until the whole world disappears. It’s just him and me, floating in the space we’ve created in this cruel reality. There are no killers or their sons. Just his tongue claiming my mouth. His taste overwhelming my senses. His heat shielding me from the world.
A loud clattering throws me back into reality. We’re still in the tiny blue tent, surrounded by medical equipment. And a smirking Sam. “Oops,” he says.
I look down at the set of forceps he’d dropped on the exam table
Nicholas lets me go, a glare aimed at Sam.
Sam raises his hand in surrender. “Rein it in, lover boy. They need Elliot to announce the winners.”
“I’ll be just a minute,” I stalk out of the tent because, unfortunately, we do have responsibilities. I have a business I need to keep running. And two killers I need to track. All of it so I can make life a little easier for Nicholas.
Oliver and Matt leave shortly after with their new Shih Tzu, who was, not surprisingly, chosen by Oliver, who was so completely mesmerized by the little pup that all his concerns were immediately squashed under the little paws.
