Page 32 of Weston’s Treasure

I was screwed. Heartbreak was in my future. It wasn’t a maybe, it was a definite. And I had a feeling the hole he’d leave would be huge and ugly and probably never heal. I should start my internet searches on cat rescues now, because no one would ever fill the hole he was going to leave. So cats were in my future, too. Lots of them.

“You have to know when you say stuff to me like that it scares me.”

“Why’s that, Silver?” he whispered.

“Because it feels so good, and when you take it away, it’s gonna hurt.”

I watched as Weston’s jaw ticked and with his face this close I couldn’t miss the irritation that flashed in his eyes.

“We’ll see,” he weirdly said.

“See what?”

“When you’re ready to take a chance and believe, I’ll tell you.”

“But—”

“You ready to take that chance?”

“I’m still thinking.”

“You let me know when you’re ready and I’ll explain. If you’re not ready to make that decision in the next thirty seconds, we’ve got people downstairs waiting to talk to us.”

No, I wasn’t ready to make that decision in the next thirty seconds, and maybe not even in the next thirty years. And as much as I didn’t want to talk to Alec and the guys, it was better than standing in Weston’s bathroom, with Weston’s hand still on my face, his thumb gently stroking my cheek, the touch muddling my head. Making me believe we could explore what he was offering. And I wasn’t ready to admit that, so I ignored it. Completely pretended I didn’t already trust him, I just didn’t trust myself.

“Let’s go talk to Alec.”

Instead of being annoyed I was jerking him around, Weston’s lips tipped up. Through a chuckle he mumbled something that sounded like ‘we’ll see’ and dropped his hands and stepped away. I lost his body but he didn’t give me time to ponder all the reasons I wanted it back because he was dragging me out of the room.

He didn’t drop my hand until we made it to the stairs. Part of me wondered if he was embarrassed to touch me in front of the guys but the bigger part of me was grateful.

When we hit the living room all conversation came to a screeching halt and five men swung their eyes in our direction. I felt like a zoo animal under their scrutiny. No one hid it, they were all openly staring at me. Chasin and Holden were smiling. Jameson and Nixon’s expressions were blank, but Alec Hall had a deep frown and he wasn’t hiding that, either. The man was pissed.

Awesome.

“You want coffee?” Weston leaned forward and whispered in my ear. And since he was standing behind me I had the pleasure of feeling his chest against my back. I do not understand why he did this. He wasn’t asking me something private. He also didn’t have to get close.

“Please,” I answered.

Then I understood, because with his lips so close to my ear, all he had to do was turn his face a skosh and he’d be able to kiss my cheek. Which he did. Right in front of everyone and no one missed it.

Alec’s face was the only one that registered the kiss. His scowl remained but he added narrowed eyes.

“Sit and I’ll grab you a cup.”

Weston’s hand went to the small of my back, a light, gentle, yet protective touch I liked a whole bunch. I liked what it said more than the feel of it. He had my back, he wasn’t going to let anything happen to me.

The gesture gave me enough courage to face off against Alec and the rest of the team—reminding me I was Silver Coyle—stubborn, independent, chock-full of attitude.

“Hi, Alec,” I greeted. “Nice to see you.”

The big man’s body jerked and his frown deepened.

“She’s serious with that shit? Hi, Alec. Nice to see you,” Alec scoffed.

I wasn’t sure who he was talking to or if it was anyone specific, but his response pissed me off.

“What is that supposed to mean?”