Page 68 of Sterling Stone

“What about you? Who do you look like?”

“All my siblings and I have varying shades of blue eyes. We get them from our mother. The dark hair was all Dad.”

Taxi hums. “I think you look like a Stone.”

I chuckle. “Hence, the color beige should not be ironic.”

Taxi hums again, almost purring as her gaze lowers to my uniform. “The color is growing on me.”

That’s all I want. Her to accept me, be comfortable with me.

The longer she stares at me, those pretty eyes zeroed in, and her lips puckered upward just a smidge, the more I want to lean over this meager lunch and kiss her. Take those lips again and remind her of that moment we shared.

Then again, we’re making new moments. Navigating who we are right now, not who we were fifteen months ago.

She reaches over and traces the badge on my chest. Running her finger along the edges, outlining the star. My heart hammers beneath the emblem, and I capture her hand once again, flattening her palm over the six-point metal.

With my other hand, I reach for her upper left chest and trace a star against the T-shirt she’s wearing.

“I, Stone Sylver . . .”

She stares at me.

“Do solemnly swear . . .”

Taxi’s eyes latch on mine.

“To wear another color, other than beige, sometime soon.”

She bursts out laughing, and I release her hand, confident that my real oath was to make her smile for an hour, distract her from all the worries outside her control, and give her some fresh air.

“Eat your lunch, Tallulah Alexander.” I wink.

“Yes, sir.” She chews at her lower lip, keeping her gaze steady, but those pretty eyes . . . they are as playful as the first night I met her.

Absolutely arresting.

And I’m in danger of my heart getting caught by a thief.

25

[Taxi]

Iwasn’t exactly convinced I should attend a Sunday dinner at Stone’s home. The day sounded important and full of family time, but Judd didn’t allow me to excuse myself any more than Stone did. Judd picked me up when he came to Trudy’s to gather more clothes for Simon.

The Sylver family collectively is loud and loving, and a bit overwhelming. Handsome men with beautiful women and gorgeous children. But their presence was more than eye candy. They were genuine and honest people. A quip of banter was met with an equal match of funny puns and teasing insults. They appeared to really like being in each other’s company and reminded me a little bit of my younger days at Trudy’s home. The original house overflowed with kids and imagination because we’d known worse days. Being together felt better.

My anxiety was bubbly when I first thought about the day. Not like Stone and I hadn’t been spending a ton of time together, but this was his time. His family time.

He’d been driving me to the hospital and sitting beside me. Feeding me dinners and giving me an escape, and I didn’t want to encroach. I should give the man a break from me.

But the second I arrived, his instant smile put me slightly at ease.

This reunion at his home was nothing like the first time I arrived here. When I didn’t know my Samson and Stone Sylver were one and the same, and my angry heart was still . . . angry.

Now, a strange giddiness overcomes me at seeing Stone in his element. Making certain everyone has a drink. Setting up the grill. Quietly smiling while his brothers tease each other, or him.

“He’s good with his meat,” his brother Knox teases.