Page 256 of Romeo

I grinned as the second boot hit the floor. “You absolutely fucking do.”

“You have a very inflated opinion of your effect on me.”

“Accurately inflated.”

She made a dismissive little sound, but I could hear the smile underneath it. That was another thing the phone gave me. Fiona could type an eye roll with the best of them, but her voice betrayed her constantly.

I stretched out across the mattress and tucked one arm behind my head. “Besides, tonight I wanted the unedited version.”

“The unedited version of what?”

“You.”

Silence.

Then that breath again.

My eyes closed as a slow smile spread across my face. “See?”

“See what?”

“That.”

“I breathed, Jasper.”

“Not the way you did five seconds ago.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Sure, Ma Belle.”

She laughed softly. “You’re impossible tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“More than usual.”

“That sounds like a compliment.”

“It wasn’t.”

“Still taking it.”

The rustle of paper came through the phone, followed by the soft thump of what sounded like a book closing. I pictured her curled up somewhere, probably in bed, and the thought arrived with enough detail that I decided to check.

“What were you reading?”

“Nothing exciting.”

“Where?”

She hesitated.

There went my smile again.

“Why does that matter?” she asked.

“It didn’t until you took that long to answer.”