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I stretch out dangling my legs over the arm of the chair and sink back into him draped across his lap. “Let’s see. You have a wood fetish. You would have loved my Utah tea. All wood pulp and thistle not tea.”
He laughs and says, “No. Guess again.”
I tap on his forehead and his fingers twirl my hair. It’s so intimate. “Hobbit walking stick.”
“Last guess. Come on. Have you known any sticks in your life?”
I sit up and he groans because I just smooshed his dick. I leap over to it and hold it above my head.
“Utah?!”
Zane says, “Duh.”
“That sucks.” I swing it around.
“Why?” He’s leaning over the chair.
“Because now you’ll forever be known as the most romantic fucking thing in our relationship. You fly across the world to talk to me. You keep sticks. What do I have to offer?”
“If you drop your pants right now and let me feast on you, we’ll call it even.”
And whip them off, letting them pool on the floor. “Can I hold the stick?”
Chapter 70
Cool. Fine. Everything is Fine
ZANE
Boston
We get into my car after another mind-numbing meal with people who say they love us, but don’t know us. We had sex last night but only because the families all had stuff to do. We had one night at home and we did almost nothing and then we rallied. I hate that we have to rally. Fucking and foreign countries, that’s what we should be doing. My father is better, not great but better.
“You good?”
“Sure,” she says.
“What’s that about? The face, the limp ass ‘sure.’” I mirror her voice.
She looks out the window and says, “We had dinner reservations. Just us.”
“I know. This had to take precedence. We got home late from PT and then everyone showed up and it snowballed. Thanks for hanging in there.”
I pull to a red light and glance over at her. She turns in her chair and I realize she’s wearing a gorgeous dress that suits her. It’s ripped at the hem where she caught it in the car door but she looks gorgeous. She’s been sitting in it this whole time waiting for me to notice and I didn’t.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
“Come on. Seriously. You look beautiful.”
“Thanks!” Her voice is flat. “Was that more enthusiastic for you?”
We drive in silence for a block.
“Kat, what the hell is going on?”
“I understand your father needs help and I’m all here for that. I’m not cold or callous but this is kind of a deep dive for someone who kind of just started dating you, but they think we’re more and us forcing intimacy and pretending we’re in this deep relationship when we’re actually trying to navigate a baby one. Fuck, I sound like a horrible bitch even saying this.”
