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Her brows move closer together as she analyses the words, unpicking them for meaning. And I explain in a way I’ve never done before. ‘I represent assholes, Olivia. I work for them—I work on their behalf. But I’m not one of them. I will not be like them.’
Am I imagining the tears that make her eyes shimmer in the darkness of the hotel suite?
She nods and then her lips find mine. ‘I know,’ she says at the moment we kiss. She pulls me back with her and I can no longer resist. I lay my body over hers, my mouth claiming hers, my need great.
She knows. She understands.
That makes something inside me explode.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DAWN LIGHT FILTERS through the hotel window, bathing Connor’s torso in golden stripes. I push up on my elbow to see him better, studying the way his chest moves with each breath. His face is so peaceful like this; he’s asleep, and contented.
I’m glad he stayed—that we stayed.
I like sleeping beside him, waking up beside him.
My phone buzzes and I lurch for it, swearing under my breath as it buzzes again. Connor stirs. I turn my back on him and flick the screen open, to see my sisters are already messaging, despite the earliness of the hour.
It’s like this, in our family. Lunch on Sunday isn’t enough; we have to be in contact with each other all the time. A smile twitches on my lips as my oldest sister recounts the story of her commute. Another message fires in, and another, and I turn my phone to flight mode then settle back against the pillows.
‘Morning.’ His voice is gravelly, better than coffee.
I pull a face as I look at him. ‘Did I wake you?’
‘Yes.’ He snakes a hand out and catches my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. ‘But I’m glad. What time is it?’
‘It’s still early. You should go back to sleep.’
He arches a brow. ‘Should I?’
‘We were up late...’
‘I remember.’ His grin makes my stomach flip and flop like I’ve stepped off a cliff. ‘Who was buzzing you?’
‘My sisters.’
A pause as he assimilates this.
‘Are you close to them?’
I frown, pleating the sheet between the fingers of my spare hand. ‘Yes and no. I’m the youngest, by several years. They’re all protective of me. I think it’s hard for them to see me as an actual grown-up in my own right. I’m twenty-five but you’d think I was still fifteen if you could hear the way they are with me.’ I roll my eyes. ‘But it’s just because they love me and they worry about me.’
‘That sounds kind of nice.’
Sympathy nudges into my heart. He’s alone. He has been for a long time.
‘My oldest sister actually offered to live with me while I was at LLS. To cook for me, help out. Keep an eye on me.’
‘She’s a vascular surgeon?’ He hazards a guess.
‘Paediatric. Close.’
‘And she wanted to look after you?’ He’s teasing.
‘I know, right? She works insane hours—I think I would have ended up looking after her.’
He grins. ‘You’d do an excellent job of that, Miss Amorelli.’
