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Liv
“It’saboutdamntimeyouhadarealmantakecareofyou,”Verasays.
I adjust the phone on my shoulder and get comfortable on Luke’s couch. We arrived at Luke’s condo an hour ago after another trip in the helicopter. I just finished going over last night with Vera. Luke sits at the dining table with Mark as they discuss a security plan for me. A laptop and papers with cases of what Mark calls ‘security tech’ are spread across the table. Luke is wearing a t-shirt and jeans and trendy black plastic reading glasses I’ve never seen him wear before. He’s the sexiest nerd I’ve ever seen, and I’m going to make him keep them on later when I get him naked again.
“Have you thought about the long term? Just curious when we’re taking his yacht to Tahiti for a girl’s trip,” Vera asks and I laugh and shake my head.
“I’m taking it day by day. Focusing on Luke.”
“That’s smart. I bet he’s calling in his ties to the mafia to keep you safe from that asshole.”
A burst of laughter escapes me. “Pretty sure Luke is going to play by the rules.”
“That man would go to jail for you in a heartbeat.”
I scoff, but I can’t deny the truth in Vera’s words. Luke doesn’t have any ties to the mafia, but if it was the only way to keep me safe, he’d do it without question. I glance over at him and we make eye contact. He winks before returning his attention to Mark.
“How many orgasms did Luke give you?” she blurts.
“I lost count.” I bite my lip and giggle as Vera’s laughter floats through the phone.
“Hot damn girl. I would say I’m jealous, but…”
“How are you and Brando doing?” I chuckle at her lack of subtlety.
“Same boat with the losing count.”
I giggle. “Are you guys getting serious?”
She sighs. “Nope. We both acknowledge how good we are together, but neither of us wants to settle down. So we’re having fun and keeping our options open.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Yea, why wouldn’t I?”
“I’ve just never seen you this excited about a guy before. I thought things could be different.” She sighs, and I know she’s rolling her eyes.
“We’re not all looking for soulmates, Liv. I’m happy,” she says. Her tone is gentle, but I can’t help but wonder if she means that. It’s been so long, she might not know how to be in a relationship. Not that I’m an expert. Luke stands from the table and heads my way.
“I gotta go, but we’ll talk more later.”
“Ok. Have fun.”
I hang up as Luke sits next to me and rubs his hand over my thigh. “We need to go over your security protocols.”
I nod and we move to the dining room. He pulls my chair out for me and takes the seat next to me, pulling it close so our knees touch. He meets my eyes and lets out a breath as he rests his hand on my thigh again.
“We’re going to up our security game to make sure you’re never alone with Scotty again.” His nostrils flair. I take his hand and he settles a fraction.
“Let me see your phone.” Mark turns to a small black case and pulls out a thin sheet of clear plastic. He peels off a quarter-sized circle.
I hand him my phone and he places the sticker on my screen, pushes a few buttons, and passes it to me.
“Hold your thumb on the sticker.”
I do as he says, and the screen goes black, then flashes red. I release my thumb and the screen returns to normal. Their phones trill an alert signal.
“If there’s an emergency, like what happened last night, press on the sticker. It sends an alert to me, Jordy, and Luke.”
