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“Kyle, what are you doing here?” I ask softly, coming to a stop in front of him. I forgot how tall he is. I have to tilt my head back to meet his gentle gaze.
He raises his hand, a black, rectangular object held between his fingers. “Thought you might need this.”
“My wallet!” I’m thrilled for more than one reason. First, I don’t need to make the trip to the hospital to retrieve it, which will save me a fair amount of time, and second, Kyle went out of his way to return it to me, which has to mean something good.
“Yeah, I saw you putting your stuff away, and after you ran out of there in such a hurry, I realized you hadn’t gone back to get it.”
I grimace, embarrassment heating my cheeks. “Yeah...”
Kyle saves me from explaining. We both know why I took off the way I did. “I got your address off your ID. I would have had it to you sooner, but the holidays had me running all over. Anyway, I swung by this morning, but you were already gone. Your roommate, Bianca?” he questions, and when I nod, he continues, “Yeah, I remember you two were tight back in school. Anyway, she was, um, helpful.”
The way he says that, and the look on his face, makes me wonder what the hell my friend said to him. I don’t ask, though. Frankly, I’m a little afraid to know.
“We chatted for a bit, and then she told me I could find you here.”
“Oh cool,” I say, thinking about how hard I’m going to kick her ass later for not calling to warn me he was coming. That wench. I’ll have to figure out something to pay her back.
“Who is that guy, anyway?”
He’s looking over my shoulder, and I turn my head to see who he’s looking at. Ugh. It’s Travis. The little turd is hovering over Shelly’s—the receptionist—shoulder, pretending as if he has some serious business to tend to, but the way his eyes keep lifting to me and Kyle, it’s obvious what his true intentions are.
The eavesdropping asshat. If he thought that glitter bomb was bad...
“Oh, him. That’s my kinda-sorta boss. He lords over the office—mostly me. Total busybody. I’m not really sure what he does here, besides walk around making it a point to annoy everyone.”
“Hey,” Travis says, no longer pretending not to be paying attention, “I resent that.”
“And I resent you not minding your own business,” I reply with some merry snark. “Don’t you have some work you need to do?”
“I’m on a break.”
“When are you ever not?” I mutter, turning back to Kyle. I paste on a half-hearted smile and reach for my clutch. “Thanks for bringing this back—” Before I can take it from his hands, Kyle snatches it from my reach, tucking it behind his back. “Hey!”
“Oh, come on,” he says, his tone as bright as the smile he’s now wearing, “you didn’t really think I would make it that easy, did you, Sunny Sunshine?”
Oh God, that nickname. I used to hate it when he called me that.
Now I realize how much I miss it.
No one but Kyle ever called me by that name. It was something special between us. I forgot how much his face lights up when he says it. It certainly brings back some fond memories.
But I won’t be drawn in so easily.
“Kyle, I don’t have time for this,” I say sternly. “I really need to get back to work.”
“Actually, you’re due for lunch,” Travis ever-so-helpfully chimes in. “You two should check out that nice little deli down the block. You know the one, Sunny.”
Twisting at the hip, I shoot a glare at him. “Yeah, I know the one. Thanks so much for reminding me.”
Travis grins like the trifling goon he is. “Anytime, Sunny Sunshine.” He winks, making me want to snatch Shelly’s family photo from her desk and throw it at him.
A low, rumbling sound distracts me and, frowning, I look at Kyle. He’s shooting daggers at Travis, and that sound? It’s coming from him. He’s growling. Actually, legitimately, growling. Like a rabid animal preparing to attack.
“Hey,” I say, snapping my fingers in front of his face when he doesn’t immediately look at me. It breaks his intense focus and those baby blues turn my way. “What’s your problem?”
“No one calls you that but me,” he says, shocking me.
“I...well...okay...” I don’t know what to say to that. It’s as if he still believes he holds some kind of claim over me.
