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“Ah, losing hurt that bad?” I tease him.
But he doesn't take the joke, instead, he stares directly at me. "Losing you, yeah."
A chill rolls down my spine, and my heart pounds harder at the intensity of those emerald eyes of his. “Well, here I am.” I try to make light of the situation. “Looks like you got what you wanted after all.”
“Not yet.” Simon winks at me and turns his attention back to his food. That feisty version of him returning and masking the vulnerable version he doesn’t let out often. “I said I’d wait forever if I had to. It’s only been a few months.”
But it’s been longer than that, more than half a year. And soon enough, it’ll be a full year, and at this rate, it’ll turn into two, or three. Who knows how long the guys will insist that Simon watch over me. Maybe long enough for them to figure out how to get rid of me without having to carry the guilt of it. Maybe their plan all along was to get me to fall for Simon and then make this look like it was my fault.
Or, maybe I’m being fucking paranoid and they really are busy with work and it has nothing to do with me. I only wish I could get rid of this nagging feeling thatsomethingis going on they aren’t telling me about. The suspicion continues to morph into irrational thoughts that eat away at me, and if something doesn’t change soon, I worry that the distance might cause irreparable damage between us.
“The shipments,” I say, bringing us back onto business talk. “I assume the routes are constantly changing, right? To avoid detection from the police or whatever.”
Simon downs some of his water and nods. “Yeah.”
“So then someone on the inside is tipping them off?”
“Has to be.” Simon points to my food. “You have two minutes to eat one of those or I’m coming over there and shoving it down your throat.”
I narrow my gaze at him. “Doesn’t that go against the whole protecting me thing?”
“I can’t protect you if you starve to death, love.”
“I’m not going to starve, you’re being dramatic.”
“You think I don’t notice, don’t you?”
“Notice what?” I swallow the lump that forms in my throat.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t do that.”
Simon reaches across the table and moves the basket of food closer to me. “Eat. The. Taco.”
“Tell me what you notice and I will.”
“I see everything. All the little and big things.” He draws in a breath and exhales. “And if you don’t eat that taco, you will witness me up close and personal.” Simon raises his brow. “Unless that’s what you want.”
“Fine, I’ll fucking eat it.” I shove half the thing in my mouth and with some of it hanging out, I ask him, “Are you happy?”
“Yep.” A smug look of satisfaction appears on his stupidly handsome face.
I chew the ginormous bite and swallow it down with a gulp of the Dr. Pepper. I burp, not caring at all how unladylike it may be, and eat the rest of the taco. I go to work on the other one, knowing damn well that he isn’t going to let me off that easy. I manage to choke half of it down and shove the thing across to him. “That counts, right?”
He pinches his gaze at me, assessing whether he’s going to accept it or not. Luckily for me, he does. Simon drags the basket toward him and eats the rest of my taco, licking the juice from his fingers when he’s finished.
I catch myself staring and do anything I can to avoid looking at him any longer. “If the guys are gone tonight…” The realization finally dawns on me. “Does that mean you’re stuck with me?”
“Stuck isn’t really the word I’d choose.” Simon cleans his mouth off with a napkin and drinks the rest of his water. “But yes, until one of them gets home. Although, I do have plans for us.”
I ignore the flutter of my heart. “Plans?”
“Mmhm. But it’s a surprise.”
"I hate surprises." Okay, that's a lie, I just hateknowingabout surprises. That weird limbo of anticipating what it could be drives me fucking insane.
“Too bad.”
