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The air was thick with heat in the small space, and Nick coughed.
“Here,” Mulberry handed him a water bottle.
“Thanks.”
And then the mood deflated. Mulberry rested her head against the window.
She looked so forlorn that he had the urge to buy her a puppy.
No, a puppy would make him happy. Grinning, he made a sharp left out of the downtown core and started driving through the suburbs.
“I hate that people are suffering because of me. Like my aunt.”
“It’s not because of you. It’s because of your mom.”
She glared at him. “My mom works hard! She’s never had any drama until the kidnapping.”
“Yeah, I know she works hard, and she keeps a low profile, but Mulberry, she’s still a celebrity, and people feast on celebrities, and your aunt didn’t want to be feasted on, which is her right, but it’s the side effect of your mom being an actor.”
“Feasted, like they are cannibals?”
“The media? They kind of are.”
“Where are we?”
“The suburbs. Ever been this way?”
“No. I just wanted to go home.”
“I know, but I wanted to show you something.”
Her pink berry lips curled up in a smile. “Really?”
“Yes, why do you look so surprised?”
She didn’t answer. Instead texted on her phone furiously.
“The minute I think you like me for real, you act all growly towards me,” Mulberry said, putting her phone away. “You don’t make people comfortable.”
Okay, he could see her point. But he thought they had established a good routine together.
He’d take her out, they’d get their photos snapped by the press, then she’d drag him along to one of her things, like filming with her mom. Or like this thing with Growing Threads today. When they were in his condo together, she spent most of her time in the bedroom, and he went into his tech room.
“You’re not the first person to say I make them uncomfortable. I just don’t like you if I don’t have anything in common with you.”
Mulberry laughed so hard she snorted.
Nick couldn’t help but grin. “That must narrow it down to a handful of people.”
“Yes, it does. There are tech guys I like and the Bandit Brothers, my bosses Xander and Ares and a few people at work. Yep, that’s pretty much it.”
“And you still don’t like spoiled rich girls?” She hurled the words, and it made his jaw clench.
He wanted to tell her that he liked this spoiled rich girl, and he didn’t think she was all that spoiled but the words stuck in his throat.
“You aren’t as stuck up as I thought,” he finally uttered.
Mulberry patted his knee. He wanted to grab her slender fingers and keep them there, take her hand and show her how rock hard she made him.
