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“Oh, the way we left things the other night…I…”
“Emily, don’t you know me better than that by now? If I say I’m going to do something, I do it.” He steps closer and rests his hands on my shoulders. “Kiss me.”
I raise up on tiptoes and press a quick kiss to his cheek.
“Better,” he says, pulling me closer and capturing my mouth for a longer kiss.
I lean into the kiss and wrap my arms around his waist. God, he feels so solid and perfect against me. I break away and smile up at him. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” He tucks my hair behind my ear. “Missed you.”
“Missed you too. Think you’ll be over later?”
He groans. “I’ve got a ton of stuff to do to get ready for this trip. We’re all running ragged trying to tie up loose ends and get coverage at some of our businesses.”
“Anything I can help you with?”
His troubled expression softens. “No, but I appreciate the offer.”
“How can I not? You’ve been such a big help to me getting Libby to school so I’m not late for work.”
“I hate that I’m gonna be gone for so long and won’t be here to help you.”
“Me too. You’ve spoiled me.” I reach up and give him another kiss on the cheek.
He nuzzles against my hair, breathing me in as if he wants to commit my scent to memory for his trip. “Serena’s coming up to spend a few days with you, right?”
“Yup. She and Libby have plans to go prom dress shopping.” I frown and tilt my head. “I’m not sure if I’m even invited.”
He lifts his eyebrows. “Is she going with someone?”
“Yesss, why?”
“When is it?”
I can sense where this is going. “Still weeks away.”
“Hmm. I’ll make sure I’m here for that.”
Shaking with laughter, I lean against his chest. “You’re so predictable.”
“Hellll-ooo!” Libby shouts. “It’s not getting any earlier!”
He joins in on my laughter. It feels so good after all the tension of the weekend.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“No problem.” He leans down for one more quick kiss, then jogs back to his truck.
“Let’s ride!” He slaps the hood as he passes it.
“Finally!” Libby laughs and waves goodbye to me through her open window.
How did I allow myself to depend on him so fast? Is it fair to him?
Still questioning myself, I slide into my car and head to work.
DEX
After dropping Libby off, I stop by my apartment to exchange the SUV for my bike and ride straight to Crystal Ball. At least if I’m here early no one will be around to bother me. Hopefully. These days, I never know.
I spend most of the morning downstairs moving inventory and straightening things out. By noon, I head upstairs. I clean the cobwebs off my hands and sit behind my desk.
My laptop’s taking it’s sweet time loading when someone bangs their fist against my office door.
“Knock, knock.” The door to my office swings open, and Jigsaw’s big frame fills the space. His mouth pulls into a smile that looks more sinister than pleasant. Then again, it usually does.
“What have I done to anger the universe today?” I groan, sitting back in my chair, but waving my hand for him to come in.
“Please.” He touches his fingers to his chest. “I’m the brightest part of your afternoon.”
I huff out a laugh. “That might actually be true the way things have been going around here lately. What’s up?”
“You got time to run out to Cedarwood’s with me before this place opens?”
I glance down at the stack of invoices on my desk and shrug. Not like they won’t be waiting for me later and it sounds like Jiggy needs help now. “Yeah, what’s going on at our friendly little funeral home?”
“Margot asked if we could help her move some heavy stuff.” He lifts his arm, flexing his muscles.
“Seriously?” Guess my workout this morning was just a warm-up.
“Hey.” He holds his hands up in the air—the picture of innocence. “Rock says keep her happy. Teller was supposed to go with me.” The smile slides off his face. “But Charlotte wasn’t feeling well, so he wanted to stay close to the house.”
“Shit. She okay?”
He shrugs. “I didn’t want to ask a bunch of questions. Just told him I’d handle it.”
“I found the one brother who isn’t nosy?”
Jiggy shrugs. “I assume it’s pregnancy-related and hearing that shit makes my dick want to shrivel up and fall off.”
“I hope you didn’t say that to Teller.”
“Of course not.” He scowls. “So can you help me or not?”
“You know I will. Give me a second to finish up here.” I shut down my laptop and stand. “Wait a second, she doesn’t need us to move bodies, does she?”
He shrugs. “Not like we haven’t done that before.”
“Good point.”
We ride side by side through Slater County to the small town of Pine Hollow. I get why Teller brought the funeral home business to the club. The access to the crematorium alone has been worth it. But damn, it’s a long trip.
