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“You’re not much of a morning talker, are you? Even though you set your alarm for the crack of fuck o’clock.”
“What was that you were saying about having a mouth, Christina?”
I flushed hotter, the heat followed by a wave of cold. It was the way he looked at me, the way he deliberately paused his eating, the way he held his fork still, like he was about to drop it and haul me over his knee.
I shook my head quickly and went back to my food. Last night was a one-time thing.
The silence stretched as we ate. I couldn’t take it.
“Ssshhhh, kids.” I held a finger to my lips. “Mommy and Daddy are having quiet time right now.”
“You’re a sarcastic bitch.” He grinned at me. “I like it.”
I drained my coffee. “You’re a cold bastard. I don’t like it.”
“There’s the door.” He waved in its direction. “You’re free to leave. I’m not making you do anything you don’t want to. do”
My heart sped up. “I’m eating breakfast right now.” Forcing my hand to stay steady, I speared some scrambled eggs.
After that, I let the silence go and practically cleaned my plate and bowl. Everything tasted good. I caught Patrick watching me as I licked oatmeal off the spoon.
“Thanks for breakfast,” I murmured. “I didn’t really eat much yesterday.”
“Poor baby.” He rubbed the back of my neck. “That explains why you were so hungry for it last night.”
I glared at him. “Would it kill you to act like a decent person for one second?”
He shrugged, a slight smile on his face. “Have you decided? Are you going to be my companion?”
Hell, no. No. I should say no right now and toss my breakfast in his face. “I have twenty-four hours, remember?”
He looked at the heavy silver watch on his wrist. Again, not flashy, but tasteful. “Sixteen and a half. We talked about it at 1:00 this morning. It’s 8:30 now.”
“Okay, okay. Don’t remind me how early it is.” I set the spoon down. Somehow, all the food had vanished. The coffee, too. Patrick was still looking at me, his gaze unwavering. “What?”
“You were perfect last night.” He pressed his thumb against my lower lip. I resisted the urge to bite it, an urge that whooshed through my body. No way would I give Patrick the satisfaction of another round, breakfast or no breakfast.
“Look at you with the compliments. First time I've ever been perfect at anything.” I laughed, but it caught in my throat.
“Yeah?” He cocked his head. Nothing about him softened, but he looked curious.
“I've just always been a runner-up.” I pushed the tray away and leaned against the pillows. “Second place in gymnastics meets, second-best at city ice-skating competitions, assistant cheerleading captain. Alternate this, substitute that…homecoming princess but never the queen.”
He pressed his lips together to keep in a laugh. “That’s a problem for you? Most people would be happy with that. And high school’s over.”
“It’s anexample.And— look, I’ll just show you a picture. Then you’ll get it.”
I padded to the desk to get my purse, as if showing Patrick my own family would compensate for my snooping earlier. He raised his eyebrows, but waited, the sheet half-draped over his torso. In the cool morning light, he was stone. A statue. I couldn’t help staring.
When I glanced up, his eyes were moving casually over my half-naked body, taking in the round handfuls of breast, the abs I didn’t work on anymore, the hips that he'd grabbed and pinched during the night. My knees wobbled. My hand brushed a wad of bills when I got my phone.
I thumbed through albums until I found a family shot from last Easter. Climbing back into bed, I pushed the screen in front of his face. “What do you notice about this?”
My parents stood to one side of me. Alexis stood on the other side, like a statue of the perfect woman, sucking up all the attention in the photo with her trillion-watt smile, her doe eyes, her dark glossy hair cascading over one shoulder, her graceful height and apricot skin and sculpted shoulders. Confident as hell, but so frickin' nice that you couldn't hate her.
My sister would always have greater accomplishments, tighter abs, and better morals than me.
Patrick's eyes moved calmly over the picture. “You're at church.” He sounded amused.
