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I feel his lips brushing against the back of my eyelids then. I imagine little cartoon hearts exploding above my head right now. The familiar crackling of the record player hits my ears.
“What are you up to, Lincoln?”
“Just this,” he says a second before the soulful crooning voice of Otis Redding fills the air.
My eyes fly open as my heart clenches so tightly inside my chest, it feels like he's squeezing it between his fists.
“This is my grandparents' song.”
“I know,” he says, grabbing my left hand and placing it on his lower back. He palms my right hand in his, and we begin to sway.
I lean my head against his chest, in this perfect little notch in his muscles. “How did you find this record? It's like a million years old and they don't sell it anymore. I know because I set up an alert for it on those buy, sell, trade groups years ago for Nana Jo.”
“I'm a resourceful man.”
“You are,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
We continue to sway, the music and the moment so perfect that I don't want it to end. I close my eyes and let the world melt away.
30
BANE
I openthe door before he has a chance to knock or ring the doorbell. Or knowing him, just fucking walk in.
“She's already asleep. And she's got Hunter all weekend soon, so don't wake her up.”
“So you get to wake her up, but I can't?” Nova snaps from the driveway.
I fold my arms across my chest. “I'm not waking her up, am I?”
“What the fuck are you doing here, anyway? You spending the night at my girl's house, man? Or you just here for your nightly sneak-in to watch her sleep like some fucking psycho,” he says, walking toward the porch.
I tip my head back, enjoying the burst of jealousy from him. I don't bother denying it, because I get the speculation. Objectively, it is a bit of a strange habit. But I can't help it. She's like a siren song, and every single night I think about sleeping in my own bed. And yet, I always end up here. Most of the time well after she's in bed. But not tonight. Tonight, I spun her around her living room, watching the way her face lights up as she danced.
“So you hacked into the security system I set up. Took you long enough. I set that shit to easy so you and Silas could have peace of mind.”
Nova rears back, his brows crowding low. “Why the fuck would Silas check in on her cameras—you know what. Never mind. I already know why.”
I just nod. “Not to mention your brother has quite the hidden affinity for watching.”
Nova's gaze narrows on me. “What the fuck does that mean?”
I give him a deadpan stare. “He still uses a video baby monitor for Hunter.”
“Oh,” Nova says, shaking his head. “Yeah. I thought you meant something else. Whatever, I'm here because I just saw tonight's footage. I came over right away.” He climbs the concrete steps and stops in front of me.
I block the doorway, stepping onto the porch and pulling the door partially closed behind me.
Nova reads the move instantly, pulling up short. We're practically the same height, which makes this an even fight, so to speak. Except I'm not feeling like playing clean. Not tonight and not with her.
He rocks back on his heels and assesses me, his gaze narrowing on me. “So, it's like that then, huh?”
I look at him, keeping my face intentionally blank. “Like what?”
He tips his head back for a second before he looks at me. “C'mon, man, you know this isn't how we're going to solve anything.”
His perception is fucking annoying. “Nothing to solve.”
