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Damn her. The ice-cold witch was better than this.
She straightened to find everyone watching her. That mouth I knew intimately rolled to one side. The steel wrapped around her in an instant.
When she noticed me, her irritation visibly ramped up another level.
We all waited for the explosion.
“I cleaned off the desk.” She spoke through gritted teeth and motioned toward the piece of furniture.
“Then let’s eat,” Mr. Dixon said.
I strode behind her, pressing my front against her back. She tensed when my lips grazed her ear. “I see you took my advice, Wicked.” Her fists clenched at her sides. “And your version of playing nice? Better watch out or people will get the wrong impression.”
She lifted her heel and slammed it down on my toe.
“Are we five?” I hissed as pain shot up my foot.
“Didn’t want to give you thewrong impression.”
As I moved past Mr. Dixon to take a seat, I spoke where only he could hear. “Please tell me this counts for the daily check-in.”
He grinned as he pulled a carton from the bag. “Already throwing in the towel?”
“I’m not sure what will be left of me after this.” My big toe throbbed. What if she’d had on heels?
He touched my shoulder. “Bumps and bruises give us character.”
“I already like who I am just fine.”
Chapter Seven
Marlow
Everything ached.
I’d used muscles yesterday I hadn’t used in years. Yet here I was, back for round two. The look on Holt’s face when I showed up with coffee pretty much summed up how I felt. What the hell was I doing here?
“The office looks great,” he said as he accepted the coffee. “To see it now, you’d never know it was as filthy as it was.”
“Needs paint.”
“Yeah, but all of this is more important right now.” He twirled his index finger.
“What color scheme?”
“Still working on it. Some of the ladies from the shelter are helping us with the details.” He jerked his head toward the stairs. “Should we go up?”
I followed him to an area I’d not yet seen. The space was open with exposed-beam ceilings.
“This will be Baker’s space for her makeup.” A few men were already at work. “We’re supposed to be doing the garage first and then this, but I figured out how to swing it so we could do both at once.”
I stared at the back of his head. He’d always been kind, especially as a little boy. Back then, it infuriated me that our mother’s absence didn’t seem to affect him. Then I blamed him for her leaving in the first place. All the while, he drew pictures and made stuff out of sticks and rocks for his big sister.
“Don’t go under before you get started.” I wandered to the left, beyond the wall separating the space.
“The apartment will be last. We’ve got a great one on Warren Street we love.”
“Then why are you remodeling this bathroom?”
