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She bobbed her head. “Yeah, I get that. But you fit right in with the rest of us.” She stuck out her hand for me to shake. I frowned, taking it. “Welcome to the Mafia Wives Club, where you have to go through something insane to end up with men like ours.” I snorted and she burst into giggles. “I made it up when Gabi went through some stuff and it’s kind of stuck. We’ve got three members now, four including you.”
James reappeared in the room, holding the greatest gift a man could give me. He handed me the coffee, smirking.
“You look like he just handed you a new puppy.”
I made a face at her. “Coffee is better than puppies.” I took a sip, groaning. James had been heading to the bathroom but his head whipped around at the sound and he frowned at me. I ignored him, breathing in the smell.
“I never got into coffee. It’s nice every now and then but it’s not a necessity,” Jo shrugged. I offered her my mug.
“Try it. James made it exactly how I like it.” I beamed at him. Seriously, coffee and nerd gear was all I needed in life. He winked at me, disappearing into the bathroom.
Jo took a sip and actually shuddered. “It’s so sweet! I want one!”
“I’ll make you one when I head back down,” James called. When I leaned a little, I could see him putting shaving cream on his face. He must shave every day because I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with even a little stubble.
Jo pouted, handing the mug back to me. I snickered. I like Jo, but I need coffee to live. She can wait.
“So, what’s the plan for today?”
I was about to shrug when my stomach dropped. “What time is it?”
Jo pursed her lips. “A little before eight, I think. Why?”
Panicking, I threw myself out of bed, spilling some coffee and burning my hand. When my feet hit the floor, I yelped and sat back down. I shot Jo a horrified look. James came flying back into the room, his eyes wide, his face still covered in shaving cream.
“What the hell just happened?”
Jo shook her head, looking at me wide eyed. I whimpered.
“I’m going to be late! I’ve never been late in my life! My boss freaking hates me, I’ll be fired for sure!” I wailed. I tried to stand again but James pushed me back down, snagging the coffee out of my hand before I spilled again and put it on the nightstand. He wiped his face off with the towel on his shoulder, squatting in front of me.
“Baby, you’re in no condition to go into work today. Call in sick, you need to rest.”
I let out a strangled cry. “He won’t care! Mr. Doolittle is an asshole, but it's the only job I could find anywhere near what I wanted to do. I need to go!”
Jo put a hand on my shoulder. “No job is worth hurting yourself, Elizabeth. Call in sick. If we have to, we’ll have Sean send a doctor’s note saying you were in the ER. He’s good about that stuff.”
James rubbed my legs, trying to get me to relax. “She’s right, baby. Besides, we still don’t know who was after you. It might not be safe to leave. At least give me the day to try and figure things out. We can make a plan for tomorrow.”
I slumped over, pressing my forehead against his shoulder. “I’m never going to hear the end of this.”
He rubbed my arms soothingly. “If your boss is a jerk to you, I’ll kick his ass and we’ll call it a day.”
I jerked back, gaping at him while Jo burst out laughing. “That sounds like something Liam would do.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “I learned from the best.” He kissed me lightly. “Call your boss. I’m going to finish getting ready, then I’ll swing into your place today to grab you some things and see if I can’t figure out what happened. You stay here and rest.”
I scowled at him. “In this barren wasteland? I thought you liked me.”
He laughed, returning to the bathroom to start over on his routine. Jo frowned at me so I explained the difference between my place and James’s. She snickered.
“Don’t worry, you can hang out with me. James can put you in the library, it’s where I hang out most of the time.”
I pouted but agreed. I wasn’t a huge reader, I preferred video games and anime and I doubted Jo and Liam were big manga readers, but it was better than nothing. Jo handed me back my coffee, still laughing. She waved at me, leaving the room, wanting to set up the library so I would be comfortable. I looked around, frowning.
“Hey, James?”
He came out of the bathroom, clean shaven and just as sexy as ever. “What’s up?”
