AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Reagan grinned. “Ooh, new nickname?”
“Don’t ask,” Claire said, then glared at Graham. “Shouldn’t you be thanking me? I did you a favor.”
Graham sobered. “You’re right. Thank you for doing that.”
“It worked, then? I’m not sure I even remember the password to that account anymore. I don’t know if it’s even active.”
“Yep, got my discount code.”
“Good.” Beers would be on him next time they went out.
She joined them for an episode, then decided she’d better get ready for bed. It was Friday night, but she worked tomorrow and had to be at the hospital before seven. She stood, but her “good night” was interrupted by the shrill ringtone from Reagan’s phone.
Reagan scooped it off the coffee table. “Sorry.” She answered the call and stepped onto the porch.
Claire glanced back at Graham and found him looking at her. She paused for a beat, thinking about everything she and Mia had discussed tonight. Offering an awkward smile, she escaped to her room. After changing into a tank top and leggings, she stepped back out and into the shared bathroom to brush her teeth. She rinsed her mouth and straightened, pulling her curly blond hair over her shoulder, staring at herself in the mirror.
What do you want?
With a heavy sigh, she turned to head back to her room and ran smack into Graham’s chest.
“Whoa, sorry.” He grabbed her arms lightly at the same time her hands went to his waist.
Damn, he was firm.
And he smelled good. Again. How was it she was just noticing this?
He released her and cocked an eyebrow. “You done in here?”
She nodded and moved to the side so he could pass. She went to her room but left the door open, and when he came out of the bathroom she called out before she could talk herself out of it.
“Graham?”
He appeared in the doorway, eyeing her perched on the edge of her bed. “Yeah?”
“Could, um, could I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure.” He walked in and sat beside her, leaving a perfectly respectable distance between them.
Claire tucked her hands between her knees. “I told Mia that we kissed.”
His brows shot up. His cut was healing nicely. “You did?”
“I’m sorry, I should have asked you first. I hope that’s okay—”
Graham laughed lightly. “I don’t care. I’m just surprised. I didn’t think you wanted anyone to know.”
“I tell her everything. She’ll probably tell Noah.”
He shrugged. “That’s fine. Thanks for telling me, though, so I can be prepared.” He adopted a terrible impression of Noah’s voice. “Hey, man, I heard you and Claire kissed. What’s the deal?” He angled himself as if talking to someone else. “Yeah, I told her I wanted to do other stuff but she turned me down. I cried. A lot.”
Claire punched his shoulder. “You did not.”
He laughed, a rich, deep sound, drawing her attention to his mouth. She thought, not for the first time, how handsome he was when he smiled.
She swallowed and told herself to be assertive. She was a strong, independent woman, and could tell a man what she wanted. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk about. The, um, turning-down part.”
“What about it?”
