Page 43 of Under My Skin

Now her smile was more genuine. “It’s a cheap version of Mexican hot chocolate. Cinnamon and chili powder. My papáalways used to make it for me and Amara when we had bad days. It was one of his favorite treats, even though he was Cuban, not Mexican. It’s way better if you make it from scratch or at least use milk with the mix, but grocery shopping hasn’t exactly been a priority this week. Anyway, you were so upset when you called. I wanted to do something, and this was the first thing I thought of.”

“It’s perfect,” I assured her as I took another sip. “Just what the doctor ordered.”

“I’ve got a long way to go before you can call me a doctor.” She let out a soft chortle. “So, are you feeling okay enough to talk about what happened now? Or do you still need a minute?”

A weak chuckle escaped my lips. “You sure you don’t want to be a psychiatrist instead of a rheumatologist?”

She laughed quietly. “The funny thing is, I actually considered psych as a specialty for a while. I even took some psychology courses for my undergrad degree. But I don’t know if I’m cut out for it. Mental health is so much more complex. There’s not always an easy answer.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’d be good at it. You just have that calming presence, and you genuinely want to help people. But it’s your decision.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” she teased.

I took another drink of my hot chocolate, then sighed. I needed to just rip off the Band-Aid. Putting this off would only prolong the torture. So I started at the beginning and told her everything.

She turned to look at me when I was done talking, her eyes wide with shock and confusion. “Wait a second. Are you telling me that you came here before you called evenoneof the people who are working on this case? Who could, I don’t know, actually do something to help?”

“Well…yeah,” I admitted sheepishly.

“Why the hellwould you do that?” She shook her head. “I mean, I get that you were worried about me, but even if Ihadbeen in trouble, what exactly wereyougoing to do about it?”

Because ever since I met you, you’re the only thing I can think about. Because for some reason I don’t understand, when I look at you and that little boy, I see forever. And because I can’t breathe when I think about anything happening to you.

“I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly. I never can when it comes to you.” The last sentence came out in a whisper, like I was confessing my darkest secret, before I could stop it. “I have the box with me, though. In the car.”

Shaking her hands out to relieve the nervous tension, Dani took a deep breath. “Okay, reset. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to pull out your cellphone – you know, the one you used to callme,who can’t do a damn thing about any of this – and call Bobbi. Right now. Then, once you calm down enough to drive safely, you are going to get in that fancy Escalade that probably cost more than my med school tuition and drive that creepy package straight to the police station. Do not pass ‘Go.’ Do not collect two hundred dollars. Got it?”

I couldn’t help it. I snickered. This feistiness was a side of her I hadn’t seen before, and it surprised me a little. In a good way. In a way that made me even more determined to get her comfortable enough around me to let her guard down like this all the time.

But the way she’d quickly assessed the situation and managed to remain calm enough to remind me that I still had to deliver the evidence to someone who could actually do something to help, despite her own fears? That didn’t surprise me one bit. She’d been forced to do exactly that for the past couple of months. Ever since she’d lost her sister in the blink of an eye and had to make snap decision after snap decision so she could keep her and Isaac’s heads above water. She’d had to puther fear, anger, and grief on the back burner so she could be a mother.

And that was why I knew I’d chosen the perfect activity for tomorrow night’s celebratory outing. If she even wanted anything to do with me anymore after this bullshit. She needed an outlet for all those feelings she’d been keeping bottled up. Probably even more than I did. And fuck me, did I need it.

“Sí, señorita,” I said as I stood up. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll call Bobbion my wayto the police station.”

She gave me a small smile before rising to her feet too. “You sure you’re okay to drive right now? You can stay as long as you need to.”

“I’m good, sweetheart.” I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on the top of her head, wishing like hell that I could kiss her lips instead. “Are you still up for going out tomorrow night to celebrate finishing your finals? I understand if you’re not.”

She nodded. “Yeah. I need the night out. And since you clearly think you’re Mr. Invincible, going allTakenand jumping in your car to rush over here instead of going to the cops like a normal person, I’m gonna trust that you’ll keep me safe.”

“I’ll protect you with my life,” I promised with a laugh.

If she only knew how serious I really was.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

DANIELA

“Ugh,”Morgan groaned as she walked back over to the couch with a freshly popped bowl of popcorn. “That freak actually sent him lingerie? And told him she wanted him to tear it off her and fuck her? That’s just…ugh.”

She gave an exaggerated shudder as she plopped down next to me and grabbed the remote control, pulling upBridgertonon Netflix.

I’d decided to give Lina the day off today since she’d put in so many extra hours this past week, and given that she was already getting a bunch of overtime on this paycheck, she’d been grateful for it and told me to call if I needed her over the weekend. Not that I planned on it. I sorely needed some quality time with my little man.

And I needed the girls’ day with my bestie before I went out tonight too. Morgan and I were currently lounging around in our pajamas with a bunch of junk food, and then she was going to watch Isaac for me tonight while I went out with Braden.

“Right?” I agreed. “I’m thoroughly creeped out, and I never even saw the damn thing.”

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