Page 61 of The Woman Left Behind

He didn’t, but Aromacobana had the good shit for sale, so he’d be getting some.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“That’s okay. Decaf?” she asked.

“Definitely fell down on this job,” he said.

“No you didn’t. I’ve just always had trouble sleeping, even when I was a kid. So I don’t drink caffeine after three in the afternoon.”

Harry’s neck tightened at learning this. “You’ve always had trouble sleeping?”

She nodded. “All my life. Though, the last two nights I dropped right off.”

Now, learning that, his chest burned as he stared at her

She smirked at him and said, “So there, Harry. This is what I’m dealing with.” She circled her hand in the air. “All the goodness that is you.”

He reached, dragged her out of the couch, and kissed her hard and long, until they were both breathless.

“I’ll get some tea at Aromacobana,” he said when he broke it. “What’s your favorite?”

“You suck,” she lied wispily, still recovering from the kiss. “And anything. Mint. Chamomile. Hibiscus. Passionflower. One of their herbal blends.”

“I’ll get decaf too.”

“And you suck even more.”

He grinned at her.

She frowned at it. “Stop being hot.”

“I’ll try.”

Her eyes lifted to his. “You’ll fail.”

He shrugged.

She rolled her eyes, touched her mouth to his and demanded, “Get me cake.”

“As you wish, Marie Antoinette.”

Another eye roll, but she ended this one smiling.

He put her back into his couch.

Smokey stayed with her, but Lucy and Linus came with Harry as he got his girl some cake.

FIFTEEN

Parental Link

Harry

Late the next afternoon, returning from Aromacobana with a bag full of herbal teas and a pouch of fancy decaf, his mind on the conversation he’d just had over coffee with Cade, he hit his office to see Rus on his way out of it.

His gaze went down to the bag in Harry’s hand, then came up again to Harry’s face, and he left it at that, even though Harry had been getting stick from everyone in the department for two days about that fucking tin of cookies.

Needless to say, if she was going for it, Lillian got his men’s and women’s approval through sugar, butter, oatmeal and cinnamon.

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