Page 56 of Leah

“Fuckers.”

“I deserved it. I kinda parked the car in the disabled parking spot.”

He bit his lip to stop from smiling. “You think some handicapped person keyed this?”

I nodded. “Oh, yeah. Melanie and I saw the tape when we went to the security team in the shopping centre. It was this perfect video of this miserable old man with a cane, and he was whacking it against the car before he keyed it. He got away with it.”

“Bastard.”

“I told you I deserved it.”

Leaning against the car, he said, “Just a little bit.”

“I got a ticket for it too. Talk about karma.”

He laughed. “A ticket on top of having your little beast keyed. No good, Angel.”

“It wasn’t my proudest moment.” I tensed. “You’re the only person aside from Mel that knows my shame.”

He grinned. “Lucky me.”

I unlocked the door, painfully aware of how hard he was staring at me. “The ticket thing hit me hard, and I felt bad for the cane dude. I don’t really care about what a car looks like.”

“You were never about the looks,” he replied softly. “It was refreshing. It still is.”

I glanced at him wryly. “My poverty is refreshing to you? That’s nice to know. But giving you a look over, I don’t see bling hanging off you either.”

He shook his head. “No fucking way. After what we grew up in, I couldn’t give a fuck about things. I don’t even have a Lamborghini—that was a lie.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Until you learn how much insurance costs for one. Rome will go broke with his car garage.”

I laughed, ready to reply when he pushed off and grasped the top of the car door, leaning closer to me. My skin prickled as he whispered, “I’m sort of on a fucking high right now.” His breaths hit my face, smelling minty and delicious as I stood still, hanging by his every word. “I’m not sure I can wait until the afternoon to see you, Leah.”

“Well, that’s not up to you, is it?” I joked. “I have a really horrible dick of a boss, and I can’t get out of this shift. So, it’s kind of unavoidable.”

“I doubt you put up with his shit. I know you.”

“When it comes to people paying me money, Carter, I have to put up with their shit.”

His eyes crinkled with amusement. “Well, I liked how you spoke to Alyssa, by the way. She’s a bit of a diva, and she deserved being put in her place. Just in case you feel like you stepped out of line, you should know you didn’t.”

I shrugged. “Even if I was out of line, I think she needed to hear it. Doubt it’ll stop her whining.”

He shook his head. “No, it won’t. Rome will have enough of her soon, I’m sure of it. It’s usually the way with him.”

“You know,” I then said quietly, taking a careful step closer to him, “she sort of looks like Melanie, right?”

He grinned down at me, those blue eyes bright. “She’s pretty much her replica. A duller version, really.”

My face lit up. “I knew it! Is he hung up on Mel?”

“If he is, he isn’t coming out with it.”

I frowned, rolling my eyes. “They’re both such babies.”

He chuckled. “So, are you coming back?”

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