Page 119 of Bishop's Queen

She shut the cabinet, backing against the counter with her hand over her mouth. There was a grin hiding behind her fingers.

He’ddefinitelydone that for her.

She pulled out her phone, needing to share how cool this was with the world. Eco-Ella peeps would die, just like she was. They would totally get the moment. Quickly, she typed and loaded the picture, reading back the text for typos.

That moment when HE recycles when you’re not looking. ;)

Tara would go nuts. People would flock to figure out whoHEwas.

ButHEwould hate that.

Ella stared. It felt wrong. Too private. Too not him. But he wasn’t actually in the picture…Shoot, no.She hit the delete button instead of publish, watching the message float away.

That wasn’t meant to be a publicity stunt. It was a gift he unknowingly gave her. Ella bit her lip and slipped her phone into her purse.

It wassoridiculous, but she took one more quick peek under his sink. The warm fuzzies came back in full force.

Bishop walked into the kitchen. “Hey.”

She jumped, slamming the cabinet shut and spinning. “Hi.”

He chuckled, eyeing her suspiciously. “You doing okay?”

“Yes, I, um, I like your recycling container.”

He lifted his chin in acknowledgment and went to the fridge. “Hungry?”

She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso. “Thank you.”

“Sure, babe. It was nothing.”

God, now he was downplaying it, only making her hug him tighter. Even if he thought she was crazy, she didn’t care.

He closed the fridge, turning into her hold, which was apparently not as strong as she would’ve guessed. “Ella, seriously.”

Her eyes blurred with tears, and they threatened to escape over crushed beer cans. “I can’t help it.”

“Come on. We’re not hanging out in the kitchen if you’re crying over my trash.”

“Recycling,” she corrected.

“Potato, po-tah-toe.”

“Wait.” She pushed onto her toes and planted a kiss on his lips. “It means a lot.”

He grabbed an orange from the counter then locked an arm around her neck. “You mean a lot to me, babe. See how that works?”

“I see.” Her heart spun in a circle. “What are we doing?”

“Gonna relax and go to bed. We’ll find FB and Brick. Make sure they haven’t killed each other.”

“Brick isn’t going to hurt FB.”

“I’m not worried about my boy. I’m more concerned that your city-dweller dog is going to be led to the wild side of dog food with meat in it.”

She elbowed him. “I feed my dog meat.”

He unhooked his arm. “So it’s just you who’s the tortured vegan.”

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