Page 55 of Fighting

We’re volleying names and reasons for our choices when a Fugees’ song comes on.

Cocking a brow, I suggest, “Wyclef, Lauryn, and Pras Michel?”

“Yes. Wyclef is a perfect name for the black cat.” He grins, though the expression quickly fades. “Aw man.” He scrubs a hand over his face.

“We named the bunnies for the psychologists and cats for The Fugees.”

I frown, confused. “Okay, and?”

“The Fugees are a hip-hop group. Bunnieshop,” he says, his tone genuinely disappointed by this revelation.

With a laugh at his ridiculousness, I pat his shoulder. “There, there, Matty. It’ll be okay.”

The carslowly creeps down the dusty roadway as he follows the signs telling us topark here. In the distance sits the Kelly Orchards. Yet instead of the usual crowds, the lot is empty, and rather than pull into the gravel lot, Mateo rolls toward the family home.

I aimlessly reach for him, my hands tracing the lines up and down his arm. I’m drawing invisible swirls over the hidden intricate black ink design encircling a sun with eight rays.

What is happening with me lately?

It’s completely inappropriate timing, which only encourages me to tease him further. Ghosting my hand from his knee up his thigh, I watch as he thickens against the fitted denim, relishing the way his breath hitches.

He quickly schools his expression and clears his throat. “Trouble maker.”

I hum, tapping my lips and feigning innocence. “I’m not doing anything.”

He unbuckles his seat belt and turns to face me. “Nessa, what are we doing?”

He exhales and rubs at his forehead. “First you can’t stand me, then we have sex. You barely speak to me the rest of the weekend, but then, for months, text me randomly. You hate me. You swear we’ll never fake date.” He licks his lips. “Next thing I know, I’m coming to your rescue and we’re together every day. Suddenly, we’re making out, then you storm off. Now there are foster pets in my house.” His lips twitch a little there but quickly fall into a flat line again. “Then, you arrive in lingerie and we have an amazing night together, only for you to try to sneak out.”

Fuck, when he puts it that way, it’s hard to deny I’m playing games.

“This is what I know: we both have reputations that don’t quite fit who we really are. I haven’t been with anyone but you since May, and I don’t want to be with anyone else, even if you can’t see what I see.”

“What don’t I see?” I whisper, sliding my hand again. Oops.

“Insufferable, woman,” he grits out between clenched teeth. He swings open the car door and heaves a deep breath. He stomps around the car and pulls open my door. “Let’s go,” he says, hand held out. “Folks are waiting for us.”

With one more huff, he yanks me toward the front door of the farmhouse.

Instinctively, we lace our fingers.

He brings his lips to the shell of my ear, his breath lightly tickling me as he whispers, “This is a date and a mission to get information.”

He presses a kiss to my pulse point, and in response, blood whooshes in my ears. It’s so loud and all-consuming that I lose touch with reality for a moment. I’m jolted back when he knocks loudly on the wooden door.

The door swings open, and Liam appears, wearing a grin. “Nice to see you during daylight hours.” He winks at me before exchanging a single-armed hug with Mateo.

Confused, I shuffle into the house. This is the start of a horror movie, or a porn, or both. A horror porn. Is that a thing? It’s probably a thing. I should look it up.

“Gran was so excited to hear that you’re visitingandbringing a dose of estrogen with you,” Liam says as he closes the door behind us.

The home is decorated in a country style, from the giant rusty milk pail filled with umbrellas and canes to walls covered in family-photos.

The most heavenly scent filters through the house, with hints of cinnamon spice, vanilla, and something fruity. If I could morph into a cartoon character, I would float my way toward the steaming scent trails.

I no longer care about whether I’ve found myself in a horror film, porn or not. I want to know what Liam’s Irish grandmother is cooking.

Inside the kitchen, we find Gran and his dad, James, who greets Mateo with a bear hug and a genuine smile.

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