Page 126 of Crushing Clover

“Why don’t you text him?”

Duh.

My hand instinctively went to my pocket, which was silly because I hadn’t had a phone in months. Hell, even if I had aphone, I’d have no idea how to get a hold of the guys. I didn’t know their numbers.

“Forgot your phone at home, sweetheart? You could borrow mine if you want.”

“Oh, no thanks.”

“Do you have Insta? You should add me.”

I flushed. At one point this sort of interaction had been normal to me, but I was so used to having large men standing on top of me every time I left the house, I wasn’t sure how to do this anymore. I went with lying.

“Oh, I don’t have Insta. My husband is the jealous type.” I wrinkled my nose like my husband was a bit of a pain in the ass. Husband—what a weird idea. Which of the three of them would I have chosen in my old life? Not Saint, that was for sure. He was too mean, even if I was hopelessly attracted to him.

“It could be our little secret.” He winked at me, and I shrugged helplessly as he returned my change.

“Sorry.”

He made a sour face, and I heard him mutter as I walked away, “Stuck up bitch.”

The comment straightened my spine, and I left the store with my bag of butter, the last dregs of excitement about this excursion crashing and burning. I headed to the house, increasing my pace while trying to keep it slow enough that I didn’t arouse suspicion. What if the guy followed me? He was working, so he probably wouldn’t leave the store, but he’d seemed pretty pissed.

By the time I got back to the house, I was sweating from the brisk walk and the heat of the morning, and my dress was clinging to my skin. Was this dress too revealing? It was one of the ones Lucky had chosen, so it was a little low-cut but nothing risqué. The skirt reached my knees. It was a bit on the sexy side, but mostly wholesome. I let myself in and found Lucky standingin the middle of the living room looking concerned and subdued. His eyes flashed with surprise when he saw me.

“What happened?” I asked, bringing the butter to Rush who was pulling the bread out of the oven.

He put the bread down on the stove with more care than was strictly necessary.

“Did I get the right kind of butter?” I asked even though there was no way they could have seen through the bag. Was I in trouble or something?

Rush turned and looked at me. “You’re here.”

“Sorry if I was slow, I couldn’t figure out what kind to get, so I got two,” I said, brows raised in confusion. I took the change out of my pocket and put it on the counter with the receipt. “It’s all there, sir.”

He huffed a laugh and grabbed the front of my dress, yanking me close. His beard tangled in my hair as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

“You came back,” he said, smiling against my hair.

“What do you mean?”

“There was two thousand dollars in my wallet, Clove.”

“I took a twenty because I didn’t know how much it would be. I hope that’s okay.”

He kissed me, long and deep, and I was so confused that all I could do was tip my head back to give him better access to my mouth. I kissed him back, not about to complain. What on earth?

Every inch of me responded to him, melted into him like the butter I’d bought.

When he came up for air, the look in his blue eyes was pleased rather than heated. Affectionate instead of lustful.

“We thought you might take the money and run.” Lucky joined us, turning my chin so he could kiss me too.

“But Cygnet!” I said, shocked. “You have to keep me until you pay Warren back. I would never jeopardize that for you—and I’d never take your money. I figured it was part of the next payment, or maybe for supplies. Either way, it’s none of my business.”

“You wouldn’t take it and go…not even to give yourself a life?” Lucky asked.

I looked at him, incredulous. “Why would I want to leave you?”

---