Page 68 of Sweet Temptation
Caitlin wrinkles her nose. “Oh gross. Don’t smile like that. I know what you’re thinking.” She groans and sticks her hand out. “Now hand me your credit card and let me help you get the girl.”
“Should I be scared?” The question is meant to be a joke, but in reality, everything about Lexie scares the shit out of me. Loving her. Possibly losing her. Fuck. It goes hand in hand.
“You wouldn’t be in love if you weren’t scared, Lucky.”
Well, hell... When you put it that way, there’s no arguing she’s the love of my life.
Ahumming sound is coming from inside Lexie’s room when I knock on her door later that night. She wouldn’t be...
A muffled sound answers that I’m pretty sure was come in.
If I’m wrong, she’s going to have my balls when I open this door, but it might be worth it to find out.
Okay, so not the vibrator I thought she might be playing with. I guess it wasn’t as much a humming sound as a white noise. Lex is sitting with her back to the headboard and a nebulizer on her face as an old episode ofFriendsplays on her TV. She’s in my Kings t-shirt with a soft pink blanket wrapped around her shoulders. This woman has more throw blankets than anyone I’ve ever met.
“Hey,dolcezza.” I drop a kiss on her forehead and wrap an arm around her shoulders as I settle on her bed. “I love this episode.”
She looks at me funny at first, then leans into me as she breathes through her treatment. And just when Monica tells Chandler he’s not allowed to add anything to her junk closet because he might mess it up, she slides the mask away from herface and chugs half a bottle of water, then pulls out a pill box and spends the next few minutes swallowing more pills than her tiny body looks like it should be able to handle. But she does it, and she does it like a pro.
Finally, once she’s taken everything, she lays her head on my chest and pulls the blanket over both of us. “What are you doing in here, Lucky?”
I fucking love this woman and the denial she lives in.
Her words might say one thing, but her actions tell me everything I need to know.
“Looking for my shirt,” I tease and drag her closer.
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” she murmurs and wraps an arm around my waist.
Yeah, baby, it is. And you already own me.
“You tired, Lex?” I breathe her in and relax as she nods. “Too tired to fight tonight?
“I think so. It was a really long day at work. Can we fight tomorrow?”
“Yeah, baby.” I scoot down until we’re both lying on the bed. Lexie’s head is on my chest, and my arms are around her, and tonight, that’s all that matters. “You can tell me tomorrow that this isn’t worth everything.”
She sighs, a soft, sweet sound as I play with her hair.
“I’m a bad bet, Lucky,” she whispers as the next episode starts.
“I’d bet on you and me all day every day, Lex. Now sleep. You sound exhausted.”
Her body shakes as she coughs as if to emphasize her point.
Like that’s going to scare me away.
LEXIE
I will restart my favorite song if you talk through it. Sometimes I wish we could do that for our favorite days too.
—Lexie’s Secret Thoughts
“Umm, Lexie...” Mae calls to me from the front of the bakery. “You better come out here.”
I look around the counter at the gorgeous pink macaroons I’m painting tulips on and blow out a frustrated breath. I swear every single time my father shows up in the shop, she drools. It’s a little ick, if you ask me, and I’m really not in the mood to hear it. I wipe my hands and toss the towel to the sink before I push through the swinging doors and stop.
Ummis right.
