Page 27 of Dove
I groaned. “Enough with that, Rev. That was never supposed to be areal thing.Youmade that up when we were stupid, horny teenagers with crushes. There’s no way that’s happening, okay?”
Reverie scoffed. “You act like that was so long ago. We’re stupid, hornytwenty-somethings, now. And please, I know it’s not just a crush for you. You haven’t had to witness the two of you in the same room together. Believe me, it’s nauseatingly areal thing.”
My lips ticked down in a frown. Wait, what?
“Rev, wha?—”
A shrill noise interrupted me over her line.
“Shit,” Reverie’s quiet curse followed. “Gotta go, that was my client’s timer. She’s done processing, which means break time’s over. Love you, keep me updated!”
Before I could argue that there was nothing to keep her updatedonthe call ended.
I glanced down at the screen of my phone, slightly perplexed.
What had she meant by that, about how I’d never had to see Josh and me in a room together? That made absolutely no sense.
I gave a doubtful shake of my head. The LA scene was getting to her. She thought she was some sort of mystical matchmaker now.
I was still contemplating my call with Reverie when Josh came down the stairs.
The worn wood of the stairs creaked softly, the only indication of his presence. My head turned, and there he was, brushing the damp strands of his dark hair off his forehead, wearing dark grey sweatpants and a sleeveless shirt advertising a gym I’d never heard of.
“I thought I heard you talking,” Josh commented as he walked past the back of the couch and made his way into the kitchen. My eyes tracked him, and from where I sat, I could just make out his back as he went to the cabinet above the sink and opened it.
He rummaged inside our self-proclaimed “medicine cabinet”. Maybe he was sore from working today?
“Yeah,” I answered slowly, watching him collect items. “Reverie called.”
“Oh, yeah? How’s she doing?” he asked, back still turned as he rifled around for whatever he was hunting for. “How’s LA?”
I shrugged, setting my phone down beside me on the couch as I tucked my feet up under me, getting comfy. “When I asked, she said it was complicated, which means something’s going on, but she doesn’t want to tell me yet.”
Josh padded back into the living room, his hands full of supplies. My frown grew as he sat beside me, setting everything down on the coffee table.
“Maybe she’s homesick,” he offered. “I mean, shedidpack up and move clear across the country all by herself.” He paused for a minute, thoughtful. “Maybe she misses Zeke?”
“Maybe.” I eyed the tube of Neosporin sitting innocuously on the table before me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he replied in that smooth voice of his, sliding one of his legs up in between us so he could shift to face me properly. It brought us close, close enough I could feel the heat of his leg alongside my own. This situation was getting scarily similar to the made-up scenario I’d been daydreaming about earlier.
He held out a hand, palm up as he requested, “Let me see your hands.”
“What?” My fingers curled into loose fists, and I tugged them closer to me. “Why?”
He chuckled, and it was so soft and lovely my nipples tightened at the sound. Thank God I’d been smart enough to wear a padded cami top.
He reached for me, and when his hands slid around my wrists and tugged, I followed.
“We should put something on these,” he suggested as he examined the mostly superficial cuts littered across my skin. His gaze flickered to mine before dropping down to my torn-up hands. He was so close I could see the small honey-like flecks in his warm brown eyes. “You’re up to date on your tetanus, right?”
I scowled. Offended by his question, I tried to snatch my hands back. His grip tightened, not letting me escape his hold.
“I live on afarm,” I reminded him. Stepping on things, getting scratched by things, orworse,wasall in a day’s work. Ofcourse,I had my tetanus shot.
“Dumb question, sorry,” he apologized with a sheepish half-smile. For some reason it brought about a pang of sadness in me. Maybe we reallywerestrangers to one another.
But the way his hands touched mine…
