Page 170 of Prickly Romance

“Which is what?” I tease.

Adam’s jaw drops. He stares at me. “Did you just crack a joke, Sazuki?”

“Not bad.” Dejonae offers her hand for a high-five.

I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it instead.

“Ew!”

“Please refrain yourselves!”

Protests erupt from both Adam and Nova.

Dejonae smiles, her entire face lighting up with joy. And I realize that the tangled web of my ex-wife, my mother’s secret plans, and even my family’s coldness should never touch her.

I will protect her from it.

All of it.

So the only thing she sees is the sunshine.

* * *

After finishing with the factory,Adam, Nova, Dejonae and I go for dinner. We stay in the city another hour to visit an escape room.

Adam and Nova beat us to the finish line. Something that causes Dejonae to grumble all the way back to the airport.

“Dejonae, slow down,” I tell her. “You will trip and fall to the tarmac.”

“I told you the key was under the suitcase,” she hurls an angry glare over her shoulder, “but no. You insisted that it was under the chest.”

I snicker beneath my breath.

Adorable.

Not that I plan to say that out loud. With the mood Dejonae is in, she might push me down the stairs.

“Don’t be too hard on him,” Nova says, rubbing the loss in our faces. “Adam and I have worked together for a long time. We practically share the same brain.” She gestures to where Adam is walking in behind her. “Not everyone can be this in sync.”

Dejonae grits her teeth.

Steam pours from her ears.

The good news is… she is no longer worried about her sister being gone.

At least I accomplished that.

“I demand a re-match!” Dejonae plunks into a seat. “This doesn’t end here.”

Adam passes me by, pats my shoulder and mumbles, “I never thought I’d find someone more competitive than Nova. Good luck, man.”

I nod, accepting his well wishes.

We fasten our seatbelts as the plane takes off. The air pressure changes and the plane smoothly lifts off the tarmac.

Dejonae is still pouting about the loss.

How strange.

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