Page 154 of Exposed

“Sounds like tonight was something,” I say carefully because it looks like he’s had enough. “You okay?”

He tosses the last bite of cold pizza crust in his mouth and shrugs as he chews the last of his slice. “I mean, yeah. Which is weird. Like really fucking weird. I’m gonna go.”

“You sure? You can hang as long as you want.”

“Nah, I need a good night’s sleep. I’ve got the written test tomorrow.”

I pause before I take another bite. “No shit?”

“Yep. The interview process is going fast. I’m not sure if that’s normal or Tim is pushing me through.”

“Could be. But DEA moves a lot of applicants through this part of the process to weed them out.”

He frowns. “Thanks for that. One more thing for me to stress about after my therapy session tonight.”

“I’m not worried. You’ll do just fine. You’ll be a Basic Agent in Training at Quantico before you know it. Hell, you’re barely behind me, and I’m the old guy.”

“Cool. We can retire together.” Rocco says but doesn’t sound like anything is cool at the moment. “Good luck tomorrow. Goldie’s freaking out about it. I did everything I could to distract her.” He grabs his cell and digs a set of keys out of his pocket. “Hell, that’s probably how she got me to talk about my past. I’ve got to get out of here. Don’t tell Landyn or Evie. I do not need the moms mothering me. Landyn will want to do facials and Evie might make me go to yoga to let go of the things that do not serve me.”

I walk him to the front door. “Good luck on the test. You’ll kill it.”

He gives me a low wave but wastes no time escaping. “Good luck not getting your ass kicked tomorrow. At your age, you can’t afford for that to happen too many more times before you break a hip.”

“I’m going to let that slide since you’ve had an emotional night.”

“Later.”

He’s down the walk and disappears to his car when I shut and lock the front door. I set the alarm for good measure.

I put the pizza away and grab a beer before I search for Goldie. She’s never asleep before I get home, but I don’t want to chance it and quietly open the door to my bedroom.

Fuck.

She’s not asleep.

She spins around where she’s standing in front of the mirror and her hand flies to her heart. “Oh my gosh, you scared me! Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

I don’t move.

And I’m at a loss for words.

“Did you just get home? Did Rocco leave? I didn’t say goodbye or thank him for hanging out with me. We had the best talk. I had no idea his past was so dark. I didn’t think I could love him more than I did, but after tonight, I do.”

“Baby.” My tone is low and rough. “You cannot stand there looking like that and talk about loving another man.”

She looks down at herself before twirling a three-sixty. “Do you like it?”

“Do I like it?” I narrow my eyes. “Baby…”

She shrugs a bare shoulder that bears the weight of her dress being held up with thin straps. The only way I can see them is because they sparkle in the low light. “I had to try it on before tomorrow. You know, if I get put in the game as a last resort.”

I don’t tell her that will never happen. “Where did you get that?”

“This?” She lifts the thick white material at her sides before letting it float back to the floor like she’s in a commercial for flowers or diamond rings.

Diamond rings…

I need to add that to my list of shit to get done.

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