Page 68 of Grim

“No problem.” His gaze lingered on me before he closed his eyes once again. "But you owe me.”

“Oh, okay. Did you have something in mind?”

“Oh, yeah.” He turned to me with a smirk. “But we’ll talk about that later.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

I took a sip of my coffee before leaning back and making myself comfortable. We spent the better part of the day just hanging out, and it was really nice. I hated for it to end, but unfortunately, Lawson had to get to the clubhouse, and I had to go to work.

I was putting a bag together for Luna when he stepped into the doorway and asked, “What time do you get off tonight?”

“Around ten unless we’re having a busy night. Then, it might be closer to eleven.”

“Okay. I’ve got some stuff I’ve gotta take care of, so I might not be here when you get home.”

“Oh, okay.” He’d left us there alone many times before, but this was the first time he’d actually given me a heads-up that he wouldn’t be around. I couldn’t help but wonder if that meant things were changing between us and that Luna and I meant something to him. “I guess I’ll see you sometime tomorrow?”

“You can count on it.”

With one quick swoop, he reached for me, placed his hands on my waist, and pulled me towards him. Before I had time to think, he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me in a way that made my entire body hum.

His arms wound tight around me, inching me even closer as his tongue found its way into my mouth. He was rough, tough, and sexy as hell—and my God, he could kiss like it was nobody’s business. I was holding on by a thread, and just as I was becoming completely lost in his touch, he pulled back, quickly breaking our embrace. “I gotta get going. You call me if you need anything.”

I nodded, then watched as he started for the door.

Before he stepped outside, Lawson turned and glanced back at me, and there was a strange, almost longing, look in his eye as he said, “I’ll see ya soon.”

“You can count on it.”

With that, he closed the door and was gone. I finished getting our things together, and after I locked up, Luna and I were on our way. Twenty minutes later, we were walking up the stairs to Stacie’s apartment. When we reached the top, I knocked, and it wasn’t long before the door opened, and Stacie appeared with a smile. “Hey, guys. Come on in.”

“Thanks.” I placed Luna’s bag on the table. “I wanted to thank you again for watching Luna last night. You’ve been a real lifesaver.”

“It’s my pleasure. I love having her.” Stacie looked over to Luna as she said, “In fact, I was wondering if you and Luna might want to go to the zoo with me one day this week?”

“Really?”

Stacie didn’t leave her apartment. She’d become a severe introvert after her attack and was rarely around anyone. She worked from home and had her groceries and prescriptions delivered, and that was it. I had no idea what had inspired her to suggest an outing together, but I was thrilled by the idea. And from the expression on her face, she was, too. “I thought we could pack a picnic and make a day of it.”

Luna’s eyes widened with excitement. “Can we, Momma?”

“Absolutely. I think it’s a great idea.”

“Yay!” Luna jumped up and down with excitement.

“Which day would you like to go?”

“I don’t know.” She bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t really think that far ahead.”

“That’s okay.” It was a huge deal that she wanted to go, so I didn’t want to push her. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Great. I’ll look forward to it.”

“Us, too.” I knelt in front of Luna and took hold of her hands. “Momma has to go downstairs to work. You be good for Stacie until I get back.”

“Okay, Momma.”

“I love you, sweet girl.”

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