Page 118 of Against The Rules

THANK YOU

okay but seriously, you can’t just hire a private chef for me

Why not? You’ve been working yourself to death. I can’t be there to take care of you, so Zoltan is going to make sure at the very least you don’t have to think about food while I’m out of town

Ty, I can’t pay you back for any of this

I plan to pay you back the money you gave me for the business as soon as I earn it, but this is going to take me forever

Peaches, I don’t have long before I have to get back on the field, but you should know that I never expected to get any of it back

Has no one ever done something for you just because they want you to be happy?

This is different

No, I’m just different

I love you. If it really bothers you, I’ll tell him to come cook for me instead. Just try it out for one week, okay?

I love you too

I stare at the screen for a second.

Yelling, I throw my phone on the bed.

Shit! Shit, I so did not mean to text that. It was a reflexive I love you. That’s all.

Wasn’t it?

Shit!

My phone vibrates, falling off the bed onto the floor. I stare at it like it might be a spitting cobra.

“Everything okay?” Zoltan calls from the kitchen.

“Sorry!” I yell back, trying not to think about how weird it is to have a stranger cooking in my kitchen. “I thought I saw a spider.”

Fuck!

Gingerly, like it’s going to bite me, I pick up the phone, and a new message from Ty is there.

It’s a screenshot of the homescreen on his phone, and the background? A screenshot of his messages, my declaration of love blown up behind the apps.

I blink, then snort, because it’s just so damn Ty.

My phone vibrates in my hand and I shout again, dropping it like a hot potato.

“Savannah?” Zoltan sounds truly concerned now.

“Sorry, I just loved the spider. KILLED THE SPIDER!” I correct, then slam the door to my room shut.

I know, Peaches

Can’t wait to hear you say it when I’m inside you, though

Good grief. I bite my lip, scrambling to come up with something to say back. A denial? A rebuttal? A clarification?

But his text bubbles turn green, and I know his phone’s off.