Page 32 of Heartless Pucker in Love

“I didn’t.” I shrugged. “Okay, maybe I did but it was hard not to. We were sitting beside each other on a plane. There wasn’t much privacy to be had.”

“Oh, my God,” she groaned. Eyes narrowing, she pointed out, “I was kidding about the sex part.” Shifting in her chair, cheeks bright red, she murmured, “I’ve had great sex. Lots of it. Like mind-blowing orgasms all the time.”

I lifted a brow, a smile threatening to surface. Did she not know I could tell when she was lying?

April closed her eyes and inhaled. If her face got any redder, it might catch fire. “Just...shut up Julian.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Forget everything I said,” she sighed and turned away from me to poke at her plate with her fork. The words were barely audible but I heard her mutter under her breath, “Awkward-April strikes again.”

My lips curved upwards. And Awkward-April was fucking adorable. I changed the subject so that she didn’t keel over from her obvious embarrassment. “So, what did you do without my amazing company today? You missed me, right?”

She rolled her eyes, but the ghost of a smile was evident. “Oh, yeah, I couldn’t bear being without your company.”

“Always so sarcastic,” I commented and hid my smile behind my glass.

April sighed and swiveled in her chair to face me. She put her fork down. Her serious expression had me worried. “Julian.”

“Uh-oh. What did I do?”

Her lips kicked up at the corners. “Relax, you’re not in trouble.” Teeth sinking into her lower lips, she studied me. “What am I still doing here?”

My eyes darted from side to side. “Uh...having dinner?”

She chuckled. “I mean, here, in New York, with you. It’s been three weeks. You don’t need me anymore.”

I had no idea why a wave of panic rose in my gut. Didn’t need her? Of course, I needed her. Then it hit me that I wasn’t entirely sure why I needed her. It was certainly not for her medical expertise. Holding her gaze, I had no idea what to say.

April pursed her lips and gazed over my shoulder. “You’re healing nicely. Your wounds are fine. I don’t even have to dress them anymore. Your last x-ray showed that your ribs are...great, and so is your wrist. You’re no longer on meds. You’re just fine...without me.”

I glanced down at the wretched cast that I had to wear for about three more weeks. “I…” Lifting my eyes to hers, I asked, “Are you trying to quit on me, Flower Child?” I pressed a hand to my chest and pouted. “I’m hurt.”

Her smile blossomed, then turned into a laugh. “No, I’m not trying to quit.” She toyed with her necklace. “It’s just that you’re paying me a lot of money to do nothing but hop on private jets and lounge around in fancy hotel suites.”

“And you don’t want that? I was right when I said you’re a peculiar creature.”

She huffed. “Don’t start. It isn’t fair that you’re paying so much when I’m hardly performing any nursing duties.”

Scratching my chin, I regarded her with amusement. “So you’re worried about my bank account? That’s sweet but don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t run dry anytime soon.”

She snorted and surveyed the room. “Yeah, so I've realized. Still?”

“I do need you.” I pursed my lips after blurting the words out. Way to sound desperate and pathetic. “I mean, I’m still wearing this thing…” I lifted my left hand and she gazed at the cast. “And…”

To hell with it. Taking a deep breath, I dropped the bullshit. “Look, April, I like having you around, okay? You’re a pain in my ass sometimes?” Her jaw dropped and I had to bite back a laugh. What? It was the truth. “...And I’m pretty sure I’m more of a pain in yours.” She nodded very vigorously, and this time I did grin. “But, it works. We work.”

I bit my lower lip. I just made it sound as if we were a couple. “I mean as friends. It’s been damn good having a real friend around, April. My mother and Andy can’t give up their lives in Oakland to run around with me or live in Canada. I’d never ask them to, as much as I want my family with me.” I shrugged. “Truth is, I’ve been lonely, but not so much since you’ve decided to take the job as my nurse. You being here is like having a piece of home. I guess it’s because I’ve known you since you were in pigtails, and I was causing chaos on the playground.”

She giggled.

“Whatever it is, it’s just been...nice. So there...” I grinned at her. “Go ahead, take your dig at me. I know you want to.”

April’s lips parted, but no words came out. She held my gaze for a while, wearing a slight frown. “Actually, I don’t want to. This is the realest I’ve seen you, Julian.”

I blinked. Of course, she knew I threw up an unbothered facade every damn day. She always saw right through me. I had to look away before she saw too much of what I hid from everyone else. I was scaling the line between actual happiness and misery. I kept having this feeling that something was missing from my life, and it gave me serious anxiety because I had no idea what it was. What was the more that I wanted?

“Are you okay?” she asked gently. “You’re doing that thing where you go far away somewhere in here again.” She tapped my forehead.

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