Page 18 of Winning Bid

Fuck.

“Fuck.”

I frown. “That’s my line.”

She sighs and sits on the bed. “It’s Eddie, one of the paralegals from the office. He’s asking about tomorrow’s Kerwin presentation, and that is making me remember that I didn’t finish the slides. It’s first thing in the morning, baby. I’m sorry, I?—"

“I don’t want to sound like a dick, but can’t someone else handle this for you? Isn’t that why you have paralegals?”

“Not for this. This is a big project Andre only trusts me to handle. Baby, I’m sorry?—"

“Say no more. Let’s um … ” Shit. I don’t want to make her feel worse about this, but this is not how tonight was supposed to go, and disappointed does not begin to cover how I’m feeling right now. But I fix my smile into place so she doesn’t feel bad. “Let’s go home so you can work on your presentation.”

She doesn’t jump right on the offer, and she’s doing that lip-chewing thing she does when she’s nervous.

Great. There’s more to this. “What is it?”

“Don’t be mad?—"

“Every great conversation starts that way, right?”

June huffs. “I didn’t expect to be able to sleep tonight, so I brought my laptop so I could do work after you fell asleep.”

“I’m not sure what it says about my prowess that you thought you wouldn’t sleep tonight?—"

“You know how stressed out I am, Anderson. You know I don’t sleep when I’m like this.”

“I have never seen you like this before, baby.”

Her eyes go big, and then she tries to pretend that didn’t happen. “Right. Well, I’m going to?—"

“Wait—when did I see you this stressed out before?”

June sighs. “I forgot that you didn’t, actually.”

“I don’t understand.”

Again, she stares down. “When you first came home … after you were shot … I stayed up the first three nights watching you sleep.”

“What?”

“I couldn’t fall asleep, knowing you might not wake up. But if I watched you sleep, then I knew you’d be alive in the morning.” My heart breaks on those words. She huffs at herself. “I know that’s not how it works. The doctors worked miracles, and you?—"

I kiss her. I can’t believe she did that. This whole time … I’d thought she was Super Woman, taking care of me. But I never knew how bad it affected her. She kept that from me. I break the kiss. “Never again, June.”

“What? I mean, I hope you’re never shot again?—"

“Not that. When you’re stressed out like this, you fucking tell me. We talk. We get it out in the open. We don’t hide how deeply affected we are. Not from each other. You can depend on me. I need you to know that, and I need you to act like it, okay? Show me that you trust me enough to be there for you.”

She leans against my shoulder. “I hear what you’re saying, and under normal circumstances, sure. But baby, you were so doped out of your mind those first few days, even if I had told you, I doubt you’d remember.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. She’s right about that. “Okay, fine. Maybe not right then, but it’s been over two months. You could have said something between now and then. Let me be here for you. Please.”

“Okay.” She takes a breath. “Right now, I won’t be able to enjoy any of this until I get the Kerwin presentation done.”

I nod. “Alright then. You put on some clothes, or I can’t promise I’ll let you work, and I will get comfortable and watch you work.”

She kisses me, stealing my breath like a thief. “Thank you for understanding, baby.”

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