ETHAN
After becoming acquainted with the bottom of my boot.
Layne’s lips drew upward into a smile. She could only imagine how quickly the man with the Russian contact’s calling card cracked under Ethan’s physical pressure.
LAYNE
Are you going to keep me waiting?
ETHAN
I want you to answer my question.
She rolled her eyes in minimal annoyance before she texted him the praise he was looking for.
LAYNE
You are my favorite employee.
Don’t fuck that shit up.
ETHAN
I knew you loved me most.
Password: 12345
LAYNE
Seriously? 12345?
ETHAN
No, I was just making sure you were paying attention.
The password for real: pokayaniye777$SIYLLCAILSCLW
Holy fuckballs, that was a password. Layne copied and pasted that shit over to Cowboy immediately.
No sooner had she sent the password over to her tech guru than the sliding glass door from the house opened. She looked up and her heart fluttered as she saw Joey step outside to join her.
“You planning on getting ready for tonight?” He asked as he crossed the brick patio to where she was seated on the lounge chair. “I know you take forever and a damn day.” He grinned.
That’s right, Gage’s party was tonight. Gage had been supervising the setup for it all day. She had hardly seen him since he rolled out of bed this morning.
Layne turned, swinging her legs over the side of the chair to put her feet down on the ground. “Yeah, just wanted to finish a few things first.”
His hand reached out, his fingers coming up underneath her chin and tilting her head back. Joey’s eyes lovingly gazed down into hers. “Promise me something?”
The multitude of shades of green her eyes held were staring right up at him. “You know I don’t make blind promises.”
With a light touch, his hand trailed over her jaw and up onto the side of her face, his fingers tangling themselves in her hair. She leaned her face into the palm of his hand.
Joey stood there drinking in the sight of her melting into his hold. His mouth positioned itself in a knowing smile. His ask was so simple, and still, he knew nothing with his wife was ever simple.
“Try to have some fun tonight. Relax. No working and absolutely no worrying. Can you do that for me?” He leaned in, brushing his lips over hers to help sweeten the request.
It was a tall request that she wasn’t sure she could give her word on, no matter how much she wanted to. “How can you ask me not to worry after everything that’s happened? What if?—”