Page 162 of One Big Little Secret

He sounds so serious it makes me laugh, loving the moody scowl on his face.

“Thanks, Captain Obvious. Where would I be without you spelling out the conversation?”

I twist to face him completely and put my hands on his face.

Slowly, he takes my hand and raises it to his lips.

It’s incredible how the rake of his morning scruff and his lips take me apart.

“You’d still be mine,” he answers.

“Yours,” I echo, trying not to tear up.

And he kisses me after he kisses my hand, a dangerous edge to his mouth as he claims mine.

“It’s decided. We’ll go with girlfriend,” he says, sending butterflies swarming my belly again. “That enough for you to quit fussing? I’m sure about this, Salem.”

“You’re not even a little worried about how they’re going to react? With Arlo, I mean?”

He rests his forehead on mine.

“You don’t really know my mother yet. She’ll be thrilled out of her gourd. I’ll probably need to tie her down to keep her from taking off. But that won’t even be today.”

I smile. “Even if she knows I kept him a secret?”

“Salem, Salem,” he growls. “Why, after everything, is your self-esteem trailing miles behind your success?Enough bullshit.”

“I just…” I don’t know how to articulate it, this annoying uncertainty weighing me down. “I’m your employee.”

“What do you want me to do? Fire you first?”

“Dude, it’s a conflict of interest.”

“We weren’t employees when we hooked up and made a kid. Plus, I’m pretty sure my brothers would rather keep you at The Cardinal than risk having you step back and let someone less competent take over.” He rubs his nose against mine. “Also, usnotdating isn’t an option. Firing you is, in theory,” he murmurs.

“What about Arlo?”

“What about him? We do this one bite at a time. Introducing you as my girlfriend now will be a whole lot easier than digesting the whole truth at once. Trust me.”

The anxious knot in my belly tries to climb up and spout more silly questions, but I choke it back down.

This is Patton’s family. He knows them better than I do, no argument.

“Okay,” I say.

“Remember when you told me about Arlo? We’ll ease into it.”

“I know, I know. I trust you.”

And I do.

He kisses me one last time for good measure, then slides past me off the bed.

“Speaking of Arlo, we better see what he’s up to,” he says, glancing back at me with a hint of that wicked smile he saves just for me. “Damn, woman. From the way you’re acting, I might think you’ve never met a man’s folks before.”

Deep breath.

“I haven’t.”

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