Page 74 of Ruthless

"I know," she murmured, surprising me. "We met earlier this morning." She didn't take her gaze off him as she spoke.

Oh. That didn't surprise me, but the electric current that I felt running between Della and Skipper did. I wondered if Stevie was feeling the same vibes that I was. I stared at Skipper as he stared down at Della, searching for a sign that would convince me that this was just his normal way of dealing with the sick and wounded, and not that he was interested in Della, which was impossible, because they'd only met that morning.

Then I thought about Rebel and how quickly we'd felt connected from the beginning. I knew it was possible, that Rebel and I weren't exclusive in that regard, but I wasn't sure that I liked it. Skipper seemed like a nice enough man, but Della was going to need time to heal. There wouldn't be time for another man in her life until much later. Maybe I was reading too much into the way that he was looking down at her, but then, looking at Della, I realized that she was staring up at him in the same way.

"The nurse attacked her with a needle and I had to rescue her," Skipper joked.

The glance Stevie suddenly gave me revealed that she'd noticed that there was something going on between the two of them also. She gave a little shrug, and then the silence was interrupted by a loud grumble. Embarrassed when all eyes shot my way, I covered my belly, as if to drown out any more sounds.

"Someone is hungry," Stevie laughed.

I held my hand up. "Guilty."

"Go eat something." I wasn't expecting Della to dismiss me so quickly.

"You just woke up!" I laughed.

"I promise you this won't be the only time I'm awake," she joked, and it was like a balm to my heart to hear how normal she sounded all of a sudden.

"Well, okay, then. I know when I'm not wanted."

"Ready to go to lunch? My treat," Stevie offered, walking back to the sofa to retrieve her purse.

I definitely was.

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