Page 65 of Lost the Handle

“For real. I had a meeting with your bank and explained to them it shouldn’t be that easy for me to find out information. And then I told them I could update their cybersecurity.”

Quinn kisses the top of my head as he strokes my butt cheek with his thumb. My legs are wrapped around one of his, my pussy pressing into his hip, and I don’t know how I ever thought I could live without this man. I don’t know if I tricked myself into thinking he was better off without me, if my fear of not being enough for him won—or, really, if it was all the above. But I’m so lucky I am where I am. As much as everyone believes I came back for him because he was with Ava, it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with him.

With the rightness I feel when I’m in his arms.

“How are you not in jail?”

I scoff. “Come on. You know no one knows my real name on that side of the business, and once I get them to sign an NDA, I give them my business information. It’s all highly legal, according to my lawyer, whose yacht addiction I swear I fund.”

“Insane,” he muses, his lips warm against my temple.

“The FBI tried to hire me.”

I feel his grin. “You didn’t take it?”

“No. I don’t want to be owned by anyone. It takes away the excitement.”

He chuckles. “Except that I own you,” he murmurs against my ear, and I grin.

“Only you.”

He kisses my ear. “I’m proud of you, lovebug.”

My eyes drift shut. “Thanks.”

“Is it weird?”

I pop a brow before looking up at him. “What? This?”

“No. This isn’t weird.”

“It’s right,” I say, and jeez, my voice is so heavy.

We lock eyes, and I wait for him to bring up fucking Ava. Or how complicated this just became now that we are in each other’s arms. Really, I don’t care. He wasn’t hers, and for her to think so only makes her dumb. Instead, though, he nods. “Yeah.” I give him a small little tilt of my lips before I cuddle back into his side. “No, I mean all the money you’ve made. I saw the article. Lucas had it framed before they moved.”

My lips stretch into a bigger grin. My dad is awesome. “It doesn’t seem real,” I answer honestly. “I mean, I know the money’s there, but I don’t need anything. I’m not the type to blow it in a club or buy extravagant things. I mean, other than the car. I’ve invested a lot, and I overspend on books and my niece and nephews, even though Asher and Aiden get on to me about it. Not that I care.”

“I donate most of the money you send me, then spend the rest on the kids.” I smile against his chest. “Though, I did use the first round you deposited to pay off my apartment, so Benson and I didn’t have to worry about it.”

“Smart,” I say as I continue to stroke my fingers along his chest. “Did it surprise you?”

He’s quiet for a moment, and when he speaks, it’s low and rough. “I almost called you.”

My heart kicks up in speed, my belly doing a little twist and then clenching. “That was my plan.”

“I know,” he says with a laugh. “That’s why I didn’t call.”

“And that’s why I didn’t call you. Because it felt like you didn’t care.”

He groans, squeezing me to him. “We are a fucking mess.”

“Nothing new. We’ve always been a little off.”

I dance my fingers along his abs, dipping one into his belly button as he mutters, “I think my mom was right. We were too young, unable to communicate clearly.”

I shrug. “I don’t know that much has changed. We’ve lived together for over a week, and you did everything in your power to ignore me.”

“Because I knew we’d end up like this.”

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