Page 346 of Dark Love

It’s completely reasonable for my hand to be slipping across the duvet towards Vex’s. Holding hands with a veritable stranger on his bed is so not something that I would do… ever. Yet that’s not stopping me from doing it.

My hand touches his, and my soul settles.

Vex’s eyes leave the screen and move to our hands. He threads his fingers through mine.

***

My phone rings and I jump out of my skin. “Mom!” I scoot away from Vex like a teenager caught alone with their boyfriend. “That’s my phone.”

“She can leave you a message.”

My mother leave a message? Yeah, no! “You don’t understand how my mother works. She’s probably already called my house a dozen times. If I don’t answer the phone, her next call is going to be the Mayor or the Chief of Police.” Or worse, my neighbors. At least the other two options are complete strangers.

He blinks at me a few times in shock or possibly confusion. I’m not sure I want to know which. Without letting go of my hand, he reaches over, opens the bottom drawer of the nightstand, and pulls out my purse. “Why do women carry bags this large?”

That is a question with many answers. “Cookies!”

“Huh?”

I hold out a ‘1 second’ finger as I answer the phone. “Hi, Mom.”

“Where are you Dahlia Prudence Fleur? I called your house a dozen times this morning and you didn’t answer. Did you forget we were going to have coffee together?”

Did I? Sort of, but not really. There’s no way I want to explain to her what happened. Vex doesn’t need the kind of drama in his life that my mother would bring if she found out something bad had happened to me. “I’m out watchinga baseball game.” That’s sure to distract her. If there’s one thing she hates more than sports, it’s me loving them.

“Of course, you’re at a game. How are you going to find a man spending all your free time at baseball games?”

“One game is hardly all my time.” Though to be fair, when baseball season starts it’s a bit more often.

“You need to be out with your friends meeting a man. What about that neighbor of yours?”

She can’t have heard about Massimo Vincenti. My life is over if she has. There will be no end to the meddling and torment. “What neighbor?”

“That Vincenti guy…”

They’re all named Vincenti. Literally the entire neighborhood.

“The one your father talked to when you were buying the townhouse.”

Ahh. She means Talon. “He’s happily married, Mom. And old enough to be my father.” Quite literally, since his son is older than I am.

“Well, he has to have a brother, cousin, or something.”

“Mom!” Is it possible to die of embarrassment sitting on a bed?

“Fine. Fine. And your boss is really out of the picture?”

What is with everyone and Adonis? “Yes.” Time to change the topic to something less humiliating. “Where are you and Dad going?”

“He wants to go to Florida. He said something about golfing while I’m at the beach.”

“That wasn’t a wise suggestion.” Dad never wins those kinds of arguments.

“Oh, I agreed with him totally.” There’s an evil glee in Mom’s voice.

“What did you do to him?”

“Nothing at all, dear.”

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