Page 90 of What I Should Have Known

“Just one tire?”

He shook his head. “Two. And who knows if the nails will accidentally fall out.”

Closing my eyes, I bit down on my bottom lip. “Anything else?”

I heard him inhale deeply. “Uh, nothing you need to know.”

“Of—”

“Bernie?” my mother, once again, interrupted something private with the man I was absolutely smitten by.

“Hey, Mrs. Fisher,” Bernie smoothly replied, and I opened my eyes as he raised a single brow in my direction and folded his arms over his chest. His pecs bunched beneath the movement. Footsteps padded against the hardwood behind me, coming closer until they stopped beside me.

“What are you doing here so early?” she asked.

I glanced her way and then her eyes widened. “Kat, what is Bernie doing here at this hour in the morning?”

“I heard she went home early last night because she was sick. Just wanted to check in and make sure she was okay,” Bernie replied for me, and my mom pursed her lips as the television crackled to life in the living room.

“That’s the lie you’re going to go with? The same one that Wyatt used,” my mom said, shoving her hands on her hips with a cocked brow.

Pursing my lips, I glared at my mom. “Is he not allowed to be worried about me?”

“He is. Unless—” She cut herself off mid-sentence, a gasp filling the doorway from her. “You’releaving. As in leaving because you’ve been here all night.” My mom slid her gaze from Bernie toward me as my cheeks flushed warm. My stomach dropped to my toes as I sucked in my bottom lip.

And then a knowing smile of approval slid upon my mom’s face. “You didn’t come home early with Emma because you were sick, did you?”

“Hold up,” Bernie interjected.

The humor wiped from his face as quickly as a shadow vanished at dawn.

The drastic change was abrupt enough that my mother didn’t attempt to argue with him.

He stepped closer to the house and tipped his head. “Is that a live broadcast?” he asked.

“What are you talking about?” my mom said, turning slowly to follow his stare over my shoulder. I instead studied Bernie, knowing he had a habit of being more devious than he let on.

“The news on the TV. Is that happening live or a rerun?” He took another step forward, crossing the threshold, and stopped directly in front of me. His warm breath washed against my face, steady and rhythmical.

“It’s live. Hank watches it every morning during breakfast,” she replied quietly.

Straining to hear, I zeroed in on the jumbled words behind me. The tension in the news anchor’s voice had even Levi and Beau silent. “As ofthis moment, the evacuation of headquarters for the Defense Intelligence Agency is still ongoing. No intel has been reported as missing at this point. There are six confirmed casualties so far but more are assumed. With no claim by any known terrorist organization, the investigation of this bombing will remain open, limiting what information can be shared. For your—”

My focus shifted back onto Bernie as a wicked grin slowly spread across his face once more, and her voice became mumbled white noise in the background.

He winked. “Distraction,” he whispered, leaned forward, and quickly pecked my lips with a kiss. “See you later, Kit Kat.”

And he was gone as quickly as the wind arrived.

That sly, absolutely incredible man.

With a howl, dark clouds rumbled across the sky, picking up dust and pollen.

A storm had arrived.

I quietly closed the door as my mom remained locked onto the news report, and I slipped up the stairs unnoticed.

Now, the only question that remained was whether or not to video call BernieifI decided to indulge in the very act I imagined he was thinking about as he rode his motorcycle home.

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