Page 48 of Hot Zone

“Whoa, hold up. I don’t think I have any say in who you sleep with. I’m not sure where this is coming from.”

I raised an eyebrow and gave him my best you’ve gotta be kidding me look.

“Did you, or did you not, tell Samuel to stay away from me?”

“I didn’t tell him to stay away from you. I just told him I didn’t think he was what you needed.”

“And how exactly do you think you know what I need?”

“I’ve known you forever, man. Just like I’ve known my dad forever. He’s bossy, he likes to be in control, and he always thinks he knows what’s best. I just felt like you needed to be able to make your own choices—not have one more person in your life telling you who you should be.”

“Oh, you mean like what you’re doing right now?”

“That’s not what I’m doing,” he protested.

I crossed my arms. “It’s not?”

He glanced over my shoulder, looking sheepish.

I turned to see Roxy standing in the doorway. She looked at Steven, then at me, and nodded.

“I mean… it kind of is,” she said.

I turned back to Steven. “Listen, I know you mean well. But this thing with me and your dad? It’s happening. I love you like a brother—you know that—and I don’t want to cause problems between us. But just like you said, you’ve got to let me make my own decisions.”

“But he’s—” Steven started.

“Bossy and controlling. Yeah, I know,” I said, leaning closer with a grin. “And let me tell you a secret… I like it.”

“I don’t want to know. Please, just don’t.”

“I meant like the way he makes me eat breakfast every day. What were you talking about?”

He threw a throw pillow at me, and I caught it in the air, laughing. Then I sobered and looked him in the eye. “Are we okay, Steven?”

“What happens if things go south? I don’t want to be in the middle. I can’t lose you, Marsy, but I love my dad.”

“You know as well as I do that there are no guarantees. I like to think things will be perfect, but Steven, I would never ask you to choose. We’re always going to be family, you and me, no matter what happens with me and your dad.”

“You promise?” he asked, and for just a minute, instead of the confident commercial real estate agent I knew him to be, he looked like that scared fourteen-year-old whose parents just told him they were getting a divorce.

“I promise.” And I meant it. I didn’t know if Samuel and I would be together long-term, but Steven and I would always be solid, no matter what.

Chapter 16

Samuel

I was just finishing up the daily crossword when Mars came into the kitchen. I’d left him curled up in a ball, asleep in bed. He went straight to the coffee pot, poured himself a cup of coffee, and then sat down at the table.

I loved seeing him in my space—whether it was curled up in bed or here in the kitchen, dressed for work in jeans and a long-sleeved sweater. I watched as he filled his cup.

“There are scrambled eggs and bacon,” I said.

“You’re spoiling me rotten,” he replied.

“Well, I think you could use a little spoiling.”

He took his plate out of the oven and came to the table.

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