Page 151 of Just This Once

“I know,” I murmured and pulled her into my arms to kiss her temple. “And it was incredibly sweet of you to try.”

“Shh,” she warned as she shifted her face to hide it in my neck. “Don’t go telling anyone I have a sweet side too. You’ll ruin my bad bitch reputation.”

I smiled before inhaling the fragrance of her hair. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

“Deal,” she murmured as she ran her hand up my arm. “And thank you. Thanks for doing this for me. I mean it.”

“No problem,” I answered, closing my eyes and basking in her presence. “In fact, how about I help you withallthe items on your bucket list?”

“What?” Hope lifted her face from my throat to blink into my eyes. “What’re you talking about?”

“I know how important this list is to you. And I think you’re purposely ignoring your condition because you’re so determined to work on it. So if I promise to help you clear the entire list, will you promise to seriously start looking into finding a donor, someone who’s willing to donate to you, not just waiting for your name to reach the top of some list?”

Her lips parted as she gazed up at me. Then she nodded slowly. “If you really want to help me with my list, then okay. Yeah. I’ll start actively seeking a donor.”

“Good.” Exhaling in relief, I kissed the center of her forehead.

But Hope grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled my face down so she could kiss me on the mouth.

I hummed and stepped closer, deepening the contact until a clattering of footsteps broke us apart. I was just taking a step back and wiping my mouth discreetly when Waverly flew around the corner, breathing hard, her eyes wide with concern.

“What the hell?” I started, blinking at her in confusion and shaking my head to ask what she was doing.

“Saw you two walk in together,” she panted breathlessly, pausing to rest her hands on her knees before she motioned above us. “And now Keene’s here. Just came in, so… You can’t go up there.”

“Shit.” My gaze slid to Hope.

She bit her lip, wincing and already glancing around for an escape plan.

“There’s a back exit. This way,” Waverly finally added. “It’s for staff only, but I can get you out without being seen.”

I blinked at her in surprise. “You’d do that for us?”

She nodded back before asking, “I mean, unless you’d rather he catch you down here, canoodling his best friend’s sister?”

I straightened, giving her a funny look. “How do you know who Hope is?”

Down the row of books, the door from the stairwell opened, squeaking loudly before whistling followed. It was a tune that Keene often whistled to himself.

“Shit.”

“Later,” Waverly hissed as she motioned for us to follow.

Hope and I exchanged a glance. When she shrugged, I grabbed her hand and hauled her behind me as I trailed Waverly down the tight row.

At the end of the stacks, she turned right, and we entered a part of the basement I’d never been to before. The number of overhead lights decreased, making the area darker and danker than the other half, which was dark and dank enough as it was.

When we came to a door markedEmployees Only, Waverly yanked it open and darted through. I was right behind her, drawing Hope along with me.

Inside, we found a room full of pipes and a wall full of computer servers.

“Whoa,” Hope breathed beside me, taking it all in.

Not pausing to let us gawk, Waverly started up a steel, spiral staircase, calling over the clanging of the rungs, “This way.”

I glanced at Hope again. Perspiration was beading on her brow, and she was already winded, but she didn’t seem to need a break yet.

“Ladies first,” I told her with a smirk as I splayed my hand over the first step.

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