Page 22 of Safe With Me

The corner of her mouth tipped up.

“And it’s kind of cute that you got so embarrassed, Officer Mike.”

“Cute?” I scoffed. “Well, as long as you’re not offended, I guess I’ll take it.”

She shot me a wry grin and motioned for me to follow.

How old was I that hearing her call me cute and heading into her bedroom made heat rise up my neck?

This was a combo of loneliness, hormones, and curiosity. That’s all. I’d shake off the burn from where she’d touched my arm and leave when I was finished.

And somehow try to push her out of my mind enough that I wasn’t a blabbering idiot the next time I ran into her.

I opened the box and set out all the pieces, not wanting to glance at the bed behind me to give either of us the wrong idea.

“So, the bar is it?” Lila asked as she leaned against the doorjamb.

“There’s a bar and grill near the highway exit, but not much goes on here at night unless there’s some kind of party or wedding in the one catering hall we have.”

“I guess that’s good,” she said as she traipsed over to the bed and sat on the edge. “No competition for a swanky party if everyone has it in one place.”

“You’d be surprised.” A laugh slipped out of me as I set up the shelves.

“Your entire family lives here?”

“Most of them,” I told her as I started attaching the pieces. “You know my father. He lives here with my stepmother and my nine-year-old sister. My aunt and uncle live fifteen minutes away from them, with my high school sophomore cousin. My other cousin is a year younger than me and just earned hernursing degree, but she moved in to her own apartment a few months ago and works at the hospital.”

“Wow, they really do all live here.”

I smiled at Lila’s widened eyes.

“My grandmother lives two towns over, about forty-five minutes away. Half the people I went to high school with still live in town. So, I think it’s less about places to go here than just who to hang out with, I suppose.”

“I get that.” She nodded. “I’ve lived in Philly for my whole life, not in the same place, but in the general area. And I knew mostly everybody in my neighborhood. I understand it being more about the people you’re with than the places you go.”

“Yeah,” I said, hating the sad pull on her features as she smoothed back the hairs falling from her bun and tickling her cheekbones.

“Is your whole family in Philly?” I asked, taking longer than needed to put the last touches on the dresser and set it against the wall.

“Most of them. My mother, my father, and my brother. My cousin Steven is how I know Claudia. He’s married to Claudia’s cousin, Eric, and lives in Brooklyn.

“Ah, yes. He runs Claudia’s father’s restaurant, right? I keep meaning to go. Claudia is always talking about how amazing it is.”

“It’s fantastic. I’ve been a couple of times. Brooklyn is not too far of a drive from Philly, but it would be a long ride from here. Steven is more of a big brother than a cousin to me,” she said as a frown pulled at her lips.

I was focusing more on her mouth than the project I was supposed to be doing for her.

“Do you not get along with your brother?”

“No,” she said, shifting on the bed. “We never really did. I was always a nuisance to him, and he was never afraid to show it.”

“I guess it must make family gatherings a little stressful.”

“I told my parents I won’t go to anything if he’s there. So, yes, it’s that bad.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

I clutched the wood in my hands hard enough to almost splinter my finger. Was her brother the one who’d hurt her?

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