Page 24 of Passion Restored

6

Liz wanted nothing more than to take a long bath before sleeping for the next fourteen hours, but she had a feeling that wouldn’t be happening today. She’d worked an overnight shift since the administration office had been changing things around for the past month, and her body wasn’t used to it yet. And she had a feeling by the time she did find a way to make it work mentally, they’d change her right back to days. Considering that had already happened twice, she knew she’d just have to live on coffee until the bosses figured out the budgets and how not to screw people around. People’s lives depended on her, so yawning during an exam was out of the question.

She shuffled into the kitchen around noon and went straight for the coffee pot. She still needed to shower and do something about the rat’s nest she called hair, but coffee was required first.

Tessa stood at the kitchen island, her jeans low on her hips as she danced to whatever song played on her headphones. She had a spoon in her hand, and her eyes were closed as she shimmied and shook, something halfway between cooking and whatever dance she called that movement.

Liz held back a smile as she went to her coffee, brushing by Tessa on the way. After her friend stopped screaming, Liz poured herself a cup and smiled.

“Good morning.”

“Holy shit, woman,” Tessa panted as she pulled her earbuds out of her ears. “Warn a bitch before scaring the shit of out her lurking around like that.”

Liz flipped her friend off as she took a sip of the manna that would keep her looking alive the rest of the day. “I don’t lurk.”

“You sure as hell didn’t make a sound when you came in.”

She rolled her eyes. “You had your music up so loud, you wouldn’t have heard me yell your name. Though I don’t know why you had your eyes closed as you danced. Maybe to make sure you didn’t have to see yourself, hmm?”

This time it was Tessa who flipped her off. “I hate you, and I dance a hell of a lot better than you.” She pointed at her hips. “These hips don’t lie. I have moves. You amble and try to grind or whatever, even though you have way better curves than I do.”

“I don’t amble. Nor do I try to grind.” Liz took another sip. “I grind just fine. Or at least I did when I actually danced.”

Tessa rolled her eyes. “You need to start taking time for yourself or you’re going to work yourself to the bone.”

“It’s not that bad,” Liz argued. “Plus, we have to finish getting the house set up, and I haven’t even looked at the yard. We’re hitting the months where we need to start planning things for the spring now that the heavy snow has stopped.”

“First, it’s Denver, honey. The snow won’t stop until June even though it’ll fake us out for a month or so with hot weather. That’s how it works here. As you’ve lived in this area your whole live, you know that. And second, you need to live beyond this house and your work. Shake your ass in public and drink a little too much.”

“Are you saying I should go out dancing? Because I don’t know of any places near here other than a few bars. And we aren’t twenty-one anymore. We have responsibilities.”

Tessa rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we do. And because we do, we need to let off some steam. That’s why today we’re going over to Owen’s house because Murphy invited us over.”

“Why is Murphy inviting us over to Owen’s house and not Owen?”

“Because Owen is throwing a party and wants us over there. Murphy just happened to be the one to call me.”

Liz froze. She hadn’t seen Owen since the kiss-that-shall-not-be-mentioned in his kitchen, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to face him yet. Hell, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready to face him. She could still feel the way his hand had gripped her hip, the way his tongue had dominated, the way his teeth had bit into her lip, making her want to climb up his body and never let go.

Tessa gave her a curious look, and Liz did her best not to press her thighs together since she knew she was already wet just thinking about Owen’s mouth on her.

Damn Gallagher.

“What are you thinking about that’s making your cheeks all red like that, hmm?” Tessa asked. “Because, honey, if it’s making you look that embarrassed or turned on, I need details. And then you need to go finish what you started because I know you haven’t been laid recently.”

“Tessa!” Liz closed her eyes and pinched her nose. “Stop doing that.” Tessa had always been able to tell when Liz had finally had sex with the man she was dating, and she hated it. Not that she hated that Tessa knew, she didn’t, but Liz hated that she could never tell with Tessa. Her friend was better at putting on a mask than anyone Liz knew.

“What? I’m just saying. And let me guess, it was Mr. Tall and Organized, right? Did Owen put his big hands on you?” Tessa’s eyes danced as she finished mixing mustard into the potato salad Liz just now realized she’d been making. “How was it? No, don’t tell me. I can totally guess from the way you want to kill me right now. He was hot, demanding, and ready to get you off right where you were. Only he didn’t, because if he had, you’d be a lot more relaxed right now. So either something interrupted you or one of you ran. I’m going to say you because you’re not talking about it and you look like you want to murder me right now.”

Liz set down her empty coffee cup and took a deep breath. “I hate how you do that. You are totally in the wrong line of work. You could work for the police with the way you see things.” She let out that breath. “Anyway, yes, Owen and I kissed. That was it. It was a mistake and won’t be happening again.”

“Why the hell not?” Tessa demanded as she put the potato salad into the fridge. “He’s single. You’re single. You both give off those ‘fuck me’ vibes that only call to one another, and he’s hot.”

Liz rinsed out her cup and blew out a breath. “We don’t give off those ‘fuck me’ vibes. And it’s not like you’ve seen us together that much to know.”

“I wasn’t that drunk at the bar, Liz. I clearly remember the way you two kept looking at each other that night. Of course, you were glaring, and he was looking at you like a guppy in water, his mouth moving but no words coming out. Either way, though, I felt the flames. He’s hot for you. You’re hot for him. Just do him already.”

“You’re an idiot.”

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