Page 50 of Redeeming Rabbit

Yes.“No. That would be impossible, considering I don’t even know him. Look, we spent a couple of days together. That’s it. He also gave me the best orgasm of my life and told me he loves me.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “I think you left some details out of your story.”

Lowering my voice, I said, “I told you he went down on me.”

“But you neglected to add how much you enjoyed it. And you definitely didn’t mention his declaration of love.”

I cleared my throat, smoothing the linen napkin on my lap to keep my hands busy before finally replying. “It was meant to be a factual, non-biased recount of the activities that led up to him leaving my apartment. Adding the emotions would only skew the story toward my point of view.”

She blinked and then shook her head.

“What?”

“According to Darius, Rabbit’s a mess. What did you say after he told you he loves you?”

I winced. “You came in. And I…”

It took her a moment, but I could practically see the wheels spinning in her head. She paled. “You kicked him off your bed and said you were being stupid.”

There was nothing wrong with her memory. “In my defense, it was extremely unwise to engage in sexual activity without first having a conversation about expectations. We made a bet based on orgasms. I had no way of knowing Rabbit expected more than sex from me.” I recognized the lie as soon as I said it. Rabbit had given me plenty of signs. Hell, I saw how much he cared every time he looked at me. I hadn’t ignored the evidence; I’d merely reasoned it away. “We’d known each other less than a week, T. That is inadequate time to develop feelings for a person.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “That’s about how long it took Darius and me.”

I opened my mouth to refute her claim, but I couldn’t. My sister was happier than I’d ever seen her, and anything negative I said would cheapen their relationship. I would not stoop to that level, even to justify my own relationship concerns. “You’re happy. It looks good on you.”

Her expression softened. She unfolded her arms, reached across the table, and grabbed my hands. “Listen. For as long as I can remember, you have always used logic and science to explain everything. But this is love. It doesn’t make sense. Matt Parker was perfect on paper. When I married that man, I would have sworn on my life that he wouldn’t hit me because, hello, that’s what marriage is. I bet on that man because he made sense. He took care of me, he wanted me, and he had nice parents. Seriously, how can someone with nice, normal parents be so fucked up?”

“Excellent question.”

“And now there’s Darius, who also looks good on paper. I really freaking love this man, and I’m terrified he’s gonna turn out to be a monster.”

Her admission completely threw me off guard. I’d been so worried about her apparent lack of caution that it hadn’t even occurred to me she had her own concerns. Despite the courage of her actions, Tina was afraid of repeating her mistakes.

She needed me, and I should have made myself available to her. No wonder she was looking for a new family.

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls.”

She gave me a watery smile. “It’s okay. You won’t do it again.”

That sounded alarmingly like a threat, but I earned it. “Noted.”

“There’s something else.” She released my hands and looked me over. “Kaos is getting patched in at the club tonight. There’ll be a party afterward. Dylan and I are going, and it would mean a lot to all of us if you came.”

“Tonight? Don’t you think that’s short notice?”

She gave me the stink eye, reminding me I had been the one ditching her calls, then nodded. “Hopefully, that won’t give you enough time to devise an excuse not to come.”

“Ouch.” I winced.

“Don’t give me that crap. You know I’m right. I’m your big sister. I’m always right.”

“Is that why you made me help you with your high school math and science homework when I was still in middle school?”

Her lips twitched in a suppressed smile. “Hush. This is my moment in the sun. Let me bask in it.”

“Fine. Bask away. In the meantime, what does one wear to a biker patch party?”

She tapped her fingers together, and her grin spread, turning her into a cartoon villain. “That depends on your motivation to attend.”

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