Page 53 of Decoding Morse

“Aw, thank you for your interest.” Her smile was one hundred percent sass. “She found my name in a local obituary. My wife’s death announcement, to be exact. Amelia didn’t know me and didn’t owe me a damn thing, but my status as a military widow encouraged her to track my ass down to make sure I was okay. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t. Nor did I want her help, but she wasrelentless. She savagely bullied her way into my life through shit like casserole dishes and movie nights.”

“If you’re trying to tell me she’s a goddamn saint, I’m aware.” Why the fuck did Thia think I’d been staying away? I knew damn well that Amelia was too good for me.

Thia studied me like I was a suspicious object abandoned on the side of the road that might explode at any moment. “I simply wanted to let you know she was there for me when I had no one. And she told me what happened during her appointment.”

I frowned.

“Wipe that look off your face. Some people need to talk about their feelings. I hear it’s even healthy. Besides, I had to drag the information out of her because she doesn’t like to burden anyone with her problems. That woman is a treasure, and I will kill for her if necessary.”

Her eyes narrowed at me, and I nodded.

“Noted.”

“Good.” Her expression softened. “Because I love her, and she’s my favorite person in the world, but she can be a bit of an idiot sometimes. Seems like the two of you have that in common.” She waved off any possible rebuttal and added, “I mean the idiot part. You seem like a good guy, but I will gladly shank your biker ass if you hurt my friend.”

My irritation with her observation was only outweighed by my admiration for her honesty. No wonder she and Amelia were so close. Everyone said they liked straight shooters, but most people didn’t really want to hear the truth. Amelia always did. It was one of the many reasons I couldn’t get her out of my mind.

“I’m actually rooting for you, you know?” Thia asked, bringing me back to the present.

“You are? Why?”

“Because who doesn’t want someone willing to hack into her health records and change her weight? She deserves that.”

“She deserves a lot more than me.”

“True.” Thia shrugged. “But take it from someone who’s been dating, there’s a lot of fish-shaped scum swimming in the pond. Trust me. She could do worse. Besides, in the three years I’ve known her, she hasn’t so much as checked out a hot guy in the grocery store. But she looks at you. And you obviously care about her, so don’t fuck with her heart. Figure out what you want and have a conversation because leading her on and then ghosting her is not an option.”

As I was digesting Thia’s speech, the door flung open. Amelia stormed in with Morgan in tow and a bottle of wine in hand, which she thrust out toward Thia.

“Is this the super important delivery you couldn’t run downstairs and accept because you had to pe—” Her gaze landed on me, and she stopped short, gesturing the bottle between us. “What’s going on here?”

“We’re chatting while we wait for you,” Thia said, relieving Amelia of the wine and setting it on the mini fridge.

Amelia’s eyes narrowed at her friend. “About…?”

Thia shrugged, her expression unrepentant. “Life. Love. Murder. Pretty sure we covered the basics. Come on, Morgan. Let’s get some dinner downstairs and leave these two to talk.”

With one last don’t-fuck-this-up look my way, she ushered Morgan out, careful not to touch her, closing the door behind them and leaving Amelia and me alone.

“So, about?—”

She shushed me.

Startled, I twisted on the couch to follow her line of sight. Thia’s black furball of a dog crept out from under the bed, stopping every couple of steps to hunker down and sniff the air. Her eyes were wild and frightened, and she was ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.

“Hey, Bailes, how you doin’ honey?” Amelia asked in a soft, sing-song voice as she crept toward the dresser. “You want a treat?”

Unlike the club dog, who went a little crazy at that word, Bailey crawled two steps forward, immediately changed her mind, halted, and backed up, head craning behind her to make sure the coast was clear. Amelia opened a bag, pinched a treat between her fingers, and slowly crouched to lower it down. The sniffing increased.

“Smells good, doesn’t it? Come on. That’s a good girl. You can do it, sweetheart.”

They both crept forward, Bailey’s ass occasionally overtaking her head in some odd show of hesitant excitement as they met in the middle.

“Gentle. Gentle.” Amelia coaxed, inching the treat forward.

I could see down her V-neck sweater. I tried not to look, but goddamn, she had the most perfect set of tits I’d ever laid eyes on. What I wouldn’t give to slide my cock between them until those pale, silky pillows were marked with my seed. The desire to bend her over and make her mine made me feel like an animal, but she was so damn perfect.

Bailey lunged, snapped the treat from between Amelia’s fingers, and sprinted back under the bed.

---