Page 2 of Hothead

That jolted him back to reality.

“Look, lady—”

“Bella,” she corrected.

“Look,Bella, I don’t know exactly what Marco told you, but—”

“I have a letter,” she cut him off again. Was it him, or did she look like she was enjoying this a bit too much? “He left you a letter.”

Luke lost her eyes for a moment as she reached around and pulled out an envelope from her back pocket.

“I don’t care if you’ve got a damn book, lady—”

“Bella,” she corrected again.

Seriously? Is this chick for real?

Back was the smile. Oh, she was definitely enjoying this.

Air whooshed in his face as the piece of paper came up. She was waving it, as if that would make him take it.

“You can keep it,” he said through gritted teeth. “I don’t want it. Like I said earlier, I don’t have a brother.”

It took all of his willpower to turn on his heel and walk away. But he had to. Needed to. It didn’t matter that she was an angel. That she’d managed to stoke a fire in his belly that he’d never felt before. And it definitely didn’t matter that she was faking a dramatic sigh behind him. Even if it was award-worthy.

He headed over to the bunks that were off to the left of the main floor. While he may not need sleep, he did need to be alone.

As soon as he shut the door behind him, he let out the breath he’d been holding.

Shit. Marco.

Collapsing into the bottom bunk, he let his head drop into his hands. Marco couldn’t have been more than a few years older than him. Late thirties were no age to die. What the hell happened?

Maybe you should have read the letter and found out, dumbass. Or better yet, ask the fucking angel outside.

Speaking of. Just a second later, the door swung open, causing his head to shoot up.

Okay. Maybe she’s not outside anymore.

“You always walk away from people mid-conversation, Luke ... or am I special?” she scolded.

She was special all right. “You always walk into rooms with big assDo Not Entersigns on them ... or am I just lucky?”

A genuine sigh left those sweet red lips, enough to make him regret snapping back. “Look, I get this is hard for you. Believe it or not, I understand. My family are as dysfunctional as they come. Think the Lohans ... on meth. So, trust me, I get it.”

Seriously, who the hell is this girl?

Rising from the bed, his feet were moving toward her before his brain had a chance to catch up. Only fully registering when nerve endings began lighting up as he sucked down more berries.

Before he knew it, he’d invaded her space. Personal bubble officially popped as his head bowed and their mouths lined up. All it would take was one small dip and he’d know for sure if those lips tasted as sweet as the woman who owned them smelled.

“Why are you here, Bella?”

He noticed her breath quicken. “Marco asked me to come.” She rushed out. “To give you the letter and ...”

“And what?”

“And h-he wanted me to stick around for a while.”

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