Page 104 of Last Chance Love

“Uh-huh,” I said, pulling him close and kissing him. “Now, let’s get washed and ready for the day. Everyone might leave us alone now they know we’re together, but we aren’t going to know peace if they have to come knocking on our doors to find us.”

“True, breakfast time for us,” he said, wagging his brow. “Stuffed French Toast, from what I’ve been told.”

“First, you get laid, and then you start talking about food,” I said with a roll of my eyes as I walked toward the bathroom. “Could you be any more of a man?”

“I could.”

“Ow! Hey!”

“Good game.”

“That was sex, not a fucking football game. Damn it, that’s going to leave a mark!”

“My cum up your ass, and my handprint on your ass cheek. I’d say I staked my claim good enough.”

“Claim?” I asked in indignation. “What the hell? Okay, I guess you could be more of a man. Since when do you need to ‘claim’ me?”

“Eh, when the mood strikes me,” he said as he disappeared into the shower. “Now, are you going to join me or stand there and let me get all wet while naked by myself?”

He and I both knew there was no way in hell I would pass up a chance for that, and I quickly followed him. There wasn’t a lot of space in the booths, but that worked just fine. Our sexual energy had been burned off, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t enjoy the feeling of each other’s bodies pressed together as we soaked in the warm, clean heat of the shower.

I felt like a teenager again by the time we got out. Not just because I was feeling frisky again but because of the pure and simple joy of just being around someone I was with. There were none of the hang-ups about what Mona was up to, worrying about the constant inventory problems at the clinic, or what I was going to do with my future. There was only the laughter we shared as we dressed, reminiscing about the time his parents almost caught him naked in bed with me.

“I still can’t believe your mom fell for the story,” Leon chuckled as we walked toward the Big House for breakfast. “I mean, c’mon? You were letting me rest because of a fever?”

“It explained why you were shirtless and covered by my blankets,” I said with a laugh as we walked around the back. “And it wasn’t like I’d never been in a shirt and sweatpants while you were around.”

“We were lucky she wasn’t ten minutes later,” he chuckled, opening the door. “Otherwise, we would have beena lotmore obvious.”

“My mother was not exactly well known for being the most observant of people,” I told him as we approached the food tables. “That particular award went to my father. He would have done the math in seconds, and we wouldn’t have gotten away with it.”

“What? She didn’t tell him about it for him to figure out?”

“I doubt it. For her, it was just a little odd but not worth mentioning to my father. Those two weren’t exactly what you’d call close. Sure, they were husband and wife, and they went to church and did everything together, but?—”

“But there was always this big gap between them,” Leon finished as he spied the stuffed French toast he’d been talking about earlier and made his way toward it. “Like this void full of chilly air.”

“I don’t think either of them knew what love was,” I said with a shrug. “Not for each other, not for me. They just went through the motions.”

“I guess it’s shocking either of us managed to get out of our childhoods with some basic understanding of love.”

“Well, I have you to thank. It’s hard not to get the concept when you watch your best friend live his life as best he can and try to give his brothers the same opportunity.”

“Oh, there is a comment I want to make, but this is not the place,” he said with a snort as he grabbed up a few strips of thick-cut bacon.

“Let me guess,” I said, leaning closer to him to drop my voice. “Were you going to make a joke about how if I’m going to suck your dick, then I should make sure to work the shaft at the same time?”

He laughed. “Actually, that’s better than what I was going to say, so we’ll go with your idea.”

I was prepared to fire back with something to give him shit, but I stopped when I spotted Mona standing in the doorway that led deeper into the house. Her eyes were locked on the two of us, her expression hard and utterly unreadable as we continued to talk. My heart squeezed far more painful and uncomfortable than when Leon told me he still loved me.

No, it was a feeling I remembered all too well but hadn’t felt in a long time. It was the same feeling that had come down on me when I’d watched the two uniformed police officers walk down the hallway straight toward my office. At that moment, I felt a surge of understanding so strong it was like a psychic vision that they were there for me and that I was going to watch my life shatter like glass.

That feeling didn’t disappear when she turned and walked into the hallway, out of sight. It left a lingering bitterness on my tongue as I stood there, trying to remember what I was doing and staring stupidly at my plate.

“Hey,” Leon said softly, inching closer and stepping into my line of sight. Immediately, I found his concern and felt pressure ease in my chest. Not a lot, but it was enough to let me breathe smoother. “What’s up?”

“I just got a terrible feeling,” I told him quietly. “Something’s wrong.Reallywrong.”

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