Page 72 of Sass

A grin split my face at the last one—a miracle in itself. I typed back.Boyfriend, huh?That’s pretty damn cutesy for you.

Dots appeared and disappeared and then my phone rang in my hand.

“Out of everything I said,that’swhat you take out of it?” Chris demanded loudly and I held the phone away from my ear. “You better tell me how the fuck you are before I reach through this phone and pull your balls out through your mouth.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, another miracle. “Sorry. I’m okay, kind of. And is it weird that I’m slightly turned on by that threat?”

“Shut up,” Chris huffed. “I’ve been losing my mind waiting to hear. I’ve made three different salads and I’ve got no clue what to put with them. Get the fuck over here. My carrots are limp.”

I snorted. “Is that a euphem—”

“Leon!”

“I’m on my way.”

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

Kip

I threwsome lamb chops into the microwave to defrost while I set the table, my nerves jangling like shorted electric wires. How the hell did people cope with this shit? It was exactly why I’d never been keen on relationships. They sucked your common sense right out your arse and spat it back in your face—a minefield for someone like me who’d used insulation tape on their emotions for most of their adult life.

Emotions hurt. Letting people close hurt. Relationships hurt. Trust hurt. It wasn’t that I didn’t know what I was running from. Hell, my therapist might’ve come cost-free, but he’d been bloody good. I just hadn’t had a reason to change... until Leon. And I still wasn’t sure I could actually do it.

The pain of Leon’s loss and his still-raw grief undid me in ways I couldn’t understand. Sure, I felt bad for people in pain, and Leon was right—I was a warrior for justice—but Leon’s struggle hit a different note somewhere inside. I’d been on tenterhooks ever since I’d left him in the flat. I understood some of his ache. I’d pretty much lost a family, after all. But when he spoke about Caitlyn, it was as if he’d lost half of himself, and I couldn’t even begin to fathom what that felt like.

I’d never felt quite so unsettled by someone’s personal battles before. Like deep-down-in-my-heart desperate to make things better for him. To take his pain if I could. To have his back and stand guard against all comers while he healed, roll him in bubble wrap and tuck him safe behind me.

Yeah, mostly that last one. And I didn’t need a therapist to tell me what that likely meant. I had no defence against him. He was unbuttoning me from the inside out whether I wanted him to or not.Fuck.

It hadn’t been difficult to pick Leon’s parents when they arrived. His father was as ginormous as his son and with those same hypnotic grey eyes. I’d rushed to greet them, heading off a bemused Drew, and introduced myself as a friend. Then I’d directed them up the stairs and spent the next couple of hours before I left in a state of full-blown dipshit crazy, my eyes glued to the stairs and jumping at every footstep that passed overhead. In the end, Drew ignored my blustering threats to his job security and herded me into my office.

“Like you could ever manage without me,” he said bluntly, pushing me into my chair. “And also, you can quit pretending the two of you aren’t fucking each other’s brains out.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he shushed me. “Save it. I need a cigarette and shower every time Leon so much as glances your way. I just hope he’s worth all the trouble he’s causing me.”

“You?” I stared at him.

“Yes, me,” he answered tartly, which was usually my job. “You’re strangely off-kilter when he’s around, almost... likeable. Ugh.” He visibly shuddered. “It’s... disturbing and yet oddly endearing at the same time. Either way, it’s screwing with my head. I never know which version of you I’m gonna get at any one point in the day. The familiar and slightly terrifying snarky Kip, or this cute-as-shit Leonesque version, which quite frankly is taking a bit of getting used to.”

I gaped. “You did not just call me cute. Or Leonesque? And what the hell even is that?”

He bopped me on the nose. “See, cute as fuck.”

“You are two seconds away from testicular evisceration.” I glowered at him.

The store bell jangled and he quickly glanced that way. “Oh look, a customer. I must fly.”

I narrowed my gaze. “Mmm, fancy that.”

He turned back. “But here’s a thought. While you’re in here and not fucking with my day, how about drafting that ad for the new retail assistant? You know, the one Rhys made you promise to have ready by the time he got back, in case you’ve forgotten.”

I had. Shit.

Drew rummaged in his satchel and slapped a fistful of papers on my desk, his face scarlet. “Design ideas, as requested. They’re, um, well they’re not very good, but it’s the best I could manage.” He rubbed his hands nervously down his thighs. “But thanks for the opportunity.” He spun on his heels and left, slamming the door behind him.

I watched him through the glass for a few seconds, then did as he suggested—distracted myself with drafting the ad and then leafed through his sketches.

They were good. Damn good.

---