Page 101 of Trust No One

Mel stood beside Zoe, watching the elevator door. When it finally dinged, she pressed her hand against her stomach.

The door opened and Dev stepped out. His gaze went immediately to Mel, and his eyes softened. He smiled. Handed her a cup of coffee. “Hey, babe,” he murmured.

Then he turned to Zoe. “I would have gotten you one, too, but I didn’t know what you liked. Sorry.”

Zoe studied him for a long moment. Finally she said, “So you’re done being an asshole to my sister?”

Dev smiled. “I am. I can’t promise I’ll never piss her off, because, well, you know me. But I’ll always love her. And I think she knows that.”

Zoe sized him up for a long moment, then nodded. “You know my sister wants kids, right? Lots of them?”

Zoe stared at Dev like the cat who’d caught the canary, like she was waiting for his recoil. His hands up, backing away, ‘hold on a minute’ moment.

“’Course I do,” Dev said easily. “We’re still negotiating. I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten it down from a baseball team to a basketball team. I’m working on getting it down to a bowling team.”

He turned to Mel. “You feel good about four kids, babe?”

Zoe slapped her hand over her mouth, but not before Mel saw her grin. Heard her trying to stifle her laughter.

“I’ll take that under advisement,” she said, her own lips twitching.

Dev nodded. “All I can ask.” He leaned closer. “I love our negotiating sessions,” he murmured.

At that, Zoe pushed away from the table and stood up. “I’ll, ah, wait for Spence in the other room.” She waved her hand toward the living room and hurried away.

Mel’s eyes darkened with desire as she stared into Dev’s eyes, and he smiled at her. “Ball’s in your court, babe.” He leaned closer. Lowered his voice. “But then, it always will be. Because I’m putty in your hands. Can’t refuse you anything.”

“Makes us even, then,” she murmured, brushing her mouth over his and pressing her palm into his cheek. “Because I can’t refuse you anything, either.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like forever. Finally Mel smiled. “We’ll take it one at a time with the kids. And not for a while. Okay?”

Dev leaned closer and took her mouth in a kiss that deepened quickly. Finally he leaned away. “Sounds perfect,” he said, his mouth curling into a smile. “Just like our life is going to be.”

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