Page 151 of Come Back to Me

At his perplexed frown, I ask, “What’s wrong?”

“She barely cooks for Colton. I know she loves him.”

“She loves me more,” I preen, smirking when he scowls at me, but I concede, “It’s a different kind of love.”

“Because you don’t sleep together?”

Amused, I nod. “That and we have an unusual dynamic.”

“What type of dynamic?”

“We look after each other. It’s a habit. She feeds me; I make sure her blood sugar is under control. I think it started out as her paying me in food to keep me around, but she didn’t realize I wasn’t going anywhere. I know a good thing when I see it, and she’s the best person in the universe.”

“There’s no way to measure that.”

“Like you need a calculator to know that Colton’s the best person in the universe for you.”

His grimace is a concession in and of itself. A part of me wonders if he’ll ever find out what Cody did for him—how he spared him from Clyde—but I know that will never come out.

Cody only told me because he’s trying to make up for Dear Johning me.

That’s how it should be, I guess.

“I’ll rock your universe tonight,” he taunts. “How about that?”

Before I can scoff out a laugh, Cody’s deep, low voice rumbles, “That had better be a euphemism, Callan.”

“No,” he disagrees. “I need to show Tee my skills.”

Hearing the innuendo the kid’s unknowingly spewing, I croon, “You got mad skillz, Baby Cowboy.”

“No one ends words in ‘Z’ anymore.”

I glance at Cody. See the warmth in his expression. The welter of feelings that tell me he read my letter.

“You’re killing my buzz, Callan,” I chide, though it’s a lie. (There’s no killing this buzz.) Because Cody’s looking at me that way. Like he wants to hug me. Like he doesn’t want to let me go. And finally, after waiting all night, I can breathe again. “There, another word ending in ‘Z.’”

“Yes, but that’s supposed to.” He rubs his forehead. “Why do I always get a headache when I talk to you?”

“That’s another of my mad skills,” I retort before, with a squeal, I jump up at the sight of the van barreling down the driveway.

When I dash out of the room, I swear to hell that Cody is nowhere near my path.

And yet, from zero chance of collision to 100% code-red alert, he’s there and I don’t have a chance in hell of avoiding him.

Because my boobs act as a buffer, I pretty much bounce off him. “What the hell? You were standing over there!”

Cody arches a brow. “I’ve been by the door the whole time, haven’t I, Callan?”

“Uh-huh,” Callan replies, but when I turn to look at him, I can see he has his hands pressed to the glass as he watches the van approaching the ranch, so he’s no use as a witness.

“I thought you were out,” I grouse.

“No. I was on the phone. Bast says Elena can see us tomorrow.”

“She’s feeling better?”

He nods.

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