Page 102 of Connected By Stars
“Your phone number, along with every other girl, has already been deleted, so no, you won’t be hearing from me again. And trust me, there’s no chance in hell that I’ll get bored.” He looks at me, and I try to hide my amused smile when I remember our morning. Nothing is boring about us. “We’re going to finish our lunch, but I wish you the best.” He glances at her one last time before returning his attention to me. He takes a bite, clearly showing her that she’s dismissed.
She eventually storms off, and I shake my head at Maverick. “I swear your taste in women sucked before me. She’s a flat-out bitch. What in the world did you ever see in her?”
“I'm not proud of some of my choices, but unfortunately, after a few drinks, you don’t realize their negative side when they’re begging you for one night. I regret a lot, but there’s nothing I can do about it now except put it in the past and move forward with you.”
“You don’t miss it at all? The going out? Doing whatever the hell you want?”
“Not for one second.” He says it with such absolute certainty that I know he’s telling the truth. “You aren’t having second thoughts, are you? Unfortunately, until word gets around about us, we may have to deal with some ghosts from our past.”
“I’m not having second thoughts. I’m all in, just like I told you from the beginning. Nothing will change that especially jealous bitches like those.”
“You’re pretty hot when the claws come out. I guess that’s the panther in you.” He grins and hits me with the dimples as I laugh out loud, remembering Sophia and I’s name for ourselves when we went out to a club last Thanksgiving with everyone.
“That was such a fun night.”
“All I remember is almost breaking my beer bottle in my hand because I was gripping it so tightly every time a guy came up to you and put his hands on you.”
“And to think it could have been your hands on me that night.”
“Don’t remind me. I was a stubborn, blind ass. Hopefully, I’ve more than made up for it these past two weeks.” His eyes turn a playful color of green.
“You’re getting there.” I hide my amused smile.
“Then I better work extra hard the next few days,” he says with a laugh.
“Yeah, you probably should.” I try to keep a straight face but end up breaking into a grin when he starts to laugh.
“I love that my girl is insatiable. Lucky for you, I can never get enough of you, either. I’m thinking we need to hurry up here so I can get home to eat dessert.” He takes another fry from our plate and lifts it to his mouth. I’m so mesmerized by his lips that I don’t realize I’m setting myself up.
“What are you eating for dessert?” I could go for some brownies.
“You.”
I choke on my food, and he laughs when I wash it down with water. Okay, so it’s way better than brownies. I start to eat quickly, and he breaks out in a grin as we busy ourselves eating, my thoughts now on being his dessert again.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Maverick
“You need to stop pacing.You’re making me nervous.” Bell looks up from stirring the guacamole. We’re at her apartment getting ready for game night. Noah and Emma should be here any minute. I talked to him on the phone a couple more times since sushi night, and I had a hard time with it. I hate keeping this secret from him. It’s slowly eating away at me, and I just want to be done with it.
“Sorry.” I run my fingers through my hair for the millionth time before stuffing them in my pockets and forcing myself to stand still.
“I’ve never seen you this worked up,” Sophia laughs. “It’s Noah we’re talking about, not some mobster who’s going to put a gun between your eyes because you’re sleeping with his sister.”
“I didn’t think of that. You don’t have any ties to the mafia that I’m not aware of, do you?” I look over at Bell, and she shakes her head and laughs.
“No, we don’t have any ties. You realize that you’re acting like a crazy person right now, right? You need to relax. Here, put these chips and guacamole on the table for us.”
I take the bowls from her and walk over to the table to set them down. I need to calm… The. Fuck. Down. I walk over to the fridge and get a beer, practically downing the entire contents in one long drink. Belle comes over and wraps her arms around me.
I take a deep breath. Just her presence sends a wave of calm over me. I hug her back and breathe in her scent.
“It’s going to be fine, I promise.” She places a hand on my heart, and I will it to slow down. Emma walks in with Noah behind her, and we quickly break away.
“Oh my God, we missed you guys so much!” Bell runs over and jumps into Emma’s arms before finding her brother. “It’s so good to have you home,” she says, squeezing Noah tightly.
“It’s good to be back.” He laughs and releases her before turning to me. “Hey, brother,” he pulls me into a hug, and I can’t help but grin back at him.
