Page 21 of Her Paramedic
“Hey. I’m Talia. Nice to meet you.”
“Molly. You too.”
She could tell that Molly was unhappy about meeting her, which tickled Talia a bit. She turned her attention to Slate.
“I have something for you after the fireworks.”
“That’s a coincidence. I have something for you too, gorgeous.” He kissed her, and Molly immediately cleared her throat.Hater.
“How’d you meet?”
“His friend and cousin are dating my sisters,” Talia supplied. Though Journee wasn’t related to her by blood, she’d adopted her and the twins as little sisters years ago.
“I see. The two of you got thrown together as the extras.”
Talia’s eyebrow twitched. This chick thought she was funny.
“Far from it,” Slate responded. “She had plenty of choices. I was lucky enough that she chose me.”
Talia smiled at Molly, who seemed to be trying to figure out something to say. She didn’t give Molly a chance as she slid off Slate’s lap.
“It’s warm in here. Come outside with me,” she requested, taking his hand and pulling him away.
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“So, I waited for you to call,” Molly stated, after Slate removed her hand from his arm for the third time. He wondered how he got himself trapped in a conversation with her. He could walk away and leave her standing there, but he wasn’tthatrude.
“I told you I wouldn’t,” he responded.
Honesty was always the best policy, and he’d told her at last year’s party, when she’d slid her card to him, that he wasn’t interested. He wasn’t sure why she expected a call after that. Maybe she thought he was playing hard to get, but he’d meant what he said. He had no intention of leading her on.
Slate didn’t know her outside of these parties. She was a friend or relative of someone Maximus invited, who came as their plus one each year. Last year was the third time she’d given him her number. Maybe she thought the third time would be the charm.
“Oh...um.”
Talia pulled his attention from Molly’s attempt at a coherent sentence, handing him a beer before sitting on his lap. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been mingling with some of the others, and they’d sparked a conversation about hair care products.
“Hey. I’m Talia. Nice to meet you,” she introduced herself.
“Molly. You too.”
That couldn’t have sounded less genuine if Molly tried, and Slate figured she was salty. He didn’t understand why, because he’d never given her the impression he was buying what she was selling. Talia drew his attention to her.
“I have something for you after the fireworks.”
“That’s a coincidence. I have something for you too, gorgeous.” Slate kissed her, and as if she thought they’d start a make-out session in front of her, which he wasn’t opposed to doing, Molly cleared her throat.
“How’d you meet?”
Talia spoke first. “His friend and cousin are dating my sisters.”
“I see. The two of you got thrown together as the extras.”
“Far from it,” Slate stated, in no way going to let Molly’s little insult slide. “She had plenty of choices. I was lucky enough that she chose me.”
Whether or not she would respond became irrelevant as Talia stood. “It’s warm in here. Come outside with me,” she requested, taking his hand and pulling him away.
The winter weather nipped at them as soon as they exited the house. There were other people outside, closer to the fire pit. Slate pulled her off to the side.
