Page 94 of Lovetown, USA
She rolls her eyes. “We can be exclusive.”
“Do you understand what you’re agreeing to? I’m your man now.”
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
“Shit, I’m telling you. We good?”
She smiles up at me. “We’re good. As long as you’re okay with slow. I’m a lot slower to open up these days.”
“I know. I get that.” I tilt her chin up and kiss her lips, soft and lingering. “I know I need to be gentle with your heart. I have no plans to hurt you, Lane.”
She nods, then moves onto her toes to kiss me back. We stay in that kiss, in that embrace, until the song ends, and the brief silence is like a quiet reminder that I should probably clean up my mess before it gets any bigger.
“I need to tell you something,” I say.
But Cam picks that exact moment to appear in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. “Goodnight, y’all. Lane, it was lovely meeting you.”
She damn near pushes me out of the way to walk into his outstretched arms. They share a warm, polite hug, but he winks at me when Lane turns around, and my mouth-popping hand itches once again.
She returns to my arms where she belongs. “How did he do after everything happened with the fight and the divorce?”
I exhale. “It was a long, hard road,” I admit. “He’s still figuring shit out for himself. My ex had him in therapy.”
“That’s so smart of y’all to do that for him. It’s hard watching your parents fuck things up. It leaves a mark.”
“Yeah she had to sell me on it. Honestly, after what she did, I was predisposed to see wrong in everything she said. But I’ve grown since then.”
“That’s very mature, Trey. I know that wasn’t easy.”
I kiss her again.
“Oh, what were you gonna say before?”
“You met Mayor Daphne, right?”
“Oh!” She snaps her fingers. “Sorry, I meant to ask you something about her husband. It’s related to my work. Have you heard of Cognilynx?”
“Doesn’t ring a bell. What is it?”
“It’s a tech company. Artificial Intelligence. They moved here a few years ago. Pushed out a manufacturing plant somewhere way out.”
“Wait…” I trail off, my wheels turning. “I had a patient who worked at that plant. So that’s what it got replaced with?”
She nods.
“What does this have to do with the mayor?”
“Her husband is the CEO. Do you know him?”
The answer is yes, but I’d rather not get into all that, so I just say, “I’ve met him.”
She nods. “There’s something there, Trey. I can feel it in my bones.”
She looks so fucking happy right now, like a light is radiating out of her from deep inside. This is the thing she loves. Her relentless curiosity and tenacity is what drives her. That’s who she is, like medicine is who I am. It’s a beautiful thing to see, but also? It’s a problem.
“You wanna work right now, don’t you?”
She chuckles softly as her eyes shift away from mine.
