Page 18 of Announcing Love
“That’s why she does what she does.”
Artem blinked. He had never thought about it that way. It was true. Her outlandish behavior made it impossible to fear any topic. He was still a little embarrassed, though. Artem had to move along.
“Have you eaten?”
Tip shook his head, but his gaze never wavered from Artem.
“Would you like a plate?”
“That depends. Were you finished?”
As if he would say yes now that he knew Tip hadn’t eaten. “No. We’d just sat down when Baba cleared the room with her dinner topic of erotic asphyxiation.”
A huge grin split Tip’s face. “I wish I had been here for that.”
“You really don’t.” He stood. “I’ll fix your plate. What would you like to drink?”
“What are my choices?”
Artem opened the fridge. “Let’s see. We have water, Coke, Gatorade—”
A hard body molded against him, making Artem forget how to talk. “If it’s okay, I’ll take this.” He grabbed a yellow Gatorade from the fridge. His lips caressed Artem’s neck before he backed away again.
Artem was grateful as hell for the cold air gushing from the refrigerator. Tip had awakened something in him that Artem couldn’t easily pack away again. He forced himself to takesteady, even breaths as he made a plate for Tip. Artem swore he felt Tip’s hungry stare following his every move. He moved Baba’s plate and set the fresh plate in front of him. “How was your day?”
Tip took a bite. “Oh my god. That’s so good.”
“Baba is a wonderful cook. She might not get around well, but she won’t give up feeding us.”
Tip took another bite. “Wow. I should’ve brought her two trees.”
“Don’t let her catch you praising her too much. She’ll try to go home with you.”
Tip’s laughter made Artem realize he had barely stopped smiling since Tip arrived.
Still, he wasn’t a complete idiot. “Is there a reason you’re avoiding my question?”
“I love being with you and you make me smile. If I answer that question, I won’t be smiling any longer.”
Artem didn’t know how to feel. He didn’t want to steal Tip’s smile. Artem equally didn’t want him to carry any burdens alone. “I don’t know how to respond. Your happiness matters to me. Take what you want from that, I guess,” Artem added with a nervous chuckle.
“It’s nothing you can change. My sister’s husband wrecked the brand-new car I just bought her to replace the other one he just totaled. He didn’t even do me the solid of taking himself out too.”
That was harsh, but Artem let him have that one. He was obviously angry.
“Anyhow, now I’m getting the guilt trip about how she can’t take her baby to the doctor and whatnot without a car. Like fuck. That’s what insurance is for. But I guess it’s too much to ask for anyone to pay for any goddamn insurance, because that’s just too much when everything is handed to you.” The more he spoke, the angrier he sounded.
Artem set his hand on his arm, bringing Tip’s rage-filled gaze from his plate to hold Artem’s stare. “One thing I know from experience is, people can and will find their way on their own if they have no other choice. Maybe it’s time they had no other choice. By all accounts, you’ve given them more than enough foundation to build on. If you stop, they’ll be absolutely fine. But it’s not my business and I get it if you feel like you’re stuck. They’re your family. But seriously, if they can stop loving you after all you’ve done for them, is that really family?”
Tip’s shoulders fell. “But I can afford it, so what does it say about me if I don’t help?”
Artem absolutely loathed these people he hadn’t even met. They were destroying a wonderful man. “Tough love is still love.Sometimes that is the help needed. I mean, why does this guy keep trashing cars? Is he a drunk or something?”
Tip pulled a face. “Worse than that. I think he does it on purpose so he can get the latest vehicle he has his sights set on. This is a very familiar pattern.”
A thought hit. Sometimes it took an outsider. “Do you know for a fact these cars are actually wrecked at all? I mean, surely, they’re not really out here driving with no insurance. Wouldn’t they go to jail when they got in these wrecks? Those cars are probably stashed in a garage somewhere and that dude’s showing off his collection to all his buddies, bragging about how he’s about to get another.”
Tip’s expression closed a little more with each word. Artem almost wished he could take it back. Sometimes he got carried away.
