Page 149 of Already At Risk
Relief trickled down my back, making me feel like I was melting on her front steps. I had to put a hand on her door frame to steady myself before I pressed my forehead to hers, murmuring, “Say it again.”
“What?” she laughed. “You’re fired?”
“Mm yeah, it’s the hottest fucking thing you’ve ever said.”
Natalie batted her lashes, dropped her voice, and then repeated slowly, “You’re. Fired.”
“Thank fucking God, Natalie,” I groaned before capturing her mouth, kissing her hard and fast before trailing my lips to her jaw and her throat and eventually back up to her lips.
“I talked to Juniper more this morning,” Natalie added, and I tried to ignore the way her breaths were slightly labored, her cheeks becoming even rosier when I looked down, forcing some space between us. Her hands drifted to my chest, one palm resting over my heart. “And I told her that I’d fill you in. I’d meant to lead with that when you got here, but then I saw you and…” She drifted off with a shrug.
“Trust me, I get it,” I assured her with a sigh. “But I needed to know for sure what tonight was.”
Natalie dropped her arms and took a step back, leaningagainst her front door. She hesitated before giving me a hopeful look. “If you’re still okay with the idea of dates including my nine-year-old daughter, I’d like it to be that? A date, I mean.”
She sounded a little tentative, a little unsure, and I knew I still had some work to do to prove to her that I’d takeanykind of date—as long as it was with her.
“I’msofucking okay with that.”
“Great.” A heavy breath fell from her lips. “I don’t know what you had in mind, but there’s this sandwich place over by our favorite park. It’s a nice night, and I was thinking we could walk there?” She bit her bottom lip, blinking up at me with a bit of uncertainty. “I know it’s nothing special, but?—”
“That soundsveryspecial,” I cut in. “And I love that idea, but only if you let me buy.”
“Oh, you don’t have to?—”
“Is this a date or not, Natalie?”
She rolled her eyes, but her still-pink cheeks gave her away. “It’s a date.”
“Damn right it is,” I muttered, leaning forward to drop a kiss on the top of her head.
“How was your weekend?” she asked when I straightened again. “Is your grandfather doing better?”
“He is.” Well enough to give me shit for most of the weekend. “And it was great to see everyone. Missed you, though.”
“I missed you, too,” she whispered. Our eyes caught, and I sank into her green ones, momentarily getting lost to the pull of them. The pull of her. Until she brought me back to reality, asking, “Hey, before we leave…can you talk to Chloe?”
“Of course, I’ll talk to Chloe,” I said, my brows pulling together. “Is everything okay?”
Natalie nodded, grabbing the door handle and twisting to let us inside. “Yeah, she’s just a little bummed and wants to talk to you.”
Concern and confusion wrapped around me, but I followed Natalie into the house without any more questions. We foundChloe sitting on the couch, slumped in the corner of it. She looked up when she noticed me standing there and then focused back down on her hands, which were resting on the orange cat curled in her lap.
“Hi, Cam,” she said, soft and shy as I sat next to her on the couch.
Natalie squeezed Chloe’s shoulder and then disappeared into the kitchen, but not before giving me a little glance, one that meant the world. Like she was trusting me to handle this—whateverthiswas—on my own.
“What’s up, Champ?”
Chloe’s eyes skirted over to me when I spoke, doe-eyed and a little withdrawn, a look I’d honestly never seen on her before.
“Everything okay?” I added.
“I just…” Chloe drifted off, repositioning in a way that had Annabeth jumping off her lap. But when she settled into place again, she was a few inches closer to me. “Are you mad at me?”
She peeked up like she was afraid of my answer.
“Mad at you?” I echoed with disbelief. “Chloe, why would I be mad at you?”
