Page 41 of The Reading

“Who in the hell is Cortland Culpepper?” I asked, not following along at all.

“My friend’s ex-fiancé that cheated on her with her stepsister,” she explained, and the dick falling off thing seemed reasonable enough now. “So, instead of making Cortland pay for his betrayal, she ended up reading all our palms, then predicting that we all already knew our soulmates. She said that we just had to open our eyes to notice. Well, with three down, I’ve been…well, my mind’s been preoccupied lately.”

I eyed her, and it was very possible that I’d just fallen in love with her as she explained her craziness. As someone that led a fairly boring life, Hattie’s energy felt like I’d fall in love with her more and more as the years passed.

“What about the stepsister?”

Her nose scrunched up. “What?”

“Well, you guys sought revenge for what he did, but you didn’t for the stepsister?” I asked. “It seems that her betrayal is worse than his, no?”

“Oh, yeah, no,” she answered. “Alessa ended up kicking her ass, taking her phone, then sending the saved pictures and videos of her and Cortland doing the deeds-all of them-to both their families, and…well, it was a mess. However, Alessa is satisfied with that comeuppance. Especially, since Alessa refuses to attend any family functions if her stepsister is there. It’s all about keeping the wound fresh. You can’t ever let it heal.”

“Sound advice,” I muttered, trying not to grin.

Hattie started stepping towards me, and I could feel myself bracing forwhatever she was going to throw at me next. Again, this woman was unpredictable and didn’t always watch what she said.

“I heard a rumor,” she said when she was standing only a foot away from me.

“Yeah? What rumor?”

Because she wasn’t timid or a coward, those green eyes were locked on my blue ones as she answered, “That you have the hots for me.”

I could feel the weight of her words hit me square in the chest. “Who told you that?”

“Debra,” she admitted. “She said that you’re always staring at me when I’m not looking.”

Okay, so maybe I hadn’t been as sly and slick as I had hoped. Still, now that it was out there, and we were talking about soulmates and a palm reader, I didn’t see the point in denying it. I’d never acted inappropriate with her before today, so it wasn’t like the truth would land me in court.

“What if it’s true?” I hedged, not sure if I wanted to hear her answer. The girl was nuts on a good day.

“Is it?” she asked.

My eyes automatically glanced at her lips, and she was so damn close that I could fucking feel my skin tightening with desire. “Yes.”

Her green eyes widened. “For reals?”

I reached up, then cradled her face with my right hand. “Yes.”

“Seriously?” I nodded. “For how long?” she asked. “How long have you…liked me?”

“Since I first met you,” I confessed. “But you didn’t seem interested, and considering that I was your boss, I kept my feelings to myself.”

“You’re still my boss,” she pointed out. “What’s changed?”

“Madam Brousseau,” I answered with a smirk. “Plus, you came really close to losing your job today. The idea of never seeing you again…well, that was a problem for me.”

Hattie stepped back, so I dropped my hand to my side. She crossed her arms over her chest. “We live in the same building,” she drawled out. “The possibility of us not ever seeing each other again is pretty slim.”

My lips twitched. “The idea of not being able to see you every day was a problem for me,” I corrected. “Better?”

“A little,” she murmured, and it was so hard not to smile at her.

She also wasn’t kicking me out of her house, so that was a win in my book.

*****

Hattie~

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