Page 14 of The HalloQueen

She shook her head and went up on her tiptoes to kiss me again, “I said you feel safe to me. Unless you’re planning on murdering me, I would love to have you come over.”

I softened to her embrace and the truth poured from me, “ I don’t think I could hurt you if I wanted to.”

7

ANNABEL

Icould come to regret it. I’d only intended to flirt, maybe give a few gentle caresses, because at the end of the day it was supposed to be a business relationship. I didn’t intend for sex to be on the table, but that was also when the man on the other side of the counter was going to be Andrew, not Thomas.

Any hookups I’d had in Chicago began with frenzied kisses in a cab, but the peacefulness that Thomas exuded left us simply cuddled up to each other in the ride share. Who cuddles their hookup? It was only a hookup, right? I didn’t have time for anything else… the launch needed to be my priority. My to-do list was miles long. I needed my head on straight to prep the website and shipping shit, shake my ass, and hopefully manage to go viral a few more times before it drops…

“You’re thinking very loudly,mon coeur,” Thomas whispered into my ear and I shivered at his stubble scratching against my jaw.

“It’s nothing,” I give him a fake smile, “What kind of movies do you like?”

“Whatever you’d like, Annabel.”

I elbowed him in the side, “That’s a lie. Everyone hates some kind of movie. What do you like?”

“I don’t watch a lot of movies, I’m mostly a TV show kind of guy. I don’t have the attention span for full movies, usually.”

“So what tv shows do you watch?”

He smirked, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Thomas.”

“Why can’t I lie to you?”

“Because I’m incredibly good looking.” I grinned and he sighed.

“I like cooking shows, okay? I think they’re soothing.”

The defeat in his voice made me laugh, “Cooking shows? Like the old lady in her Martha’s Vineyard mansion or the cutthroat ones where they’re cooking on a time limit and stuff?”

“All of it, especially the competition ones. I love those.”

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a cooking show guy…”

“I hope I haven’t disappointed you with my domesticity.”

I laughed again and the ride share pulled up outside of my rented row house, “this is it.” I leaned forward, “thank you for the ride.”

“No problem, you guys have fun now,” The driver was a man probably in his mid-twenties and he flashed us a knowing smile that quickly dropped when he looked at Thomas.

I turned around to see what Thomas was doing but he looked perfectly normal to me, patting the guy on the arm.

We headed up the four steps to my front door and I unlocked it and stepped inside. Thomas hovered awkwardly at the threshold.

“Are you okay?” I asked, feeling a weird tension coming off of him for the first time that night.

“Are you sure you want this?” He asked me sincerely, and if anything, it only solidified my decision to fuck the Frenchie.

“Tommy, shut up and get inside.” He hesitated again as if assessing what I’d said so I reiterated, “Thomas, please come in, I don’t bite on the first date.”

He nodded and stepped inside, seeming to relax once I closed and locked the door. “How long have you lived here?” he asked me, toeing off his shoes and I sat on the steps leading upstairs to unzip my boots.

“Not long, I crashed with my moms for a while when I got back, so excuse the mess, it’s only been a few months and I loathe unpacking,” I laughed nervously, “Do you want a drink?” I led the way to the kitchen and exhaled raggedly into the fridge as I grabbed a bottle of wine. My nerves were seemingly cranking up by the minute. There was a guy in my house. In my space. I typically went to their places but for some reason, I hadn’t even suggested it.

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