Fire & Brimstone (Neighbor from Hell #8) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,97

we should see other people,” she mumbled, sounding absolutely miserable for a woman snuggling a five-pound bag of Hershey Kisses.

“Because I ruined your evil plans?” he asked, joining her on the bed, careful not to come between her and the chocolate that was apparently stopping her from killing him.

“Yes.”

“I’m sure you’ll find other creative ways to torture my family in the future,” he promised her, reaching for a Hershey Kiss only to think better of it.

“Not like tonight,” she mumbled, looking truly miserable as she grabbed a Hershey Kiss, unwrapped it and popped it in her mouth, all while staring blankly at the television.

“Did humiliating me along with my brother and cousins really mean that much to you?” he asked, slipping his hand beneath the oversized tee shirt that she’d changed into so that he could rub her back.

“Yes, yes it did.”

“And why’s that?” he asked, leaning back against the headboard.

“I just needed a distraction,” she admitted with a sigh, reaching for another Hershey Kiss even as she shifted so that she could place her feet on his lap, making him chuckle.

Demanding little thing, he thought as he took the hint and started rubbing her feet. “What’s bothering you?” he asked, wondering if she was still upset about the pregnancy test that had nearly taken ten years off his life.

“Nothing,” she mumbled dejectedly around a mouthful of chocolate as she gave her foot a wiggle, demanding that he shift his attention to the other foot.

“I see,” he murmured as he gave her foot one last rub and shifted his attention to the other one. “Then you’re just upset about missing out on a night of really bad singing?”

“Devastated,” she said dryly.

“If you want, we can go downstairs and encourage everyone to start singing Bieber songs,” he offered.

“No,” she said, sighing heavily. “It’s just not the same.”

“I see,” he murmured, thoughtfully as he focused on the movie she had playing until it showed someone getting their guts ripped out.

After that he just focused on making the crabby woman happy. For several minutes they stayed that way, him rubbing her feet and doing his best not to look up and Rebecca laying there, slowly devouring a huge bag of chocolate.

It was actually kind of nice, he thought, enjoying himself more than he thought possible. Before Rebecca had completely destroyed his world with that first kiss this kind of thing would have irritated him. In the past whenever a woman wanted to watch a movie, snuggle or any of the things that he used to think of as a bullshit waste of time, he’d brush them off and focus on work.

Now he not only looked forward to spending time with Rebecca, doing absolutely nothing, but he loved it. Thanks to her he was better rested, enjoyed work more and didn’t feel like tearing everyone’s head off. He could easily say that Rebecca was the best thing that had ever happened to him and that scared the shit out of him.

“Would you have done it?” she asked, saving him from his thoughts.

“Done what?” he asked, rubbing her leg.

“Got up on stage and sang you little heart out,” she said, pulling her leg free so that she could roll over onto her side and look at him as she waited for an answer.

“No.”

“No?” she asked, for some reason looking surprised that he wouldn’t have jumped at the chance to make an ass out of himself in front of his family.

“I thought you didn’t care what anyone thought,” she teased with a devious little smile.

“I don’t.”

“Uh huh,” she said, clearly not believing him.

“You doubt me?”

“Absolutely,” she said, not missing a beat.

“I thought you knew me, sweetheart,” he said, saying the hell with it and snatched her bag of Hershey Kisses away from her.

Other than narrow her eyes on him, she didn’t say anything about the theft. Instead she said, “I know you better than you know me.”

“Really?” he murmured, chuckling as he popped a Kiss in his mouth, because that was fucking impossible.

“Absolutely,” she said, reaching to take back the bag and because he was such a generous guy, he allowed it.

For about ten seconds, then he reclaimed the bag, shot her a warning glare and proceeded to devour the contents of the bag. “Care to put your money where your mouth is?” he asked, wondering if he’d just stumbled upon an easier way to get her to return to the Fire & Brimstone where she belonged.

*-*-*-*

“And what exactly did you have in mind?” she asked,