Anyone But Nick (Anyone But... #3) - Penelope Bloom Page 0,83
hours, which was a particularly enjoyable thought.
“Sorry for the mess,” I said, rolling off her.
She was lying on her back, staring up at the sky. “With you, it’s kind of hot . . . ‘the mess,’ I mean,” she added.
I smirked. “You like when I mark you, is that it?”
Miranda rolled to her side and returned my smile. “Something like that.” She bit her lip, then kissed me. “You know Robbie probably isn’t going to let us just walk off into the sunset together, right?”
“I was thinking the same thing. His deal with Max was an attempt to scare you into his control again. But if he was willing to go that far, I’m worried he’ll have something else planned.”
“I’d feel a lot better if I knew what it was that he was planning.”
I took her chin between my thumb and forefinger. “We’ll handle it. Whatever it is. Together.”
She nodded, then closed her eyes and nuzzled into me.
I let out a long, contented sigh. I might not know what Robbie was planning, but I finally knew what I wanted. I was done hiding behind half truths. It didn’t matter what label I wanted to put on my feelings for Miranda. Maybe it was already love, or maybe I was an idiot for thinking I even knew what that was. It was stronger than anything I’d ever felt, and it turned my life on its head. All the things that had taken priority were now in the back seat to this—to her.
I needed her, and I wasn’t going to let anything come between us. Not this time.
Chapter 27
MIRANDA
Max Frost’s story went live on the air three days after I left LA. As promised, it was salacious, sensational, and utterly ridiculous. Everybody in West Valley was buzzing with gossip the following day when I met Iris and Kira at Bradley’s. They had suggested we move our morning ritual to one of their houses to avoid stares, but I wasn’t going to hide.
“You sure you don’t want to go to my place?” Kira asked. She had even ordered her bagel in a to-go bag, I noticed.
“No,” I said. “I want them to have to look me in the eye while they spread their gossip. The story was a lie. Anybody who wants to believe it instead of asking me to my face is welcome to think what they want.”
Iris whipped out her nightstick, which she didn’t seem to have quite the same fondness for ever since finding Cade. “Or I could use the power of the law to compel them.”
“Isn’t that what they say during exorcisms?” Kira asked.
“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter what I say if I whack them hard enough in the boobs with this,” Iris said.
“Thanks, but really,” I said, “it’s okay.”
Iris studied me for a few seconds, then pointed at me. “What happened to you in Julian Ridge—other than getting T-boned by Nick, that is?”
“T-boned?” Kira asked. “You got in a car accident?”
“No. It’s when the woman does a split lying down on the edge of the bed, and the guy kind of . . .” She tried to demonstrate with her hands, but failed. “I mean, it’s more like a lowercase t, I guess. The top of the t would be the—”
“We get it,” I said. “And I just finally realized I don’t need to worry so much about all that. Let them gossip. I’m not going to lie: it still bothers me. But I’m not going to let it dictate my life anymore.”
“Hell yeah,” Kira said with a grin. “You should’ve got laid a long time ago.”
I laughed. “It’s not like I was a virgin. This isn’t about sex.”
“But,” Iris said, wiggling her eyebrows, “this conversation just became about sex. How was it? Genetically speaking, Kira and I are riding the same dick, so it’s no fun asking her.”
“Ew!” Kira said. She threw a crumpled-up napkin at Iris. “That’s disgusting.”
“What? Don’t tell me it never occurred to you,” Iris said. “They are genetically the same. Identical.”
“Well, I didn’t marry Rich’s DNA. I married the man.”
“You did kind of marry his DNA too,” I said. “Just playing devil’s advocate here.”
“Changing the subject!” Kira announced quickly. “How was everything with Nick? Not just the sex, obviously. But . . . that too.”
“Hot?” I said. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
Iris made a disgusted noise. “Come on. I gave you the dirty details. Don’t make me beg. Or torture you,” she added under her breath.