Finally (Neighbor from Hell #12) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,36

a pained gasp and grabbed hold of the arm stopping her from escaping.

“Please don’t do that,” Charlie said, releasing a shaky breath as she closed her eyes.

“Do what?”

“Move,” she whispered hoarsely only to add, “It hurts when you move,” making him bite back a curse as he glanced back towards the hallway, wondering where the hell his cousin was.

Maybe he should have brought her to the emergency room…

“What are you doing?” Devin asked the woman who had finally given up trying to crawl off his lap a moment later as she reached back so that she could grab her iPad out of her bag, careful not to move her foot in any way.

“You mean besides ignoring you?” Charlie asked, carefully shifting to get more comfortable on his lap before settling back against him with a resigned sigh as she opened the calendar app on her iPad.

“Yes, besides that,” he said, trying to ignore just how much he liked having her in his arms.

“I’m looking into conventions on social media and online marketing that I want to attend next year,” Charlie said as she swiped to another page.

“Why are you doing that?” he asked, unable to help but frown as he watched her work.

“So that I can do my job better,” Charlie explained as she opened Safari.

“And you need to attend conventions to do that?” Devin asked, relaxing his arm around her.

“Yes,” she said, tilting her head back so that she could look at him, blinking innocently as she asked, “Do I still need to go through T.J. to get my time off approved?”

Eyes narrowing on the little brat that was going to drive him to drink, Devin said, “Just tell me what days you need off.”

“Are you sure? Because I don’t mind going through T.J. if it makes this easier on you?”

He knew that he shouldn’t ask, but…

“Make what easier on me?”

“Your feelings for me,” Charlie said with a sad shake of her head as she returned her attention to the iPad in her hands while he sat there, closing his eyes as he dropped his head back against the couch, because she was fucking killing him.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” she whispered as she shifted only to stop with a pained gasp that had him opening his eyes only to find his cousins sitting across from him, watching him with shit-eating grins on their faces, and-

“I am so glad that I didn’t miss this,” Kenzie said, dropping down on the couch between her brothers with a satisfied sigh.

Chapter 17

“Thank you for drugging me,” Charlie said as the drugs that the incredibly handsome doctor had given her began working, enveloping her in a warm haze and making it so that she no longer had to struggle not to cry.

“You’re welcome,” Aidan said, chuckling as he passed the platter of meatloaf to his brother Lucifer, who looked torn between fawning over his pregnant wife and tormenting Devin along with the rest of his family.

Except for Devin’s Aunt Mary that is, since she was currently sitting at the other end of the table smiling down at the baby in her arms. She only acknowledged their existence when someone asked to hold the baby, which was met with a murderous glare until they gave up and left her alone so that she could cuddle her grandson.

“So, tell us about yourself, Charlie,” Jason, Devin’s cousin who’d walked into the dining room and joined them a few minutes ago with a huge smile on his face, said with a heartfelt sigh as he propped his chin on his fists.

“I mean, other than the five years I spent in prison, there’s really not that much to tell,” she said with a sad shake of her head.

“Fascinating,” Jason murmured with a dreamy sigh before following that up with, “and how long have you known our little Devin here?”

“I’m going to kill you,” Devin said from her right, pausing as he scooped mashed potatoes onto plates for the twins to glare at his cousins.

“Probably,” Jason murmured absently as the rest of his family sat there, watching Devin with a predatory look of anticipation in their eyes that made Charlie feel right at home.

God, she loved family meals.

She’d always wished that Grandma Bea had been able to take in more children, but she’d had her hands full with the two of them. So, Charlie had been forced to torment Ben, which sometimes late at night when she couldn’t fall asleep, she felt bad about, but then she would remember how much