hit our stride. Ever since our argument yesterday when I spilled my guts about putting so much into the character I wish I was, Shawn has been better about explaining in detail why he wants to make the adjustments or changes he suggests.
It’s helping.
I don’t want to say I’m enjoying it because I don’t want to jinx anything, but it doesn’t suck as bad as it once did.
“Time flies when the words do,” he murmurs, still reading through something on his screen.
“I have to go.” I jump up and methodically fold the orange blanket I had thrown over my legs as we worked. “I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
His head comes up, and his green eyes focus on me. “Where are you going?”
“To see Maggie, of course. She was assaulted last night, remember? I want to see how she’s doing.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“No.” I shake my head as I slip my feet into shoes. “I have questions for her that she won’t answer in front of you. Girl questions, I guess you could say. And I’d kind of like to see her on my own. Is that weird?”
He’s grinning at me as if I’m a child who just did well on a test.
“It’s not weird at all. She’s become your friend, and you want to look in on her. I think it’s nice, actually.”
I shift uncomfortably. “Why are you smiling at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, like I’m cute or something.”
He tilts his head to the side and then stands and crosses to me. He tips my chin up with a fingertip and slants his lips over mine.
“You’re not cute, Lex. You’re fucking hot as hell. And I’m smiling at you because you make me happy.”
I clear my throat. “Well, okay then.”
“Tell Maggie I said hello, and let me know if you need anything. You can take my car, of course.”
“Oh, I just ordered a rideshare. No biggie. I’ll see you in a bit.”
I walk out of the office, grab my purse, and step outside just as my car arrives.
The truth is, although I do want to check in on Maggie and make sure she’s okay, I need a quick break from Shawn. He’s awesome, and things are going well, but we’re almost getting along too well. He’s potent.
Intense.
And I’m constantly turned on when I’m around him.
I need to give my libido a break.
I ask the driver to swing by a restaurant so I can pick up some lunch I called in, and he waits as I run in and retrieve my order.
The driver pulls up to Maggie’s little house on the edge of town just as her door opens, and Cameron comes walking out.
His brow rises when he sees me. “Hello, Lexi.”
“Hey. I didn’t expect to run into you. Did you stay the night?”
Rather than answer, he just smiles, pushes his sunglasses up on his nose, and opens the door of his classic Mustang.
“Bye, Lexi.”
And with that, the engine roars to life and he drives away.
Okay, so whether he stayed the night or not is none of my business.
I’ll just ask Maggie.
I knock on the door, and when she calls out that it’s open, I walk inside. Maggie’s sitting on her couch, her laptop balanced on her thighs as she eats soup out of a bowl.
“Hey,” she says, her voice full of surprise. “Sorry, I thought you were Maeve. She’s supposed to be coming over in a few.”
“I brought lots of food,” I say as I set the bag on her coffee table. “I’m starving, and I thought you might be, too.”
“Cameron just heated up some soup for me,” she says, setting the bowl aside. “But yeah, I could go for some Chinese.”
We’re shuffling boxes around, pouring contents onto plates, when Maeve arrives. She walks right in, and when she gets a look at the spread of food, she grins.
“I’m just in time for lunch.”
“And there’s lots, so please eat,” I say, passing her a plate. “And hurry up because I have questions for your sister.”
“Really?” Maeve asks, intrigued as she loads up her plate and then sits on the floor, using the coffee table to eat from. “Ask away.”
“Cameron.”
Maggie’s good eye narrows on me as she chews her chow mein. “What about him?”
“He just left your house.”
“Really?” Maeve asks again. “Did he stay the night?”
Maggie swallows. “Maybe.”
“Your eye looks awful, by the way,” Maeve adds. “You need more ice.”
“My face is going to fall off from frostbite if I ice it any more than I already