“This is true but I’m Cam’s best friend and I’m not going to mess with any of that kitchen and bathroom bridal shower stuff. It’s all about lingerie.” I let his hand go and crossed my heart then lifted my hand, palm out. “Swear.”
“You break that promise, darlin’, and I gotta sort through garlic presses and other shit to find the bottle opener, you know I’ll make you pay,” he threatened.
“Camille doesn’t have a garlic press?” I asked, fake aghast.
This got me another white flash.
Then the white faded and his eyes grew intent. “She worried about this?”
“Cam?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah,” I answered honestly and quietly.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“She wants to be yours, Leo,” I told him.
“She is mine, Gwen,” he told me.
“Then let her show the world every day by giving her a ring.”
He held my eyes. Then he nodded once.
Then he said, “I gotta get to the gym.”
I nodded back, saying, “I gotta get home.”
He stood and I took a sip of coffee. I thought he’d go to the sink but he came to me. I tipped my head back to look at him just as his hand cupped the back of my head and his face got close.
“This,” he whispered, “this right here is why Cabe Delgado finally woke the f**k up.”
My heart seized but I wheezed, “Leo.”
“No more to be said, darlin’, think about that,” he declared, pulled my head forward an inch, kissed my hair and then let me go and walked his mug to the sink.
God, I loved Leo. He was the shit.
I looked out the window. The snow was long gone. February was leaking into March. In Denver this meant anything goes weather-wise. Blizzards, lying out in the sun in your bikini or both within an hour.
My phone hadn’t rung and Hawk hadn’t attempted to penetrate the Antoine/Freeman fortress. Even if he didn’t get my check and note yet, he went back to his lair to find I wasn’t there.
He was no call and no show.
This said it all and I told myself I was relieved but I wasn’t.
* * * * *
As I drove up to my house I noted that the good news was, Dad and Meredith’s cars weren’t there.
Dad called the night before to say that he and Meredith were going to spend the day at their house cleaning and sorting through stuff. I told him I wanted to get a few hours of work done to stay on target and then I’d come and help.
The bad news was, there was a Harley in my drive and on that Harley sat Tack.
Shit.
I pulled up to the curb so I wouldn’t block him in and he threw his leg off his bike. He started to the front door so I headed there.