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“You shouldn’t be picking me up?”

Brushing a lock of hair behind Charlie’s ear, “I’m fine. Doc cleared me today.”

Now that everything was behind them and he had been cleared, Hemlock worried she would want to move out. On more than one occasion he caught her staring at the scar and worried shestill carried the weight of what happened. “I’ve got a question for you, Charlie Rose Cote.”

“I’m sure I have an answer for you, Emile Durand.” She saw the shocked look on his face at hearing her say his formal name. Did he think she didn’t remember his real name?Silly boy.

“Are you moving out?”

Well, damn, she’d thought about it at one time, for his safety, but when everything was over, she’d forgotten all about, unwilling to give him up. Now, and after everything they’d been through, that wasn’t what she expected he was going to ask her. She’d been under the impression they were living together.

Not knowing what to say she scrambled for an answer. On one hand, she didn’t want him to think she expected to stay. On the other, she didn’t want him to think she didn’t want to stay. Was this the man’s version of the trick question? If she said no, did that make her appear needy and if she said yes, did it make her appear uninterested? What a conundrum.

“I…” she was stumbling over her own words. “I can start looking for a place.”

Truck’s words echoed in his ears. “You have the worst luck with women.”Shit, he was bungling things up. “Let me reword my question. Would you want to stay here with me?”

Charlie didn’t have to think before she answered, “Yes!”

Hemlock moved closer to the counter making her widen her thighs to accommodate his hips. Leaning in he kissed her softly, wanting to feel that connection they had. He’d never had such a visceral connection with another person. Not like the one he had with her.

“Are you good being here?” He watched as she stared up at him. He hadn’t asked before, afraid of what she’s say. But in all fairness, he needed to know how she felt about it. They could always move into the cottage style apartment at Truck’s. He could rent the condo out.

“As long as you’re with me. I’m good.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

Lifting her from the counter, Hemlock set Charlie down, then taking her hand started leading her towards the stairs. The destination was their bedroom, specifically their bed.

Charlie knew where they were headed. It’d been six months since they’d been intimate, and the doctor had cleared Hemlock. “I think we are expected at the clubhouse for a cookout.”

“We can be late,” he said tugging her towards the stairs.

“Why are we going upstairs?”

Hemlock stopped short, staring at Charlie like she’d lost her mind. “Woman!”

Charlie laughed at his expression and the way he addressed her. “I mean, the sofa’s right there, or maybe the kitchen table.” She saw him glance at both before shaking his head no.

“I want plenty of room to move around. So, it’s the bed or nothing.”

“Then, I pick the bed.”

“That’s my girl.”

Turned out being late for the cookout wasn’t really late. When they arrived, no one had even started cooking. It seemed cookout was code for party. If she’d known, she would have kept Hemlock home in bed. Now that they were there, they would be expected to stay. “We can slip out in about an hour,” Hemlock whispered at her side.

“Half an hour and I’ll do that thing you like so much,” she countered with a wink.

“We’ll say hello and leave,” he said, making her laugh.

The party was laid back, music played in the background as the hum of laughter roused from the crowd that was gathered around the bar.

“Half an hour, huh?” Hemlock raised an eyebrow at her, clearly more intrigued by the offer than he let on. He adjusted his jacket as if preparing himself for the social battlefield ahead. “You really think it will be that easy to leave?”

“I’m sure if you fain exhaustion, they might not give us a hard time,” she teased, nudging him with her elbow. The teasing smile was matched with a twinkle in her eyes.

“You’re right. We’ll just say hello and then sneak out. No big deal,” he whispered, looking for Truck. The moment of hesitation made it clear that they both were calculating how to make the exit as seamless as possible.

Charlie nodded, her eyes scanning the crowd, already plotting their quick escape. “We’ll just say hi, have a burger and step away.” She laughed. “No one will even notice we’re gone.”

“Hey, look who finally made it!!!” Truck said with a chuckle.

Hemlock leaned over a whispered promise eased from his lips, “Half an hour.”

Charlie smiled…Hard.