Page 73 of Bang

But Cami, she was appealing just the way she was.

I wanted to kiss her.

Fuck.

From the other side of the kitchen, she gave a shaky laugh. "It's just an insult, that's all."

"But what does it mean?"

"I can't say."

"Oh yeah? Why not?"

"Because it's not kid-friendly."

I made a show of eyeing our surroundings. "You see any kids around?"

"No." She turned and glanced in the general direction of the staircase before saying in a much lower voice, "But Willow still might be able to hear."

She was wrong.The house was huge. Even the staircase was a decent walk away. I told her, "We both know that's not true."

"That's whatyouthink," she said. "But when I was a kid, I heard my parents talking all the time, even when they thought I was asleep."

"Oh yeah?" I felt my lips curve into a reluctant smile. "So you were a little eavesdropper, huh?"

"No." She cleared her throat. "Not really."

I wasn't so sure. "Is that so?"

"I just have really good hearing, that's all."

"Uh-huh."

"And maybeWillowhas good hearing, too." She glanced around. "So maybe we should talk somewhere else."

I recalled our last conversation. "Well, there's always the back patio."

With a rueful laugh, Cami said, "Oh, sure, because I didn't freeze enough yesterday."

I frowned. "You were cold?"

"Yeah, weren't you?"

"No." And now I felt like a dick. "You should've said something."

She bit her lip. "Why?"

"Because I could've done something."

"Like what?" she said. "It's not like you control the weather."

"No. But I could've brought you inside. Or loaned you my jacket."

"Oh stop it," she said. "You wouldn’t do that."

She was wrong.

I would.