Page 106 of Duty and Desire

Finally, I got a grin from her which meant I got out of my squat, smiling back, then moved to my station.

Mo, for the first time ever in that room, did not follow me.

He stayed close to Carla.

As I grabbed my purse to get out my phone, I watched out of the corners of my eyes and saw that he didn’t murmur reassuring words or offer to help hold the bag of ice or do anything but give her his solid, assuring presence.

But he gave her his solid, assuring presence. She was worried. She was in pain. And he gave her what he had to give.

All right.

Seriously.

I hoped that man was good in bed because I was totally falling in love with him.

I called Smithie to come and see to Carla.

After that, I turned, leaned back against my station, and watched Mo openly while I called my mom.

His silver gaze came to me.

And there it was.

A soft look from Mo.

Jeez, Isowanted to jump him.

I gave him a smile.

His eyes dropped to it, but he didn’t smile back.

And again, I wanted to pounce on him.

Mom answered the phone.

“Lottie? Is everything okay?”

She sounded awake and alert, but not alarmed. Just awake and alert even though I knew I had to have woken her.

This was because she was the mother of a Rock Chick and the Queen of the Corvette Calendar. She had a lot of practice with being woken up in the middle of the night, needing to do it and be alert.

“Hey, Mom. Sorry to call late, but Carla turned her ankle bad coming off stage tonight. Mo had a look at it and thinks she needs to have it checked at the hospital. She needs someone to go relieve her babysitter until she gets home.”

“Mo?”

Shit.

Wrapped up in all that was going on, I not only forgot about dinner on Sunday, I forgot I’d told Jet about Mo coming, but not my mother.

And obviously my sister had left relaying that news to me.

“My, uh…” I gave Mo big eyes.

His dark eyebrows shot up.

Dark brows that went with the dark stubble he normally sported (except at times like now, right after his shower, when he’d shaved) and then there was dark hair on his arms.

This possibly meant dark hair on his chest, and other, better places, something I could notwaitto discover.