Page 88 of Kiss and Tell

Connor’s eyes went wide with horror mere seconds before he flew off the bed and ran into the kitchen. I heard him audibly sigh.

“You did,” he called out.

He returned with two glasses of water and I took one gratefully, parched from our vigorous activities.

We curled up in the messy sheets, Connor playing with my hair and me exploring his firm chest. We enjoyed the moment of stillness, or togetherness, without needing words, before I leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“I’m glad I didn’t set your apartment on fire,” I told him. “Although I’m sure you’re going to say it would have been worth it.”

“I don’t know,” he drawled. “The sex was amazing and all, but I really do like this place…”

I smacked him in the face with a pillow as he laughed, then cuddled down into his chest.

Maybe life for Connor wasn’t as exciting as it had been on the road, but it seemed he’d found a life with a new, different kind of exciting.

A soft smile crossed my lips at the thought.

It was a life that included me.

Twenty-Eight

It wasweird walking through the bathroom door with anout-of-ordersign on it when Connor wasn’t by my side. He’d had errands to run this afternoon, though, so it was up to me to wait for the movers to arrive with the furniture.

There was no way they were going to get the bar furniture through the front door, and since the loading dock was in the back, they’d have to enter through the sketchy bar. As was standard, the movers couldn’t give me an actual time, only a time range, which meant I had to be at Walt’s from two in the afternoon to six.

When I pushed through the door, half a dozen heads turned toward me, mostly biker looking dudes at the pool table, but they soon went back to their game. Walt was busy rearranging bottles behind the bar and paid me no mind. Jessie was wiping down tables so there was at least one friendly face.

“Hey,” I called out to her.

She brightened at the sight of me and headed over.

“Waiting for the furniture to be delivered?” she asked. “I cleared out the back room so you’ll have room to maneuver.”

“Thanks,” I replied. “I have no idea how long it will take so I might be here awhile.”

“I’ll get you a drink and some pretzels to snack on while you wait,” she said. “If you want to play some pool I’m sure the guys would let you join.”

I looked over to the beefy men in leather jackets.

“I’ll be on my phone answering emails,” I said. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Connor was right, you are always working.” She said it with a smile so I knew it wasn’t meant to be insulting. “I admire people like you. People with drive.”

“Maybe I’ve just got nothing else going on in my life and work is the only thing to keep me busy,” I said.

“I think you’ve got plenty going on, don’t you?”

Jessie gave me a conspiratorial wink and I panicked.

Did she know about me and Connor?

Had he told her, even though I’d vehemently expressed to him how much of a bad idea that was?

Had he gone ahead and done it anyway?

Anxiety and not a little fury began to rise in my chest at the thought, but Jessie didn’t say anything further about it. She just went to pour me a soda and get me a bowl of snacks.

My panic calmed and the anger subsided. Of course Connor hadn’t told her. He wouldn’t do that without my consent. I was worrying over nothing. Besides, even if Jessie knew, or had guessed, it didn’t mean anyone else would find out.