Page 91 of Perfect Order

“No. It’s not nothing, Leanne. Tell me.” I lay my hands gently on her shoulders. She whirls around, her eyes blazing.

“I had to hack a few systems to get the data I needed, okay? But without accessing my secure system to do it, there’s a possibility I might have left a trail.”

I count to ten. Then I do it again. I finally get a grip on my emotions before I ask, “Is there a reason you didn’t use the secure system?”

And I’m knocked back six paces when she declares, “Because if I’m caught, the system I used is associated with Kylie Miles.”

“Shit.” I yank her forward as I realize just what she risked to put things right. “So while I was off pouting like…”

“A petulant child,” she fills in.

“Right. You were standing in front of me, Beckett, and a woman you don’t even know.” I think about Paige Kensington and how much she would like Leanne, how different yet similar these two women are.

She squirms. “I’m used to it, Kane.”

I dip down so our eyes meet. “Not for me. Not anymore. Okay? Don’t stop any more bullets without talking with me first. I need you whole.”

The luminescent smile that brightens her face could light the night sky. “I can work on that.”

“I’ve missed you.” I lean down and brush her nose with mine.

“It’s been three days,” she notes.

“Three days where we haven’t talked. That’s the longest we’ve gone since Christmas.”

Her soft laugh grabs me by the throat. I kiss her neck and luxuriate in her long moan. “Think the lasagne will hold?”

“Do you care?” She asks as she runs her hands over my shoulders.

“Not really. You?”

“Nope.”

I swing her up into my arms and head for the couch so this way I can tell if the place catches on fire. That’s the only way I plan on moving from her side in the next three days that were a gift from Beckett.

APRIL

Kane

The popularity of online ordering is on a mushrooming rise. Interesting fact: 60% of U.S. consumers order delivery or takeout once a week.

— Fab and Delish

“Do you want me to pick up anything special for dinner tonight?” I ask Leanne as I slip my arm through my suit jacket.

She’s lying delightfully spent across her bed from where I left her after our early morning lovemaking. Shoving her hair out of her eyes, she accuses, “You’re way too awake in the morning.”

“And you’re a slug,” I inform her with good cheer.

“But you love me anyway.”

I love the way the ghosts are disappearing from her eyes, slowly but surely. Maybe it’s true. Time can heal, and I’ll be there by her side to help her sidestep some of the pitfalls I landed in after Gene. “I do. That still doesn’t answer my question of what you want to eat.”

Her eyes drift downward, causing me to laugh even as I move back from the bed before I rejoin her in it. “You’re insatiable.”

She rolls to her back, holding my pillow to her chest. “It’s you. My life was filled with so much structure and routine. Then I meet you and poof!”

Unable to resist her, I lean over to press one more kiss to her swollen lips. “It’s only been a few months.”