Page 13 of The Last Key (Baker Girls #2)

And as he walks down the hall away from me, he says, “I’m going to take a shower. Just in case you hear me singing.”

I can’t breathe.

I stand, frozen in place, staring at the wall of the kitchen until a door closes upstairs and I hear the water turn on. Then I dash up the stairs, sneak into the bedroom, grab my iPad, and run across the hall to the office, locking the door behind me.

I fire off a text to Frannie and Hallie.

Me: About to video call you both. This is a 911 call, so you better answer!

A moment later, my iPad is set up, and Frannie and Hallie appear on my screen as they answer my desperate plea for help.

“What’s the emergency? I’m assuming it’s not a real one since we’re an entire country away,” Frannie says.

Hallie leans in toward the camera. “No. This is definitely Devon related. See the mix of panic and lust in her eyes?”

“Ah,” Frannie nods in agreement. “Well, don’t keep us waiting! Tell us.”

“I think Devon wants me.”

False. I know he wants me.

“Wow,” Frannie says, at the same time Hallie says, “Oh my god.” Except, both their voices are flat.

“What was that?”

Frannie stares at the camera. “Me or you, Hal?”

“Oh me, please,” Hallie says. “This is fun.”

“What’s fun?” My hands are shaking. There’s nothing fun about this.

“You being surprised that Devon has a thing for you.”

“I said he could.”

“Well, he absolutely does,” Frannie says.

Hallie nods in agreement. “But based on the look on your face right now, I think we need some background.”

Without a second thought, everything rushes out of me. How things felt different, teasing each other, the tension surrounding us every second, and what just happened in the kitchen.

“Damn,” Frannie says.

“It’s about time,” Hallie agrees.

“About time for what?”

“For you two to stop ignoring how great you could be together,” Frannie says matter-of-factly.

Swallowing hard, I stare at the screen, completely overwhelmed.

“What’s wrong?” Hallie asks.

“What if… he doesn’t want me? What if he thinks it would be fun to hookup?

Or mess around while I’m here? I couldn’t do that.

Or…” I trail off, my biggest fear hitting hard and leaving me on the verge of tears.

“What if he does want more—everything—but we ruin it? This is why I never wanted to consider doing anything with him.”

“Okay, I think we need backup,” Frannie says.

“Agreed.”

“Backup? What do you mean?”

Hallie taps away at her screen, and a moment later, there’s a request for Ryan Hardison to join the call. And then Brian Ackley. I let them both in at the same time Mark appears next to Frannie .

“What’s up, baby girl?” Ryan asks. “Shit, why do you look sad? Do I need to fly out there and kick someone’s ass?”

“I’m coming, too,” Brian says.

“She’s worried about how Devon feels about her since they’ve been sharing a bed?—”

“And he told her he wants to screw her on the kitchen counter!” Hallie shouts, cutting Frannie off.

“Sounds to me like it’s clear what he wants,” Mark says.

“She’s scared of what would happen if they crossed that line,” Frannie clarifies.

“You said he’s being sweet to you,” Brian says softly. “What do you mean?”

“We’re sleeping in the same bed, cuddling at night. Last night when we were snuggling in bed, he asked me what I wanted out of the future. I asked him too. It seemed like we were both talking about each other, but?—”

Then Hardy cuts through the bullshit. “Baby girl, are you in love with him?”

I’m silent for a moment as they all stare at me. A screen full of eyes boring into me.

“I’ve tried really hard never to ask myself that question,” I finally admit.

“I think you need to now,” Hallie says. “You need to know what you want, so you know how to deal with this.”

“Agreed,” Frannie says.

“Okay. Maybe. What do I do in the meantime?”

“You could talk to him?” Mark offers.

“Or, if you’re too chicken to do that, you could always turn that flirting back to something sweet until you work up the courage,” Brian says.

I nod slowly.

“Don’t let fear hold you back. Have fun. Be honest with yourself. Then with him,” Hardy says.

“How do you know so much about all this?” I ask him.

“Those who can’t do…” Brian teases .

“Shut up. Everything in life is easier when you’re not in the middle of it. Think of how easy it was to be objective about Markie Mark and Frannie. Obviously, they were meant to find each other, but they were both acting like scaredy cats.”

“Thank you for that,” Mark deadpans.

The fan in the bathroom switches off, and I know my time is up. “I’ve gotta go. This actually helped. Thanks. Love you guys.”

There’s a chorus of “love yous” and “goodbyes” as I end the call.

Then I stare at the blank screen of my iPad. Do I love him?

I still don’t want to answer that question.

But I know I can’t keep pushing these boundaries without knowing for sure what he wants, which means after karaoke tonight, I need to finally talk to him.

All this flirting is fun, but I need to know where it’s going.

It’s scary as hell, but it’s time to address the massive elephant in the room.

Once I hear Devon go downstairs, I walk back to the bedroom and grab my outfit for tonight—black jeggings and a maroon V-neck tank with a light gray cardigan.

Then, I head to the bathroom to wash my face, put on my barely there version of makeup, and tousle my short brown curls.

I miss my long hair and still hate myself for cutting it for that jackass boss of mine.

That feels like a million years ago now. Maybe Justin’s right. Maybe I am happier here than I realized.

With one last look in the mirror, I walk downstairs and find Devon standing alone in the kitchen, lost in thought.

Walking over to the far side of the kitchen, I grab a glass out of the cabinet and get some water from the fridge. Devon still hasn’t said anything by the time I’ve finished drinking it.

“You okay?”

His eyes lift and he looks at me for a moment like he’s just realized I’m here.

“Yeah. Sorry. Just thinking.”

My eyes inadvertently go to the counter. “About, um”—I clear my throat—“what you said earlier? ”

A smirk plays on his lips, but he shakes his head. “No. I was thinking about what it would be like to have you here every day. If you stayed.”

My heart leaps. “You want me to stay?” Reaching for him, I step closer, resting my hand on his arm.

“I want you to be happy. Selfishly, I hope that’s here.” He tucks some of my hair behind my ear, looking at me intensely.

“Devon,” I breathe as his eyes drop to my lips.

Fingers pressing into his arm, I inch toward him as he does the same until our chests are almost touching.

Our eyes meet again, tension swirling around us, growing thicker by the second.

My breaths grow heavy and my heart beats faster as I look into his eyes, finding a mixture of intensity and vulnerability.

Slowly, he dips his head down as I lift onto my toes.

I’m lost in the moment. All I hear are the sounds of our breaths and my heart pounding in my ears as our lips move closer and closer. So close I can feel his breath on my face.

“Hey! Y’all coming?” Justin calls from the front room.

I jerk my head back and we both step apart, still trying to catch our breaths. The moment is broken, but the tension is not.

Letting him know I liked where that was going, I lean up and kiss his cheek, then squeeze his arm before moving past him out of the room.

My heart’s still beating erratically as I grab my purse and the three of us walk out to the car. He wants to fuck me on the kitchen counter, but he also wants me in that kitchen every morning. I don’t know what this means for us, but I know I want to find out. I need to.

When we get back from karaoke, I intend to pick up where we left off. Preferably in the bedroom.