Page 28 of Kiss Kiss Bang
His wide back, which looked like an upside down triangle, was taut against a black polo, and he was looking at a framed photo of her with her daughter. Placing it back down, he turned around just as she sat down on her sofa and gestured for him to sit too. “Why are you here again?”
He scooted closer. “You look tired, Livie.” He ran this thumb across the skin under her eye.
“My daughter’s been giving me hard nights, and between that and work and then the stress of today—” She yawned mid-sentence. “I guess it all just hit me at once.”
He brought her hand to his mouth, and kissed her wrist softly. “I’m worried. This is more than an angry voter.”
“I know.” And she did know that. It was obvious that she was in some sort of danger. The degree of the danger, she wasn’t sure.
“You didn’t even look before you opened the door.”
“You startled me. I was confused and half asleep. I’m normally very careful.”
He looked around as if someone would just materialize. “Where’s Tom?”
“Tom? I don’t know. At his home? It’s the middle of the night.”
“Why isn’t he here with you and Sophie? He should be here.” Joey stood and walked to the back wall where there were two sets of French doors and wiggled them. “Has he looked at these? Are they impact-resistant? Are they connected to your alarm system?
“Jo—”
“How up-to-date is your alarm? Is it monitored? Are you consistent about arming it? It should always be armed, Livie.”
“Joey!” She placed her hands on his shoulders. “Stop. I don’t know the answers to those questions. Until yesterday or early today or whatever, I wasn’t even convinced I needed security.”
“I hope you are now.”
She let go of him and moved back to the couch. “Yes. I think so. I mean, I don’t know what’s going on, but that was scary. And at the least, I need someone better than Tom.”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” she said, awkwardly.
So . . . was he staying? Leaving?
For the first time, she noticed the scruff on his face was thicker, and the short hair on his head was longer. And he too had bags under his eyes. “You look tired too.”
Stifling a yawn he responded. “Yeah. Had a job in Tallahassee. Drove up last night, came right down. Haven’t slept much.”
She stood up and stretched a little. His eyes roamed down her body and she tightened the robe self-consciously. God, his eyes alone were enough to set her on fire. She couldn’t help but think of the way his lips and hands felt around her. “So . . .”
He sat back comfortably. “I think I’m going to stick around.”
“Pardon?”
Causally, as if he’d been there a thousand times, he put his boots on the ottoman and one of her throw pillows behind his neck.
“On your way back to bed, could you hit the lights?”
Had she been hit on the head? Was she understanding him correctly? Or maybe he was the one not making any sense. “Are you . . . are you sleeping here?”
He yawned again and waggled himself deeper into the couch. “Trying to.”
“But . . . wait, what?”
“I like you. I want you safe. You have a daughter. You need to keep her safe. I’m the guy who’s gonna do both those things tonight. But now, I’m tired. So hit the lights on your way out and make sure you armed your alarm, which we’ll discuss tomorrow.”
Damn him. He’d brought up the safety of her daughter.
“I don’t like being steamrolled.” She scowled and pushed his legs off the ottoman, feigning annoyance. “But . . . thank you.”
“You’re welcome, darlin’. Sleep tight.”
“’Night, Joey.”
