Page 104 of Pacino
My heart sinks. “A few days in the fridge. Do you have to leave on a run?”
I’m still not sure what a run consists of, but Tucker hasn’t gone since I came to stay with him. Now that the threat of his family is… dead, he doesn’t have a reason to stick close to home anymore.
His home.
That’s what I hoped we’d talk about today. I don’t really know what the expectations are now. Yes, he loves me, but my place isn’t really a danger to me anymore. What does this mean for us?
It’ll feel weird if we go back to living separately. It’ll be like we’re dating even though we basically lived together for a couple of weeks.
“Nope, you’re coming on a trip with me.”
I frown. “I am?”
“Already talked to Sarah, and she’s going to make sure the bakery is running smoothly until you get back. And Sandy and Merv said they can handle everything at the café, so you’re free as a bird.”
He wants to take a trip with me? “Where are we going?”
“That’s a surprise. But I’ve rented a car because it’ll be a lot for you on the back of the bike, and I wasn’t sure if you’d be up for that long of a trip.”
“How do I know what to pack?”
“You won’t need much,” he says with a smirk and a wink.
Something about Tucker is different. I can’t quite pinpoint it, but when he smiles, it’s more than natural. Like his cheek muscles aren’t rebelling against it.
“When do we leave?”
“Right now.”
“Right… now?”
Biting his lower lip, he smiles and wiggles his eyebrows. “What you’re wearing will be perfect. And we’ll buy anything needed while we’re there.”
“Like… underwear?”
“Baby, I’ll buy you all the panties you want. As long as I get a private showing of them.”
I flush and cut a carrot bar before placing it on a paper towel. “Okay, but you need to try this before we leave. I don’t want your first bite to be after they’ve gone stale.”
Rather than take it from me, he opens his mouth, and I feed him. He seems almost… playful. And it’s really, really hot.
“That’s good,” he says, wiping frosting from the corner of his mouth. “And just like Mom made.”
“Really?”
Knowing how nostalgic they are, that’s the highest compliment he could give me. “Really. Now, we gotta go. We can’t be gone too long.”
“Yeah, we have work to get back to,” I say, covering the bars and putting the pan in the fridge.
Tucker doesn’t move, and I cross my arms under my chest. The wounds aren’t that deep on my wrists from the lovely metal bracelets his father and brother gave me, but they are deep enough to leave scars.
“That’s not why. Baby, I have some bad news.”
My heart pounds, and I hear my pulse in my ears. “What?”
I have no idea what he could tell me. Is there retaliation for what he did to his father and brother? Are we in danger? Is this going to require me to change my name, dye my hair dark, and go into hiding?
“Misty’s complications with the baby are worse than they originally thought. She had a situation come up while we were gone yesterday.”
