Page 37 of Timeless
I pocketed my phone and reached for the last box before shutting the trunk of my car. Taking two steps at a time, I made my way back up to Lily’s condo, running through scenarios in my head about how to best navigate things from here. Our work shifts didn’t currently align, but you could bet your savings on the fact that I’d already submitted a formal request to rectify that as best I could since I was still technically in the gray area between shift work and being a full-fledged detective. But apparently, I needed to call in a favor to get it done faster.
I knew Lily loved her job, and the last thing I wanted to do was ask if she’d consider transferring to Sutton Rivers’ small hospital; her independence was important to her. I’d transfer here to Rockwood in a heartbeat, but I needed to slow the F down and not put the cart before the horse. I believed things would progress the way they were destined to when the time was right; heck, she was living proof of that theory, even if we got derailed along the way. She found her way back to me, and that was all that mattered.
I locked the door and found Lily sitting at the breakfast bar with a somewhat nervous expression.
“Sorry, I had a work call about a case. I didn’t mean to be so long.”
“I was starting to question if you had seen enough of my brand of crazy and were having second thoughts.”
I took off my shoes and dropped the keys and box on the counter before stepping in front of her. “It’s a legit jungle in here with all your plants.” My eyes swept the room behind her todrive the point home. “Since when did you become such a hoarder of houseplants?”
“Shh, they’ll hear you.”
I arched a brow. “Lily, have you named all your plants?”
She tucked her lips between her teeth and shrugged.
“I should’ve known.” I chuckled, recalling her love for naming every wildlife critter that ever crossed her path growing up.
“They’re my plant babies.”
“Who looked after them this past month?” The thought of someone else having a key to her place had me suddenly clenching my jaw.
“Relax, Officer, I?—”
“It’s actually ‘Detective’ now.” I don’t know why I had the sudden urge to correct her.
“What?” Her eyes widened. “Since when?”
“Before Christmas.”
“And you never thought to tell me?” I loved it when the two little lines between her brows furrowed.
“I’ve been a little preoccupied.” I uncrossed her legs and stepped between them.
“Oh? Working on a specific case?” She tried to play innocent, but the sparkle in her piercing blue eyes gave her away.
“Yeah, you see this girl who was once my entire world,” I gripped the armrests of the barstool and leaned down, brushing my lips up the slope of her neck. “She’s back in my life, and she’s all I can think about.” Her thighs pressed warmly against the outside of mine, holding me in place. “Everything about her consumes my every thought, day and night.” I kissed my way along the edge of her jaw, savoring every inch, as she tilted her head back on her shoulders. “And I just learned someone else might have a key to her space, and looked after her plants in her absence.”
“Plant babies.”
I laughed against her skin. “My mistake. Plant babies.”
“Well, you can stand down, Detective, because there’s no case to solve here. I was the one who stopped by after my shifts to water and talk to them.”
My brows lifted in surprise as I leaned back, locking my eyes on hers. “Talk to them?”
“Yes,” she said with the cutest look of conviction.
“Are you telling me your plants know all your inner thoughts and secrets?” I asked, feeling a ridiculous pang of jealousy over her damn houseplants.
“Yes.” Her breath hitched as her soft, kissable lips parted.
Needing her even closer, I lifted her effortlessly by the hips off the stool, placed her on the counter, and stepped once again between her parted thighs.
“What if I want to be the one you confess all your inner thoughts and secrets to?”
“I’m trying,” she whispered in a ghosted breath, her eyes confirming her truth.
