Page 100 of Locke
“Neither would surprise me either.”He picks up his mug.“But hurry up… we got ten minutes.”
I take one of the other mugs and go back down the hallway.
Livia is awake.
She’s on her back with the duvet pulled up and her hair spread across the pillow with her phone in her hand as she scrolls.She looks up when I come in.
I hoist the mug.
She sits up enough to take it, wraps both hands around it, looks at me over the rim.“Arch?”
“Arch.He’s in the kitchen.”
She takes a drink.“Does he know I’m here?”
“He brought three coffees.”
She chuckles with amusement.“He brought three.”
“Apparently he’s a thoughtful person.”
She smiles.“He is, actually.”
I sit on the edge of the bed.The morning light does beautiful things to Livia’s eyes, and I could stare at them forever.
She chuckles.
I tilt my head.“What?”
“Nothing.”She shakes her head slightly.“You just look—” She stops.
“What?”
“Comfortable,” she says.“Effortlessly at ease.In your own house, with your teammate in your kitchen, a woman in your bed.”She sips, smiling at me over the lip of her cup.“It looks good on you.”
The thing about Livia is that she says simple things like that and doesn’t make them into huge moments.She just observes and moves on, leaving me with the feeling of being seen and understood.It’s taking some getting used to, but I wouldn’t ever change it.
“You don’t have to come,” I say hesitantly, but I really want her to.“If you’d rather—”
“I want to come.”
“It’s going to be loud.Boss is already there.”
“I like Boss.”
“Everyone likes Boss.That’s not evidence of good judgment.”
She sets her coffee on the nightstand and pushes the duvet back and swings her legs over the side of the bed.I watch as she gets dressed and have no complaints whatsoever.
She stands but I grab her hand, pulling her toward me.
“Hey,” she says softly, moving into me to settle between my legs.
“Hey.”
“We’re okay,” she says quietly.Confidently.The way she states things when she wants to make sure they’ve landed in the right place.
“Yeah,” I murmur.
