Page 68 of Make or Break

He laughed. “Woman, the numbers don’t lie.”

I pressed my lips together while my cheeks bulged with my irritation. “Even if I gave into your cynical, pessimistic outlook, I call bullshit. You’re older than me, so what! I could die next week in a freak car crash. That’s no reason to end this. You aren’t going to die until you’re in your eighties, most likely.”

His expression dimmed. “I didn’t say anything about ending this.”

“Then why bring it up?”

He shrugged. “Partly to get a rile out of you, which I did. And also because I want you going into this with your eyes wide open. Not only do the numbers not lie, we can’t change them.”

I ran my hands up and down his torso. “I’m aware, honey.”

He dropped down on his side and cupped my cheek. “That’s all I’m asking for - awareness.”

I didn’t like how heavy this conversation was, so I changed the subject. “Thanks for lunch today, by the way. That was very kind of you.”

“I take care of my woman.”

“That you do… with gusto,” I muttered.

“Mick, I mean it. Heard that you’d be coming by and I picked up the bill for everyone.”

I tilted my head. “You could have let me handle my own lunch. That had to set you back by two hundred dollars, at least.”

“I’m good for it,” he said.

The heavy tone of voice he used gave me pause, but something told me this wasn’t the time to discuss it.

“I appreciate it.”

“Yeah. I overheard Nickel talking to Bluff about his visit to you this morning well before you showed up. We didn’t cover our tracks.”

“Right. Killian came to the pool saying something similar, but I set him straight.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “I use both sides of my table. I’m all about equality that way.”

“And the knife I inadvertently left behind?”

I shot him a coy smile. “I leave unused silverware on the table all the time. Not my best habit, but they both know it’s true. I’ve been doing it since I was a teenager and it drove Mom right up the wall.”

“All right. When does Ryan get off tonight?”

My head reared back. “Um… I’m sorry, what?”

He arched his brows. “We’re no good at hiding, woman. Your girl’s right. We get him on board - the rest might work out.”

“Might?”

He twisted his hands upward. “No guarantees in life, but I’m done hiding. Everything we just did, should have happened two hours ago in my room at the clubhouse.”

“You’re not wrong, but it’s worth noting: this was a little more fun because of the secrecy. I should try to get punished—”

“Mickayla, we’re lying. We gotta come clean.”

Chapter 16

Plans with Mick