Page 22 of Damaged Protector
Mallori giggled. “Not sure how I could turn that down. Sounds fine to me. Do they have spicy chicken?”
“You can get it either way.”
“Spicy, please.”
I clutched my chest, groaning, “A woman after my own heart,” and a grin spread across her face.
Damn, she’s very attractive when she smiles.
Not that I cared. She was Cam’s cousin, for Christ’s sake. His much younger cousin.
That doesn’t mean I can’t make an unbiased observation though, right?
The food arrived, and Mallori helped me spread it out on the coffee table. As we settled on the couch, I picked up the remote.
“I was just starting a movie, but I can put something else on,” I said, flicking on the television.
She smacked my chest with the back of her hand, her wide eyes fixed on the screen. “You were watching Lone Wolf McQuade? I freaking love that movie.”
“You do?”
She nodded, picking up a chicken leg and swirling it through the air. “Hell yes! Anything with Chuck Norris is awesome.”
I was both amused and impressed. “Did you know there is no chin behind Chuck Norris's beard? There’s only another fist.”
Mallori giggled. “I think I heard that once. Did you know that in the beginning there was nothing? Then Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked nothing and told it to get a job.”
A snort erupted from my nose. I’d never actually heard that one before. “How did you get into Chuck Norris movies? No offense, but…”
“Let me guess. Women can only watch rom-coms or chick flicks?” she asked sweetly, though her gaze held a glaring challenge.
I feigned clutching my pearls and gasped. “Heavens, no! I would never suggest anything of the sort. I was going to say I figured you for a horror movie buff.”
Mallori laughed loudly and elbowed me. “Nice save.”
“I do what I can in the name of self-preservation,” I said, forking up a bite of potato salad.
“You’re fairly well trained,” she teased. “Girlfriend?”
I wanted to laugh at that. If she only knew…
“No, a sister.”
“I always wanted a sister,” she mused.
“You can have mine,” I told her, smiling so she’d know I was totally kidding. Her eyes dipped to my mouth for a long moment.
“Is she older or younger?”
“Jennifer is two years older than me.”
“Are you close?”
I pulled my eyes away from the TV screen where J.J. McQuade, a.k.a. Chuck Norris, was fighting three men at once. “We’re very close, even though she still lives in North Carolina. She’s the most important person to me.”
Mal’s face softened. “That’s sweet.”
“She had breast cancer,” I blurted out, and I was unsure why.