Page 27 of Commit

“No. I don’t like the way he was looking at you.”

“He was just doing his job.”

“He was eye-fucking you. I’m a man, you’re not. You have no fucking clue what he was thinking, but I do. And I know he’s pictured fucking you a dozen different ways since he saw you walk through the door.”

Her mouth drops open. I feel the urge to shove something inside it, but I don’t feel like getting arrested today.

“You can’t say stuff like that to me,” she whispers, her head dropping in embarrassment.

I slide my finger under her chin and tip her head back, ignoring the tears in her eyes—whether from embarrassment or anger, I don’t know.

“You have to know how gorgeous you are.”

She fists her hands at her sides, showing me that spark of fire behind her eyes once more. “This is just the skin I was born in. It’s nothing special, just the cover of my story that nobody ever bothers to look beyond because they’re all too happy to show me off.”

“Including my son?”

With a huff, she yanks herself free. “I’m not talking about Abbot with you. You want to know about him? Ask him. I won’t act as the go-between for you both.”

“Funny because that’s where you are, sandwiched right between us.”

I take a step back, giving her a second to get herself together. I find I like the flustered, red-faced version of my birdie, though I have yet to see a side of her I don’t like.

“He’s waving us over.” I point to the guy that was helping us.

She turns to look and heads his way. I easily catch up to her and place my hand on the small of her back.

“Do I need to take your hand again to stop you from wandering off?”

“I’m not a child,” she hisses.

“Trust me, I don’t see a child when I look at you.” When we reach the sales guy, I nod for him to show us what he’s got.

He starts with the laptops, talking through all the specifications and technical jargon before moving on to the tablets.

Starling leans into me. “I don’t need all this, Hudson, and there’s no way I’ll be able to pay you back.”

“Did I ask you to pay me back?”

“No, but?—”

“We’ll take them. Phones too. I’ll need them set up on my plan.”

“That won’t be a problem, sir. If you go over to the counter and give them your information, they’ll be able to do that for you. Do you want to take the items with you today or have them delivered?”

“When would they be delivered?”

“If you live locally, then tomorrow. We can have the latest software installed and updated if necessary, so you’re ready to go.”

“Okay. Go ahead.”

Starling stands quietly beside me, saying nothing as I add both her and Abbot to my phone plan and pay. As we leave, I take her hand again and lead her down the street to a boutique that I’ve driven Ivy to a few times.

“What is this place?”

“You need clothes, right?”

“Not from here, Hudson. Target or Walmart is fine. Hell, if there’s a thrift shop around here, even better.”