Page 40 of That Last Secret
“Me?” I ask, furrowing my brow. “She was the one that had to witness the man pull a pocketknife on the nurses.”
“Brooke is a hard-ass.” She laughs.My god, that laugh. “Nothing like that bothers her. She’s the type of girl who willcome in guns blazing to a knife fight. That guy didn’t stand a chance with her on shift.”
That forces a laugh out of me.
Being with Emiline is so carefree despite the heavy topic of conversation.
“She said she couldn’t read you like she can normally read people. Like something more was bothering you. She said…” Emiline stops herself, pressing her lips together before shaking her head. “Forget it.”
“Em.” I give her a sympathetic smile. “You can continue. You should know by now you can tell me anything.”
“Do I?” She wrinkles her eyes.
I poke at the sensitive spot between her ribs and under her arms, which causes her to jump and squirm with laughter.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.
Emiline stands from the couch, the serious mask back on her face as she paces back and forth. “It’s just that… you’re so hot and cold with me. I don’t know what to think or believe. Brooke says one thing. You act another way. One day you’re spilling coffee down my shirt and looking at me like I’m the scum on the bottom of your shoe, and then you’re coming to my rescue at the library.” She stops walking back and forth and brings her arms out wide. “And now, here you are. In my apartment, sitting on my couch, and being exceptionally nice to me.”
A smile plays on my lips, and she looks down at me when I don’t answer. Her smile matches mine, but she picks up a pillow and throws it at me.
I bark out a laugh. “You did not just throw a pillow at my head.”
“I did!” she practically screams. “Now you’re being hot again.”
I raise a brow and smirk. “Is that so?”
This girl is my greatest temptation, and she’s only making it worse with every word that comes out of her mouth. I’m genuinely hanging by a thread, and I feel that thread slowly fraying away.
She groans. “Oh my god, Logan. That is not what I meant.”
I can’t help but grin from ear to ear. “Can we get back to the basics of this conversation?”
“Which are?”
“What Brooke was saying when you talked to her.”
Her cheeks turn blushing pink as she looks down at her hands. “Brooke thinks you care about me.”
“I do,” I say, quicker than I intended to.
“As… more than just your best friend’s little sister,” Emiline continues, her light blue eyes lifting to meet mine while she keeps her head toward the ground. “She thinks you are the way you are because a part of you wants me.”
I stand from the couch as her words send a light shiver down my spine.
Suddenly, it feels boiling in here, and I can’t breathe. I can hear my heart pounding in my head as I take a step closer to her. She lifts her head, eyes widening as I loom over her.
I hear her suck in a sharp breath, and what I would give to have her exhale it against my lips.
“Interesting,” I tell her, tucking a tendril of hair that’s fallen out of her bun behind her ear.
Emiline’s eyes fall shut, and she releases that breath. My knuckle burns when it grazes the skin of her neck. Even with just that small touch, I felt her pulse pounding against my skin.
There’s a knock on the door, and I pull away quickly, before my hands explore more of her body. I can already feel myself craving that burning sensation over every part of me, and it’s a good breakfast that came at the right time.
Emilline takes a step back and opens her eyes again. “Sometimes, she can be a little out there with the theories that float around in her head. I should have never said anything,” she says, making her way to the door.
I don’t reply but stay where my feet are planted as I watch her grab the breakfast sandwiches from the delivery driver and place them on the kitchen counter.