Page 110 of Mine to Share
“You know I will.”
“Did you tell your parents?” Slade asked, shoving both tattooed hands into the pockets of his slacks. “About the job offer?”
I nodded. “Of course, they’re excited about the idea of me being close, but I told them I’m still thinking about it. I’m not sure if I’m ready to leave all this. I love my job and the people I work with.”
Jameson shot Slade a strange expression, but Slade completely ignored him. With a huff, Jameson waved goodbye and headed inside, grumbling about stubborn assholes.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“Nothing, baby. Enjoy your lazy morning. Turn it into a lazy day if you need to. And don’t think you’re fooling me. I know you’re not telling us how you’re really feeling after the incident in the morgue, but know I’m here to listen when you are. Bye, baby. Love you.”
With that L-word bomb, he turned on his heels and strode inside, leaving me gaping after him.
Love. You.
Me?
I flopped back onto the lounge chair with a huge grin on my lips.
“The sexy man I fantasized about for almost two years just said he loves me. At least I think he did.” I popped back up, smile now more of a grimace. “What if he said ‘more you,’ meaning he wants more of me later?” Lip between my teeth, I worked it back and forth. “Or ‘door you,’ for like ‘adore you’?”
A pitiful whimper escaped, and I slapped my face down into my awaiting palms.
Love was a big step. Not that I didn’t feel that way about him and Jameson. My heart was so full of love for those two men that sometimes I wondered if it would burst, spilling red glitter and cartoon hearts all into my chest cavity. It was honestly too much when I thought too hard about them and our future. I couldn’t breathe. And when I watched them joke around and work so well together, it was as if this between the three of us was years in the making, not weeks.
How could I go to Dallas and leave Slade?
How could Inotgo to Dallas and work side by side with Jameson?
Either way, I left someone behind. Someone I loved. And I knew deep in my gut it would feel like I was missing an appendage if I didn’t have both men in my life.
I’d tried to live in the moment the past few days, to not think about the future too much, but now it was here.
We were so close to identifying the unsub. Hopefully, the DNA would come back in the next day or two, giving us a name. But then this perfect dreamlike existence—minus being held at gunpoint and my place being destroyed—would end.
I wasn’t ready for that.
Not one bit.
Add in my mixed emotions about going back to the morgue and I was an emotional mess. The place where I was held at gunpoint, where I’d watched the man I love get shot. I didn’t know he had a vest on under the jacket, and I really thought I’d lost a piece of my heart—and hearing, because it took forever for the ringing to stop.
So yes, my lazy mornings and calling it quits earlier than usual were at the chief’s orders, but it was really me avoiding the one place I used to consider my sanctuary. Now it just reminded me of my fear.
My thigh vibrated with an incoming call, pulling me out of the thought tornado I was on the verge of being sucked into. With a wide smile, figuring it was Jameson or Slade already checking in on me, I flipped my phone over, both brows flying up over my forehead at the name on the screen.
Huh. Wonder what she could want.
With a shrug, I swiped the screen and held the smooth surface to my ear. “Detective. What can I do for you?”
“Hey, um, I was wondering if you were free. I need… I need some help.”
“Help?” I asked, tilting my head to the side, not understanding the waver in her voice.
“Yeah, someone to talk to. Now, if that’s okay. I just—”
I scooted off the chair and stood. “Of course, it’s okay. I’m glad you called, and I completely understand the need to talk things through after what happened. You were there when my ex tried to kill me.” When she didn’t respond, I blew out a breath.Okay, too soon for that joke. Noted.“Where should I meet you?”
“I’m at a friend’s place. Can you meet me here, say, thirty minutes?”