She smiles, though it’s weak, and I lean down to kiss her long and hard. Her fingers thread through my hair, and she tugs me harder, but then she pulls back just as soon as the kiss gets heated.
Then she slaps the fuck out of my arm suddenly, shocking the hell out of me. I’m a trained fighter, so it’s pretty fucking embarrassing that I yelp and get caught off guard from her tiny little slap.
I blame the fire.
“What was that for?”
“Scaring the hell out of me. When I scream your name, answer.”
Her scowl is actually a little comical, but it’s not warranted.
“When did you scream my name?”
There are several dirty places she could go with that question. If I know her as well as I think I do, this conversation is about to take a turn.
“Numerous times. I screamed through the roof access hole, hoping you’d answer. Nothing. So then I screamed it from the rooftop. Literally. Nothing. When a house is on fire, answer me.”
She’s serious right now, and concern is marring her features. I’ve never seen her serious or concerned. About anything.
“I didn’t hear you. I was a little busy yelling for you and trying to figure out how to get on the roof to save you.”
She continues scowling for a second longer, but then she melts against me and places her head on my chest. “Jerk. You don’t do something stupid like climb a burning house either.”
I laugh lightly while hugging her to me. “You’re wearing my favorite shirt.”
She snickers lightly while shaking her head, and I just continue holding her. That was scary as hell.
Helen returns, looking a little weary, and hands Bo’s phone back to her.
“Mick said the fire department will be here in less than five minutes. The alarm alerted them before the phone call.”
“Was he upset?” Bo asks, sounding timid.
I hope this doesn’t mean a lawsuit.
“Very. He was upset that the alarm didn’t warn us sooner. It’s designed to bellow loudly if there’s even a hint of smoke that reaches it. It never made a sound. He’s a little freaked out, more so than I expected. He’s flying out to come check on me since I told him I was staying with you until you got situated. I tried telling him not to worry, but he’s impossible. It might be a day or two before he can get away, but he’s definitely coming.”
I stare, puzzled, trying to decipher their conversation. She speaks as though she knows Bo, and Bo keeps acting as though she’s close to her. She’s just a rockstar’s assistant. Right? Why is she so worried about Bo?
“Nothing,” my mother says, suddenly returning, and breaking me out of my query.
“Nothing what?” I ask absently.
“No hotels nearby have any openings. It’s apparently a big time of the month, and they stay booked during the next four weeks. Olivia is checking private homes on this side of the island, but it’s unlikely she’ll find anything. So I called the airport. The soonest we could leave would be in five days. All the flights until then are booked. Apparently there are just as many leaving as there are coming. I don’t know what to do other than to ask her if she can find us a hotel anywhere at all, no matter how far away or rundown it is.”
She turns to my father and points at him. “This is why we should have a house of our own here. I told you it would be a good investment. We come here once a year.”
She thinks they have Sterling money. Dad has more money than most people, but nowhere nearly enough to waste it on vacation houses he’d only visit once a year. I wish he’d let her deal with balancing the checkbook just once.
He frowns at her while exhaling harshly. “Once a year doesn’t make me feel like buying a house. Besides, I like staying on the different islands. We’ll find a place, dear. Olivia gets paid a lot of money to be good at her job. Just give her longer than ten minutes, and she’ll find us something.”
“There’s just a house burning down over there. No big deal,” Bo mutters under her breath. Then she clears her throat and speaks louder. “You’ll never find anything this time of year. At least not within driving distance. There are at least twelve conventions on this side of the island alone. But… I have a place.”
&nbs
p; My jaw drops. She has a place? Here?
Helen smirks when she sees all of our faces, but I have no idea why. It’s as if she’s in on Bo’s secret, but they only just met. This is all so confusing, and I feel like I’m missing a chunk of the puzzle.