“You’ve been his cop a long time. I can see why he thinks of you that way.”
“Right. But he’s never said it before. Um…” I cough to clear my throat. “You were the first person to tell me you love me…” I fight his hand when he tries to pull me around. “Like, literally. Before now, you’re the only person who has ever said those words to me.”
“Ever?”
I nod.
“So for the twenty years I was gone?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. Never.”
“Baby…”
“And now I’ve got you saying it. Plus X. It’s like an epidemic.”
His eyes dance with humor. “That’s called family, babe. We declared family status forever ago. Now you’re branching out to others. You’ve got your boss, and that other one, the arrogant one.”
“Oz?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, him. And then there’s the one-legged dude you speak of.”
“Cruz.”
He nods. “You ate dinner with Jay last night. Like, the rest of us were there, but you and Jay chatted and had a laugh while the rest of us were the third, fourth, fifth wheel.”
My eyes widen. “Are you mad? I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Nah. Your hand was in my lap. You were present for me too, but whatever the fuck that idiot was saying made you happy. So who am I to get mad about that?”
“It’s the Bishop genes,” I croak out. “They’re kinda impossible to ignore.”
“Mm.” He takes my hand and slides our fingers together. “Just don’t forget which one you promised yourself to. You can be their friend. I’ll never get mad. Plus, you’re helping me get to know him through you. He doesn’t show me the same person he shows you. So I watch you, I watch him when he’s talking to you. It’s almost the same thing.”
“I love you.” I slide a hand around his neck and pull him down until our lips touch. “I really, really do.”
“I know.” He smirks. “You’re kinda obsessed with me.”
“Hey, Priss.” Spence walks out of the end room with a phone pressed to his ear and a wide smile almost breaking his face. “You have no clue how glad I am to hear your voice right now.”
I smile for Spence’s happiness. He has a girl back home that none of us knew about until weeks into this trip, but his smile drops in a heartbeat. His muscles visibly swell, and his eyes turn almost black as he dashes into his room beside ours and slams the door.
His deep voice carries through the wall.
“Abigail? Baby, what’s wrong?”