My lip curls even thinking about that.
How she’s married to Tucker is not something that I get, not with how much of a rule follower he seems to be. I imagine him with someone more like Grace, who is not only pretty but is also sweet and shy in that cute way that makes her more endearing.
Coming out of my thoughts when a door slams, I look in the rearview mirror and watch Naomie adjust the dress she is wearing before she heads into the building. When she’s inside I go back to my app and less than a minute later I see the reflection of another set of lights and know in an instant that they belong to Clay’s Jeep. When he parks behind Naomie’s car I tuck my phone away in my purse then grab Skye’s leash and push open my door.
“You hung up on me then ignored my calls,” he says in the way of a greeting, as he slams his door closed.
I cross my arms over my chest and fight to keep myself where I am. Letting Skye go so that she can run to him the way I want to, I watch him bend to pet her while his eyes stay locked on mine. I’ve missed him, everything about him, even though he’s only been gone a couple of days.
“You were mad at me for something I had no control over, and you cursed at me.”
“You scared me,” he bites out then growls. “Why the fuck are you standing all the way over there.”
“Because I’m annoyed with you for being a jerk.” I toss my arms in the air.
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re annoyed with me, come here.”
“No, and stop cursing at me.”
“Mouse.”
“Clay.” I watch his jaw clench, then he starts walking my way. As he gets closer, I brace while Skye starts to dance between the two of us.
“You’re lucky I missed you so fucking much.” He wraps one hand around my hip, then uses the other to grab me behind the neck so he can haul me against him. As I soak in his scent and warmth my entire being sighs in happiness.
“I missed you too, you big jerk.” I curl my arms around his waist and press my ear to his chest over his heart.
“You scared me, Mouse. I can’t stand the idea of something happening to you.”
“I know, but nothing is going to happen to me.” I listen to him take a deep breath before he places his fingers under my chin and uses them to tip my head back.
“What did Brodie say?”
“He’s being transferred to Florida in a couple of months,” I say, leaving out the rest because I never told him about what happened between Brodie and me the last time I saw him. And really none of what went down between us matters now.
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.” I shrug and his eyes search mine for a moment before he touches his lips to my forehead then my mouth.
“Let’s get inside.” He looks at me then my car. “Do you have a bag?”
“It’s in the trunk.” I use my key to pop it open then watch him grab my duffle before he takes my hand and leads me to the back of his jeep to get his suitcase.
When we get inside a couple minutes later, I use the keycard he gave me to let us onto the elevator, and as soon as the doors open, I’m assaulted by the overwhelming scent of perfume.
“Naomie’s here,” he grumbles, while the expression on his face says clearly that he smells something unpleasant.
“She showed up a few minutes before you did.”
“What did she want?”
“I didn’t talk to her, but Tucker’s SUV is here so she’s probably with him.” I lean into his side as the doors shut and his arm wraps around me.
“I need to change the code for the elevator.”
“Why?” I tip my head back to meet his gaze.
“I’ll explain later.” He bends to kiss me, then lets me go to grab the bags when the doors open. As soon as we step off the elevator, Skye begins to bark, and I see why a second later when I spot the door to Clay’s place open an inch with low light coming from inside.
“Stay here,” he orders, and I roll my eyes at his back as I follow him and Skye through the door.
“What the fuck are you doing here and how did you get in?” Clay barks and I peek around him to see Naomie parched on a stool in the kitchen holding a glass of wine with the bottle in front of her and a short glass filled with dark liquid on the counter.
“I came to talk to you about Willow,” she says.
My spine stiffens. “You came to talk to him about me?” I step around Clay and her eyes widen ever so slightly because she obviously had no idea I was here.