Page 43 of Lemon Drop

Her eyebrow rose.

“Figuratively,” I clarified.

A laugh escaped her before she could stop it. I smiled; I liked that. Shit made me bold, a fact my next words revealed. “Spend the next few days with me. Let me take care of some shit for you for once. Let me make sure you eat. Let me take you somewhere you ain’t gotta plan, reserve, organize, or schedule.”

“Saadiq—”

“Relax, Apple. That’s all I'm asking. I just want to give you a little peace. When we go home, we can go back to our regular.”

We could… but I was hopin we wouldn’t. She didn’t need to hear that now, though.

Her eyes tangled with mine again. She didn’t look away this time, and the air between us changed. It was subtle, but I felt that shit.

“Apple? I’m surprised to hear that again.”

“You missed it?” I asked.

She swallowed, then nodded. “I did.”

That simple answer fucked with me. I had called her Apple for years. Teased her with it, irritated her with it, watched her pretend she didn't secretly like it. Hearing her say she’d missed it made me want to say it again just to watch what happened to her face.

She coughed lightly. “But I know you’re not just asking for my time on Port Isle. That is absolutely not all you're asking.”

I grinned. “Okay. It ain’t. I’m asking you to acknowledge what’s between us.”

Her sudden smile faded again. “I am acknowledging it.”

“Nah. You worry about it and set boundaries around it. You ain’t acknowledged it.”

“And what would that look like, Mr. Know-It-All?”

“Giving me a chance when you ain’t in a relationship, we ain’t in my office, and neither one of us pissed off or scared.”

She stared at me for a long time. I could see her thinking. My girl was probably lining up reasons why this was a bad idea and putting them into some little color-coded mental spreadsheet, but at least she was thinking about it. That was enough for now.

Finally, she looked down at her coffee. “I came here to rest,” she murmured.

“I know.”

“And figure some things out.”

“I know that, too.”

She looked up at me stubbornly. “I don’t need you interfering with that.”

A small smile played around my lips. “Maybe I’m one of the things you need to figure out.”

She rolled her eyes. “So damn arrogant.”

“So damn accurate,” I corrected.

She took a sip of her coffee and glanced toward the door. “I’m not promising you anything.”

I shrugged. “I ain’t ask for a promise.”

“Good.”

“But you considering it.”