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“We only told you so you’d be careful. If she gets hurt or something happens when she’s around, don’t do anything to show her what you can do. Otherwise, she’s pretty harmless, and kind of nice even.” Orly was always looking on the bright side of things these days, but she was also the one who’d lived through the most trauma between the three of them. Having grown up in the foster homes, and then getting involved with a rogue cop, who later ended up hunting her down while a psychotic serial killer taunted her in her mind, Orly was the strongest and most resilient person Skyla had ever met. She still couldn’t believe how nice and easygoing Orly was after everything she’d been through.
“There is one other thing.” Hallie fidgeted with the blanket.
Skyla laughed. “Don’t tell me Vivian is an alien, too?”
All three women laughed at that, and some of the tension seemed to ease. “No,” Hallie said. “Blake asked if I would help him get another chance with you.”
It was Skyla’s turn to fidget. She wasn’t sure how she felt about him going to her friends behind her back, or if she even wanted them to get involved in her personal life.
Hallie took Skyla’s hand. “Don’t worry. I would never do something to corner you. I told him we were spending the night here, and that he could come by at eleven o’clock this morning.”
Skyla turned to look at the clock on the bedside table. It was a few minutes after nine.
Orly continued then. “Hallie and I should go anyway. We can shower and change at home, and I want to be there when Luke wakes up after working the night shift. So, you’ll have the room to yourself to shower, change, whatever you want.”
“But I don’t even have any clothes with me,” Skyla said.
“We brought you some clean clothes and a few toiletries that I’ll leave in the bathroom for you,” Hallie said. “If you want to see Blake, be here at eleven. If you don’t, just leave before then. He promised that if you weren’t here, he’d let it go. No awkwardness, no lingering weirdness. Okay?”
Skyla sighed. She appreciated Hallie giving her plenty of time to make a decision, but at the same time, she had no idea what to do. On the one hand, she wanted to see Blake again. He’d spent so much time at Madigan’s lately, she found it oddly comforting when he was around. And of course, those kisses they shared had sparked enough fireworks in her that she was still lighting up like the Fourth of July just thinking about them. But he’d also spent months lying to her, using her to get to AJ. Did she really want to give him a second chance?
Even if what Orly and Hallie said was true, and cops and FBI Agents had to keep secrets sometimes, was that something she could deal with?
As her friends got ready to leave, Skyla sat quietly, watching them collect their things. When they were ready to go, they hugged her tight and promised to text later. And then they were gone, leaving Skyla alone with her thoughts.
The only problem was, she still hadn’t decided what to do. Leave, and hope this thing with Blake fizzled out, or wait for him, and see what this thing between them really was.
Chapter 18
The door opened and Blake’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of Skyla wearing an unassuming white tank top and faded blue jeans. It was in stark contrast to the all-black he was used to seeing her in at Madigan’s. Her pink polished toes were exposed in simple black flip flops, and her long dark hair shone from still being damp, making her purple lowlights appear even darker.
“Hi,” she said, her voice soft and almost sultry. He imagined this was what she looked like at home, when she wasn’t wearing her game face at Madigan’s, and it was the sexiest damn thing he’d ever seen. Fuck, she was always beautiful, but right now, she was simply breathtaking.
“You came,” she started to say. “I mean, you’re early.” The sweet fluster in her voice made the corners of his mouth curve upward. This was a side of Skyla he’d definitely never seen before, and he wanted more of it.
“Is that okay?” His gaze lingered for a moment on the exposed freckles across the bridge of her nose. He had the distinct urge to trace them with the pad of his finger, connecting all the dots like they were a roadmap to the real her. He had no idea why she covered them up with makeup, but that was just one more thing he wanted to ask her, if she gave him the chance.
He drank her in, his breath catching again when his eyes crashed into those whiskey-colored pools that held so much pain. He’d seen glimpses of it before when she talked about her mom, and when he’d accused her of trying to run Madigan’s into the ground. God, how could he have been so stupid?
Images of her lying next to him on the bed in that house assailed him in waves, as he took in the color in her cheeks and the way her now glossy pink lips pressed together as she studied him.
“Yeah,” she finally said, stepping aside to let him by. The room had two queen beds, but only one of them looked like it had been slept in. He smiled to himself at the thought of all three women snuggling up in one bed, talking, sharing secrets, and just being themselves.
There was a couch in the corner, a flat screen TV on the wall over a dresser, and a mini fridge beside it. An abstract painting hung on the wall and the curtains were still pulled shut. “Did I thwart your last-minute escape?” He tried to infuse a bit of humor into his voice, hoping to elicit a smile from her.
Skyla shrugged and went to sit on the bed. “I don’t know. I mean, I’m here, and I let you in, but -”
“But you weren’t sure what I wanted or what would happen once I got here,” he supplied.
She gave a little shrug, followed by a quick nod.
“I’m glad you stayed.” Blake quickly said, sitting on the other bed, not wanting to crowd her. “It looks like you ladies had a fun night.”
“We did.” Skyla twirled a strand of her hair. “I’ve never done that before, but it was a lot of fun.”
“You’ve never had a girls’ night?” He asked.
“No, not like that. Last night was different. Special.”
