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"How did you learn to do nails?" I asked her.
"I did a stint in a salon before my days at KS." That made sense considering she always had stylish hair and makeup.
"That sounds like fun."
"What else have you been doing with Mag?" Brandy asked.
"Well, he took me to the gun range. I had a safety lesson and shot a few rounds."
"How did it feel?" Brandy leaned forward and her eyes sparkled.
"Powerful." I grinned back at her.
"Hmm. Interesting." She sat back on the bed like she was plotting her own request for Steel to teach her how to shoot.
"But Mag made it clear this is a recon mission only to gather intel. He doesn't expect any violence. We're also looking for any signs of Gavin and trying to figure out if they know Magnum isn't really Gavin. I'm not supposed to offer any additional information if Kenny asks me something directly."
Stella paused and peered up at me. "That's good, but I was really asking what's going on with Mag with respect to sleeping at his apartment."
"Oh that."
"Yes, that. Give me the deets." She finished my right hand and started working on the cuticles on my left hand. "I haven't had you alone since you left my place."
"Staying at Mag's is mostly fine. I haven't unpacked my stuff or anything. It's clearly temporary. I'm very grateful. He was ordering all his meals, so I started making some home cooked dinners and restocked the pantry. It's very expensive ordering food like that."
Stella rolled her hands that I should keep sharing.
"Takeout food also has a lot of fat and hidden sugar, so I make healthy stuff with organic vegetables and protein."
"And what does he say when he's eating?" Brandy asked.
"Nothing." Magnum stayed surprisingly quiet while eating.
"What does he do after he eats?" Stella asked, like this was a critical question.
I didn't understand her curiosity exactly, and I had to think carefully how to answer. "He clears the plates andcleans the kitchen. He puts the leftovers in the fridge." It all seemed very normal. "Then he usually compliments my cooking."
Stella grinned. "Now we're getting somewhere. What happens after dinner?"
"We talk for hours. Sometimes late into the night and early morning. I just find him fascinating. There's a limit to what he can tell me because of the secret military stuff, but I feel like I know him infinitely better now. We both like spicy food and action movies. At first I thought we were so different, but we actually have a lot of common ground. I taught him how to eat with chopsticks." I looked up and realized I was smiling and I'd gone on about it too long. All of this with Magnum had been simmering inside, and it felt good to share it with my new friends.
Stella and Brandy seemed interested so I kept going. "We both like to run, but he can run a lot farther and faster than me, so he does the first lap with me and then goes out again by himself. He's got a great sense of humor." I grinned remembering some of the inside jokes we had now. "And he's really close with his siblings. He let me say hello to his sister Sylvie and her kids over his weekly video call. Those kids are adorable."
"Hmm-hmm, and what are the sleeping arrangements?" Stella asked as she cleared the water bath and wiped the table down.
"He always offers to sleep on the couch, but I've had some nightmares lately." I hadn't told the girls about my repressed memory. I was still processing it myself and wasn'tready to share it yet. "So, mostly he sleeps in the bed with me, but there's no kissing."
Stella, who had been nodding along, froze and stared at me. "You sleep in Mag's bed with no kissing?"
I didn't know how to explain it all, and my face felt hot. "It's so embarrassing. At first, I kinda made a move." I shrugged. "It was lame. I shouldn't have even tried it." I didn't want to disclose the private things between me and Mag, but I also really needed to discuss the painful rejection that had been burning a hole in my heart the last few days.
Stella and Brandy shared a disbelieving look. "Tried what?" Stella asked.
"We had some accidental contact, and I asked him to kiss me." My tummy flipped at the memory of his massive body pinning me to the bed, his hand on my neck, his rusty voice rippling through the dark. The chemistry between us was so freaking intense. "He got angry and said he's not a cheater."
Stella's brows smooshed together. "Who would be cheating on who?"
I was surprised at her question. To me, it was obvious. "I'm legally married to Gavin. Magnum just signed his name. This is such a mess. It was stupid of me to even suggest he kiss me. Why would a man like him want anything to do with a girl like me anyway?"
