Page 26 of When You Became Mine

Her voice was just a few inches from my head when she whispered, “Sorry, Lawson.”

I cracked an eye open and took in her face. Her eyes were warm and full of genuine concern. It only stood to further irritate me. I’d have to let her in on the fact I wasn’t a morning person later.

Grumbling, I sat up. “It’s fine. Let’s get your shit moved in.”

She pushed up from the squat she’d been in and an apologetic smile played on her face. “Uhm, about that…” She didn’t finish her sentence, glancing away from me and nervously toying with the edge of her scrubs. “I’ve gotta get to the hospital. I’ve got a shift. And then a study session after.” She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug.

“Are you fuckin kiddin’ me?” I repeated.

“I’m sorry?”

“You askin’ or tellin’ me?”

She huffed. “You know, I didn’t plan this move. And I can’t bail on a shift just because Hampton decided to run off and get married.” She continued to scowl as she ranted. “I mean, seriously, he went through the same medical school I did. He knows how brutal ER rotation is. But did he stop to consider me and my feelings? No. The only thing he was worried about was his dick!”

I couldn’t disagree with her there. Hampton hadn’t been thinking about anyone but himself, and in the process had managed to screw both of us.

“I mean, he knows you don’t like me! Why would he force me on you?” she continued.

I held up a hand. “Whoa. Who said I didn’t like you?” I asked.

She laughed. “Oh, come on, Lawson.”

I waited another second for her to explain, but she just stood in front of me, arms crossed and staring.

“If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t let you move in here.”

She shook her head. “Please. You’re just doing me a favor out of obligation. It’s fine, really. I appreciate it. I won’t be here long anyway.” She checked her watch and frowned. “I’ve gotta go. I’m really sorry I can’t help you unload the truck. Just throw it all in my room and I’ll sort it out.”

“I’m not unloading that truck by myself!” I shouted as she pulled the door shut behind her.

“I owe you one!” came her response from the other side of the door.

11

Piper

Despite the fact I’d shared a tiny condo with Hampton, therefore only occupying four hundred square feet of space for the last five years, it had taken me the better part of a week to get all my stuff unpacked and settled into Lawson’s house.

I’d originally planned to keep most of it packed, promising myself I wouldn’t be here long enough to need it anyway. Lawson had been less than welcoming the last week, avoiding me most days and barely stringing two words together when he did have the misfortune of bumping into me.

Knowing he wasn’t happy to have me, even though I couldn’t figure out why, I’d done my best to stay ou

t of his way. I’d even started looking for other places to live. I pretended it didn’t hurt when I told myself that if he didn’t want me here, well then, I didn’t want to be here either. But I was only lying to myself.

But that was before I’d discovered the massive Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. It sucked that it was the only bathroom in the house, but the walk-in closet in my room more than made up for that.

After sleeping well past noon on my first day off from the hospital in what felt like weeks, I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen. I was rummaging through the cabinets in search of a coffee mug when a noise behind me caused me to freeze.

The cat.

Barely a whisper, I called out, “Here, kitty kitty. It’s just me.” The noise came closer and squeezing my eyes shut, I whirled around and shouted, “Don’t hurt me!” my hands covering my face in a pathetic attempt to keep from having my eyeballs clawed out.

I was expecting hissing or meowing, maybe even just a silent attack, but not the deep chuckle that answered my plea. My eyes flew open to see Lawson standing across from me, one hip propped on the counter, large forearms crossed over his chest, the barest of smiles on his lips. I hadn’t seen him do anything other than scowl in my direction in a week, and I blinked to make sure I wasn’t just seeing a mirage.

Nope, that’s definitely a grin.

My cheeks heated. “Oh, uh, hey, Lawson.” I peered around him, searching the floor for Seven, but my search yielded nothing other than Lawson’s socked feet. “What are you doing here?”

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