Текст книги "Drawn Together"

Автор книги: Lauren Dane

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

6

“So let’s try you sitting first. I’m going to get the outline started.”

Raven had shown up with her hair tied away from her face, in an ages’-old Bikini Kill T-shirt and faded jeans. She was just as beautiful as she was more dressed up.

“How long will it take, do you think?”

“All told? A full back piece can take several sessions. This is mainly black and gray work, but there’ll be lots of shading. That sort of detail is more time consuming than the larger sections of black.” She shrugged. “It’s not going to be a quick one.”

Not like he was going to complain at getting her in his house one on one.

“Okay then. Dinner after?”

She gave him a raised brow. “You’re not going to feel like making me dinner after I work on you for two hours.”

“I know how to dial a phone. And I promised martinis.”

She shrugged. “All right then.”

He turned music on before pulling his shirt off and sitting, straddling the back of the chair as she rolled a nearby stool over.

“Step one is that I’m going to do a transfer of sorts of my design to your back. Mainly so you can see the position to be sure you like the placement. The detail I do as I go along. I like that part. It’s organic. We gonna be all right with that?”

“Whatever are you trying to say?”

She snorted. “You’re a control freak. This is my design. I make the choices. I’m quite bossy about that.”

“I’m not sure you know me well enough yet to say I’m a control freak. Though you’re right. There are areas I’m willing to cede to you. How the tattoo evolves is one of them. I’ve seen enough of your work to know you have a great aesthetic and one I click with.”

“Hm.”

She settled in behind him, touching him matter-of-factly for several moments before rolling back and putting a mirror in his hand. “Go look to be sure it’s where you want it.”

He did, liking where she’d put it.

“Good.”

“It’ll dominate your back, but in a good way.”

He smiled her way and liked her startled response. Liked shaking her up for some reason. He felt like a predator around her.

“Sit down so I can get started.”

He got back into position and so did she. He watched in the corner of his vision as she got her ink and stuff set up on a low table next to her stool. It wasn’t long before the buzz of the needle machine filled the air and she got closer and began the outline.

Tattooing was a ritual for her. Some people lit candles or prayed. She loved the hum of the needle. Loved the feel of the skin under her hands and the beginning of a new design.

He was muscled. Not in a bodybuilder sense, but he was fit and he had wide shoulders and a strong back. The tat would look sexy on him and he was certainly bold enough to carry off a full back piece.

“Why did you decide to do tattoos?”

“It was a way to get away from sweeping up hair and doing shitty perms at the salon I worked at when I came out to L.A.”

“Did you apprentice or go to school for it?”

“I got a job at a tattoo shop, cleaning up after hours. So I scrubbed toilets, and oh my god, let me say that was enough to get up the nerve to ask the owner if I could do ink work instead. He was a good guy and around my scrubbing and sweeping, he started to train me.”

He’d been good to her. It had been hard for a good year not to suspect that he would use that kindness to get her into bed. But he never betrayed her that way. It had been the first real positive in years. A step into her new life. Where she was in control.

“The money was decent. I had benefits. The better I got and the better my reputation, the easier it was for me to move around and work here and there. Did you always want to be a lawyer?”

He lifted his shoulders. “It’s the family business. My dad and his brother took over the firm their father started.”

“Don’t shrug.”

“Sorry. You’re bossy.”

“I am about my ink.”

“I have to say the pain and the hum of the needle sort of puts me in a trance. Having your hands on me isn’t bad either.”

“I’m the same way when I’m getting work done. I think it’s fairly common. As for having my hands on you—it’s not like you have to get a tattoo for that to happen.”

“True.”

“Back to the subject of the law. Do you like it? Or do you do it because you were expected to?”

“Do you just say whatever pops into your head?”

“Sometimes. If that was rude though, you’ll have to explain why, because I can’t see it.”

“Not rude. Just . . . blunt, I guess. Most people don’t say stuff like, ‘Do you like your job or do you do it because your parents told you to?’”

“Well, one, I’m not most people, and two, I didn’t say exactly that. Lots of people do things because they’re expected to do them. Very few people do things because they love to do them.”

She leaned around him to grab some tissues and that’s when he saw the glasses she had to wear when she worked.

“You wear glasses?”

“When I’m doing close-up work, yes.”

“I like them.”

“Hm.”

“I went to college because it was expected. I never had any intention of doing anything else. I’m the oldest, it’s my duty. But I don’t resent that. My family values education and it’s absolutely true that my education has served me well, presented me with opportunities I’d never have had otherwise. As for law school? For a while I considered urban planning. I still love it, though I do it from a different angle.”

“What about urban planning appeals to you so much?”

She liked to listen to him talk. Liked the easy way he had. So sure of himself, cocky, arrogant even, but not in a douchey way. He liked who he was.

“As you point out, I grew up with a lot. My parents raised us with the knowledge that we had a duty to give back because not everyone had what we did. My father and grandfather before him have always been involved in city planning issues. My grandfather is a master at getting people to pony up money and other resources to social services, for instance. My father and I sit on a committee of public and private representatives to deal with the scarcity of services for the homeless in the county.”

“And how does planning affect that?”

“For instance, there are shelters, but the people in them can’t come in until after six at night and must be out by seven in the morning. They don’t always have the sort of facilities you’d need to land and then keep a job. So how do you then transition from homelessness to getting an apartment if you can’t wash your clothes? If you have no ability to shower?”

You took shitty baths in sinks at gas stations. Your clothes smelled. She got that.

“So we helped raise money and get the neighborhood involved in the planning of a day center. There’s a laundry where people can wash their clothing and their blankets if they stay on the streets. There are showers with donated soap. A few days a week we’ve got nurse practitioners who come in. It took a lot of people from a huge array of perspectives and interested groups to make it happen. Took us seven years from the first talks about ideas to getting it up and running.”

“Wow. Congratulations, it sounds like a much-needed service.” And it was a prime example of what she’d meant about how he was an asshole, but not an entitled one. He took his skills and his connections and he used them for good. “But you went into law instead of planning?”

“I did. I like the law. Levi and I are good at it. We have different practice areas of course, but it’s a family business and I found my place in it. I do have a brother who is an architect, so clearly that runs in our genes too. I interned at my family’s firm during the summers and realized that’s what I wanted to do. I like the courtroom and not everyone does.”

“So you’re like one of those TV lawyers?”

He laughed as she smiled at her desired result. Of course she knew television lawyer shows were like the bane of actual lawyers, but she liked it when he laughed.

“Not so much. I do a lot of trial work. Appellate. I don’t know if I’d love it as much if my practice was mainly motions and briefs. I like the people I deal with. Most of the time I like my clients.”

“Appellate is what?”

“State supreme courts, United States Supreme Court, U.S. appellate courts.”

She had him pegged as a mover and a shaker and he clearly was. She wasn’t an expert on the legal system, but she knew enough to understand that if you argued before those courts you were a hotshot.

“I’m impressed.”

“No, you’re not.”

Annoyance rankled her. She was being serious and he blew that off. “Don’t tell me what I am or am not.”

He turned his head, careful to keep his body in place. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It’s pretty difficult to offend me. But telling me what I think or feel is a way. I don’t say things I don’t mean. And if I’m wrong, I’ll say so.”

“I apologize. And thank you for the compliment.”

“Apology accepted.” She paused a moment and got back to work. “So tell me about your daughter.”

“It’s your turn to tell me something. I know you were in foster care. Do you have any biological family at all?”

“Some.”

“Are you in contact with them?”

She had one aunt who sent her Christmas cards. She used to never even open them. But a few years back she started to. They never said much and she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not.

“Not really, no.”

“Ah.”

Ah? Like he knew? She was touchy when it came to this subject, which is why she so frequently steered far in the other direction from it.

“How did you meet your ex-wife?”

“We’re still talking about you. Why did you leave Arkansas?”

“Have you ever been to Happy Bend?”

He chuckled.

“But there are a lot of states between Arkansas and California.”

“Sure, and that was part of the appeal.” Not that anyone really would have looked for her by that point anyway. “Los Angeles had lots of opportunity. Or I thought it did anyway.”

“It didn’t?”

“It was harder than I thought it would be. I was homeless for a while when I first arrived. That sucked.” Not as much as the place she lived back in Happy Bend though. “But in a few months I had enough saved for a shitty little apartment. I had a few jobs. It got better.”

“You were how old?”

“Seventeen.”

“Christ. That’s young.”

“I was never young.” She kept working, working to keep herself detached from the details. It was her life; she wasn’t ashamed. She didn’t necessarily hide it. But she didn’t go into it with much depth with many people. With most people, she supposed.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Not much to tell really. Shitty childhood. It’s not a unique story. My adulthood is better. I overcame it and I prefer to keep it that way. My past doesn’t hinder me, it serves as a reminder that there’s better out there for me and it wasn’t in Arkansas.”

“I’m sorry. Abuse?”

“Here and there.”

“While in foster care?”

“Not always.”

He sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s long done. Be glad your daughter has a bright future and a wonderful past to look back on.”

“I am. Her mother, my ex, well, Carrie will probably have stuff to deal with, but she seems to be handling it fine.”

“She’s got a parent who loves her. She’s got a great future. If she can’t make something of herself with that, she’s not the kid you talk about.”

“She and I went to counseling for a while. Did you ever go?”

She laughed but then cringed because there was nothing but loathing in the sound.

“No.”

“Don’t believe in it?”

“Look, there was no money for that stuff. There wasn’t anything. I made it through. That’s what counts.”

It was easier to talk about it to his back.

She outlined, wiped the ink away, outlined, wiped the blood away. It was what she did. She created new things and didn’t think about the old. Looking back slowed you down.

He sighed. “I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say. Not really. It was a shitty childhood. It made me into who I am today. I survived it. Lots of people didn’t. So, let’s talk about you again.”

“No, I want to keep talking about you.”

“For fuck’s sake, why? I’m not a project like a hygiene center.”

“I don’t think that. I’m trying to know you.”

This is why she kept things light. “Don’t. I’m sure you’ve heard. I know you asked about me. I’m not worth knowing. Just fuck me and enjoy it and then move on.”

“That’s not who I am. And that’s not who you are.”

She snorted. “That’s totally who I am, Jonah. I’m a bitch. I’m a whore. I like to fuck. Lots of people.”

He turned then, grabbing her wrist, his eyes ablaze. She didn’t even have a moment to be angry at how he could have just made her ink a line across his back if she’d had the needle down.

“You’re not a whore. I’ve touched you. I’ve seen you. Stop.”

“Don’t make me into something I’m not. I’ll break your heart if you expect more.”

“I expect all of you. You should know that going in.”

Her heart pounded so hard and fast she was a little light-headed. He tore her defenses down. She barely knew him and he had this much power to affect her. What would it be like if they continued?

“Then we should be friends. I can do that much better.”

“Oh, we are friends. And we’ll continue that. But we’ve moved past the ‘just friends’ stage.”

“You barely know me. I don’t do relationships.”

“Oh yes, you do. You’re doing it right now. Neither of us is naive. Neither of us is so young we don’t know what this is between us. I’m too old to pretend away what this is.”

“I told you, I don’t do relationships. I’m not a monogamous person.”

“When you’re in my bed you are.”

“Then I can’t be in your bed.”

He smiled and it sent a shiver through her.

“Oh. Yes. Yes, you can. You are.”

“Then you need to accept you may have to share me.”

He shook his head slowly. “Gorgeous, I don’t even share pizza. I’d never share something as delicious as you. I don’t share.”

He scared her. Not physically. He held her wrist but if she really wanted to get away, he’d let go. And that scared her too.

It shouldn’t scare her. She barely knew him! But this was different on so many levels. The way he spoke to her, the way she found herself speaking back to him. He wasn’t shocked by her. He wasn’t scared off.

“Don’t be a coward, Raven. Give yourself to me and me only. I promise to make it worth your while.”

It was a struggle to keep her breath even. A struggle not to run for the door. She should run for the door. She was not cut out for this stuff. If she couldn’t make it work with a stand-up guy like Brody, she truly was a failure at it.

But Jonah wasn’t like Brody. They shared things in common, yes. Both men were both strong and intelligent. But this thing . . . the way her entire system reacted when Jonah touched her or even just spoke to her, well, that was something else entirely.

She understood without a doubt that should she refuse to keep things monogamous, things would be over.

And while she’d been able to accept that and move on every other time this came up . . . she was couldn’t just then. She didn’t want to walk away.

“It’s not marriage. It’s monogamy. You can do it. You’re the girl who came out to L.A. at seventeen and made herself a life. You sure as hell can fuck me and only me. Unless . . . well, I’d say something like unless you’re not really into this thing between us. But that would be a lie. Because I know you are. I can see it in your features. I can feel it around my cock when I’m inside you. You’re not a liar, Raven, and neither am I. I won’t let you be.”

Fascinated, he watched the emotion play across her face. Panic. A whole lot of it. He wondered, not for the first time, what she’d endured to make her this way.

Fear. Oh yes. Not of him. At least not that he’d physically harm her. He hoped his own didn’t show. His fear that she’d reject this and back off. Because though he’d made the threat that it was all or nothing, he wanted her too much and he wasn’t entirely sure if he could resist her.

Desire. Which he knew mirrored his own.

Hope. Which nearly broke his heart. And reminded him that she was not a thing to be played with, but a complicated woman with flaws and no small amount of baggage. But he wanted something with her. There was no denying it. No denying this woman brought so many things to the surface. More than need, which he nearly drowned in. More than lust and sexual hunger for her.

He wanted to dominate her in all the best ways. Her pupils flared when he’d grabbed her wrist. Her lips had parted, skin flushed. She got off on it as much as he got off doing it. And that only made him want it more. He’d given himself a little; the delight of that crack on her bare ass as he’d fucked her had only whetted his appetite for more.

He wanted to show her the power of what they could have together. Wanted her to trust him enough to give it to him willingly. Wanted to cosset and shower her with delights. If any woman he’d ever met needed spoiling, it was this one.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew she was headstrong and it would take a strong hand to set a tone. To keep the balance right. He had to deserve her submission, and once given, he needed to keep deserving it.

Against his fingertips, the rapid beat of her pulse told him she was freaked out. But the way she hadn’t just told him to fuck off also told him she was considering it.

He needed to push.

“What do you say, gorgeous? Be mine and only mine. If you want out, you only have to say it.”

She licked her lips, her pupils still so huge they nearly swallowed all the color in her irises.

With his free hand he reached up to slide his knuckles down the column of her throat. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Vivid. Headstrong. I know you want me.”

She still held the needle machine but had turned it off. His back was cool and slightly sticky where she’d been working.

“Take a leap, Raven. I’ll catch you.”

She sucked in a breath. “I’m not good at this.”

“At what?”

“At monogamy.” Her voice trembled and this uncharacteristic outward vulnerability tore at him. He wanted to gather her up and hold her close. But he needed to break this stubborn refusal to let him in first. Once he’d done that, he’d show her the gentleness she deserved.

“You’ve never tried it.” Because no other man had ever demanded it of her before. But he wasn’t any other man. He’d have all of her and prove she was right to make that decision.

“You’re a very nice man. I really don’t want to ruin this.”

“Have you so little faith in yourself? Hm? If you come across a sudden, unquenchable desire to get laid, call me. I’m ten minutes away. I’ll come to you and quench it.”

But it wasn’t that. He knew it. She hadn’t committed before because she needed to be fucked and had no self-control to stop herself from getting it from whomever she could.

“It’s not that.”

He smiled. “I know. But still, the offer is open.”

She smiled back. Victory hovered just out of reach. He forced himself to wait, outwardly patient.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Is this about Brody? Are you still in love with him?”

She laughed then and the worry he’d pretended he never had faded altogether.

“I love Brody. He’s very special to me. But not like that. Even when we were together it wasn’t . . . Anyway. But I hurt him. He’s a good man and he expected things from me that I couldn’t give him. I told him. But he . . .”

He took her chin. Gentle, but firmly enough that she couldn’t look away. “You weren’t meant for him.”

Raven sighed. “All right. I’ll agree. You and only you while we’re together.”

Oh, she thought she could do that little disclaimer and give herself an out. Delightful.

It would be such a pleasure to gentle this woman to his touch.

“All right then.” He kissed the hand he’d been holding. “Get back to work.” He turned, knowing she probably needed some time to get herself together. God knew he needed that too.

7

She couldn’t avoid it any longer. She didn’t want to work on him any more that night. She’d gotten a lot done, but she’d worked on his back for nearly three hours and though he hadn’t complained, she knew he was going to be sore and tired, and she sure was.

Their conversation had left her sort of off balance, but he’d given her his back and had left her alone with her thoughts for a long while before starting in on small talk again. She’d agreed to monogamy. She hoped like hell she wouldn’t fuck it up because she really liked him.

She cleaned off his back. “I think that’s enough for tonight. Want to look before I cover it up?”

“Yeah.” He stood stretching, his arms above his head as his back cracked a few times.

He checked her work in the mirror, nodding his head. “I like it so far.”

“Thanks. Come back so I can get it covered up. You’ve done the tattoo thing before so you know it’s going to itch and you need to keep out of the sun, that sort of thing. I brought a tube of stuff for you to put on it. But then it’s on your back.”

She covered the tat and he turned slowly, a smile on his lips. “Then it looks like you’ll be the one to help. It comes with the service, right?”

He was so . . . much.

“Hm. You promised me food and a martini.”

“I’m ordering in. Once that’s done I’ll get us some drinks.” He pulled her in, surprising her. “First I need a kiss.”

She held on, careful to avoid his back, as he lowered his mouth to hers, taking it, owning it, and she gave over, opening up on a soft sigh. He tasted so good.

His tongue, sure, as sure as he was, swept into her mouth and a memory of his mouth on her pussy flashed through her brain. She squeezed her thighs together to ease the ache, but it only made things worse.

He nipped her bottom lip and then took a fistful of her hair, yanking her head back to expose her throat. Something warm washed through her as her muscles loosened. His lips cruised down her throat as he nibbled at the hollow, on her thundering pulse.

His skin was hot and hard as he held her tight, one hand in her hair, the other sliding down to take a handful of her ass.

She moaned and he made a sound, nearly a growl.

“Food. Drink. Then I’m going to fuck you.”

He stepped back, licking his lips as she struggled to gain her composure. And failed.

Jonah flustered her. She wanted him. That he wanted her with such avarice thrilled her. Her body didn’t give one tiny fuck that she was supposed to be annoyed with his caveman-type ways. Her clit and nipples thought it was pretty fantastic actually.

She watched as he swayed to the phone. Broad shoulders led to a narrow waist and a spectacular ass. It was just as hot with his jeans on as it was when he was naked. And that was pretty fucking spectacular.

Raven busied herself by putting her gear away. She put aside the tools she’d need to run through the autoclave before using them again. Secured the inks. She cleaned off the chair where they’d been working and put the stool she’d been sitting on back.

When she’d finished she’d found some measure of peace, but when she turned back to see him in his kitchen, pulling martini glasses out, she couldn’t stop a wistful sigh.

“I like that you wore a red shirt.” He pushed a glass to her. “Olive or onion?”

“Olive.” And he’d shown a preference for red after all. And she had a million T-shirts, many of them red, so it wasn’t like it was a big deal.

He dropped in an olive and clinked his glass to hers. “To beginnings.”

She tipped her chin and sipped. He had not exaggerated his skill.

“This is a very fine martini.” Nice and dry.

“Food will be here in about half an hour. Come sit in the living room.”

She followed him. He sat, putting his feet up and patting the couch next to him.

Raven drank slowly, not quite trusting herself to say much.

“I did ask about you to your friends. Does that bother you?”

She thought about it and he didn’t press.

“Maybe. A little.” She shrugged.

“I wasn’t trying to dig up dirt. I like you. I’m interested in you and I wanted to know more. Daisy likes you. She’s a little in awe, I think, which is interesting given how fierce my brother’s girlfriend is.”

“Well, at least one of you has good taste.”

He smirked. “What do you mean by that?”

“Do you think I haven’t heard about your sister-in-law? The one who thinks Daisy is a dirty gold digger out for your family fortune?”

He sighed heavily, draping an arm over her shoulder, hugging her close, and to her surprise, she liked it.

“Gwen. Goddamn, she must give head like nobody’s business. It’s really the only thing I can think of that would blind Mal to her many faults.”

“Is that the key then? Cocksucking?”

“You do well with the cock and the rest is sort of easier.”

“Hm.”

“What’s this mysterious hm you do? What does it mean?”

“Any and all manner of things at any given time.”

“Should you be harboring any ideas that I’m only here with you because of your cocksucking skill, though you’ve got it, you’re not easy.”

He was . . . blunt. Surprising. She didn’t quite know how to take the things he said.

“Is that what you like then? Easy?”

He took her drink, placing it on the table next to his. He held her chin so she couldn’t look away. “If I wanted easy, I wouldn’t be here with you now. Easy is overrated anyway. I like prickly. Defensive. Blunt. I want you.”

She swallowed, thrown by the heat of a blush working up her neck.

“Easy is boring and you’re anything but boring.”

Before she could reply, the doorbell rang. “The food. I’ll be back.”

She stood along with him. “I’ll get plates and stuff.”

Raven didn’t know why she was like this with him. Off balance. She liked to tease her romantic partners, to play. But this was different.

He made her blush. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d actually blushed over anything.

He brought the food into the kitchen, humming as he poked into the containers and saw what was inside.

“Here, let me make your plate.” She’d paid attention, knew what he liked.

He stepped to her, pulling her close. “I like that you pay attention. I like that you serve me.”

She swallowed hard. “I like it too.” What else was there to say? She could have lied, but she tried not to. And the look on his face when she told him that pleased her to her toes.

When they sat, he pulled her chair close by hooking a foot in the rung at the bottom. He brushed the hair back from her face and then picked up a spring roll, feeding it to her.

Everything in her stilled.

“I like taking care of you.”

His voice was soft. But intense. In command.

“I wager it doesn’t happen often.”

She licked her lips. “I’m a grown woman. I can feed myself.”

“Of course you can.” He fed her a bite from his plate.

He took a bite or two and then fed her again. Forkfuls here and there. Nothing overwhelming. He wasn’t forcing her to eat.

“Have you ever been to Paris?”

“Twice. I like to travel.” She shrugged. “I doubt it’s the Paris you visit though.”

He raised a brow her way. “Oh? And how so?”

“I’ve never stayed in a four-star place before. I like pensions and cheap, off-the-beaten-path places. Not because I’m so edgy.” She laughed. “But because when I first started traveling I had no money and it was all I could afford.”

He snorted. “I do like four-star hotels, I can’t lie. Luxury isn’t overrated. You said you love travel. Where else do you go?”

“I love Hawaii. There’s something about just walking out the door and it being perfect outside. The air always smells good. The water is always gorgeous and warm so you can play in it all day long. The food is plentiful and cheap.”

He laughed. “Cheap? It’s as expensive to eat in Hawaii as it is in Paris.”

“There are so many roadside stands, barbecue grills and hole-in-the-wall places to eat in Hawaii. If you go to the tourist places, it’s expensive. If you buy a lot of milk, yes, it’s expensive. But when I’m there I eat a lot of fruit and local stuff.”

“I think I need to take you to Paris, four-star style. And you need to take me to Hawaii, roadside-stand style. I have a house in Maui.”

“You do? A friend has a condo there and he lends it to me a few times a year in exchange for my working at his shop. I used to go more often. But since Alexander I find myself spending a lot more time here.”

He fed her another bite and sat back, eating as he listened to her speak awhile.

“You’re close with him.”

“He’s precious to me. Erin is like my sister. She’s the person on earth I’m closest to. And Alexander, well, he’s impossible not to love. He likes me around so I’m around.”

“It’s important to children to be surrounded by people they love and can trust. It’s a gift you’re giving him.”

“It’s the other way around really. I never thought much about kids one way or the other. Until him. When she got pregnant it was an odd time in my life. I didn’t know how it would change our friendship. I was selfish.”

“Worried you’d lose your friend, that’s not selfish. That’s human.”

“It was selfish. I can own my flaws. I don’t need anyone to make excuses for me.”

He loved how her chin jutted out. Defiant.

He fed her another piece of bread. Her eyes closed just a bit as she enjoyed the taste.

“Anyway, she had a rough time. Her pregnancy was hard. There were things going on with Ben’s family and it upset her. I stayed to run some interference when I could. Though she’s surrounded by people who love her so it would have happened anyway, I suppose.”

He knew Erin’s brothers adored her and were protective. But he was sure this woman did all she could to help her friend get through her rough time.

“Anyway, when he was born I was there. In the room. It was . . . it was amazing. And she was a fucking queen to have done it. And then Alexander was in the world. I traveled like I usually did, but I found myself coming back more often and for longer stints of time. It worked out for Brody so he could take more time off to be with Elise because then they got pregnant and had Martine.”

She downplayed how important she was to people.

“By the time Alexander had his first birthday I figured it would be best if I bought a place up here. He’s my little dude. Then Poppy came. Lucky for the kid, she’s more like her mom than her dad. But I like kids. Other people’s kids even better because after a few overnights with Alexander, I don’t know how Erin manages it on four hours’ sleep.”

“You have a marshmallow center.” He poked her belly and she smirked.

“I am a hard-ass bitch, Jonah. I am mean. I am selfish and not to be trusted.”

He shook his head. “You moved to Seattle for Alexander.”

Her face softened again. “He’s my reason to put down roots.” Then she found her mask again. “But that doesn’t mean I’m still not bad news.”