Sweet Surrendering (Surrender Saga #1)(56)
Author: Chelsea M. Cameron

“You just keep telling me that. I haven’t heard it enough today.” I felt seriously deprived so he made up for it in quite a few ways. Plus, I’d packed Mr. Buzzy in my bag and we had some fun with him as well.

“Does this count as a threesome?” he said, and I smacked him with a pillow.

“Not if the third person is powered by batteries.”

“What about a robot?”

“Are you asking me if we had sex and a robot joined us, would that be considered a threesome?” I propped myself on my elbow and gave him a look.

“I’m just saying. I think it could count. If the robot had human emotions.”

“Do you understand that we’re talking about robot sex?”

“Yes. Because you’re an amazing woman and I love you.” He kissed me and that was enough of discussing robot sex for one evening.

25

Lucah and I kept our distance, difficult as it was, for the next week. It made our reunions every night all the sweeter, but parting every morning that much harder. Yes, it sounded like I was bitching but that was what love did to you. Turned you inside out and made you into a person you never thought you’d be. Love turned you into a whiny bitch.

Lucah seemed to be having just as hard a time as I was, which made me feel a little better, even if the situation still sucked.

There was no mention of Fin at dinner the next Sunday and I wondered if Dad had a little chat with Mom about pushing Fin on me, and how that was not going to work, as much as she wanted it to. I didn’t need to know, as long as I was sure she wasn’t going to ambush me again when the time came for the Black and White Ball. She was already starting to go nuts with the planning and had roped me into helping, so I spent a few Lucah-free afternoons and evenings with her working on invitations and decorations and picking the menu.

Lucah was still dealing with brother drama. Apparently Ryder had gotten a job at Starbucks, but had been fired for cursing out an ass**le customer. Lucah told me the story, and I had to say that I couldn’t blame Ryder. The customer had sounded like a total jerk. I wasn’t sure if I’d have been able to keep my cool. I’d cursed out a customer on the phone once or twice. That was why it paid to be the boss’ daughter.

I got Lucah his key, giving it to him by placing it in my navel one morning when he slept over so he saw it when he opened his eyes.

He was thrilled, and I told him that he could have a drawer if he wanted, so I ended up clearing out half my lingerie and shoving it in a lower drawer. Lucah’s stuff was more important than another pair of lace panties. He might argue with that, but I wanted him to have his own space at my place. I also slowly brought out the things I’d hidden when he’d first come over because honestly, he’d seen it all and he was still here, so I didn’t think there was much that he was going to find out about me that might send him running.

I got a call from Fin on Friday while I was out at the bar and I went outside to take it.

“Hey World Traveler!” I was happy to hear from him, because Marisol had been keeping her trap shut about him and changed the subject whenever we mentioned him.

“Hey, Rory. What’s new? I just had a spare moment, so I thought I’d and see how things were going.” I hadn’t updated him on my relationship with Lucah, because I knew he was going to gloat about being right, or at least think that I’d followed his insane advice.

“Things are good.”

“Wow, could you be more vague? How are things with the coworker? And you know the one I mean.” I could just see him wiggling his perfectly arched eyebrows. For a guy, he had great eyebrows.

“He’s fine. I’m fine.” That wasn’t going to be good enough for him.

“From the fact that you’re avoiding topic, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you did in fact take my advice and are now so disgustingly happy that I want to reach through the phone and throttle you. Am I warm?”

“Maybe,” I said.

“You can drop the act. I heard the happy in your voice. So things are good with him?” Oh, he could hear happy now? Ugh, was I that obvious?

“Things are good as long as we can keep it in our pants in the office and no one finds out. I hope there aren’t any other people who can hear happy.”

He laughed.

“I’m just more perceptive than most. Hey, you wouldn’t by any chance be able to pass along a message to Marisol for me?” It seemed weird, but I wasn’t going to question it.

“Yeah, sure. I’m with her right now.”

“Can you just tell her ‘Tom Hanks’?” Um, what?

“Did you just say ‘Tom Hanks’?”

“Yeah, just tell her that. Okay, I gotta go, Rory. Talk to you later.” I hung up and shook my head.

Boys are f**king weird.

I went back inside and delivered the message to Marisol. She blushed and then rolled her eyes and refused to tell any of us what it was about, no matter how much we pestered her. Oh, and we definitely did, no holds barred, no mercy, but she stuck to her guns and stood her ground. I should take some lessons from her.

I had no problem telling Lucah I loved him and it came out at the oddest times. Once he was just in the kitchen cleaning up when he grabbed a cup and started moving and tapping it, and I was reminded of a game I used to play at camp.

“I love you,” I blurted out as he performed tricks with the cup. I mean, it wasn’t anything you hadn’t seen in a million YouTube videos, but I thought it was pretty awesome.

He just smiled and flipped the cup on the air and caught it behind his back as I clapped.

Love made you easily impressed by things that you wouldn’t normally be impressed with.

The paperweight and mug became regular fixtures at my desk and when anyone asked about them, I just said that a friend had given them to me and let them draw their own conclusions.

We’d somehow found a routine and a pattern, and, of course, as soon as we got used to it, things changed.

Lucah disappeared one Friday afternoon and I couldn’t find him. He went on lunch and didn’t come back. First he was a half hour late. Then an hour. Then two. Then three.

I was trying to stay calm, but inside I was freaking out and picturing all the worst case scenarios and then trying not to do that so I wouldn’t jinx it while still trying to prepare myself for the worst in case it was the worst. I called and texted his cell phone and his home phone and I was about to start calling his favorite lunch places when he called me back.