Chapter 79 Kiera
KIERA
“You can’t just grab my phone like that!” I glared at Leo as she got back to work on the engine, ignoring my complaint. “Hello? Earth to Leo, can you hear me?”
“Now I can,” she pointed to the phone, which sat blessedly silent in my palm.
I scrunched my brow as I looked down at it, confused. There was no way that had worked. Maura didn’t take no for an answer, especially not when it came to me.
Still, a second passed, and then another without a follow-up call.
Holy shit, is she… actually backing off?
‘Backing off’ was a bit too generous it would seem. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, a new text popped up.
Who was that? Call me asap.
Mom
But the text wasn’t followed by the usual barrage of phone calls. The edge faded from my headache as a sacred kind of silence filled the shop. Is this what peace feels like?
I wanted to be mad at Leo. That had been my line to draw, and stepping in to do it for me was certainly presumptuous. But if I was being honest, I was never going to do it. I would sooner let Maura torture me for sport than risk upsetting her with a hard boundary.
I’d been waiting for permission to tell Maura to fuck off my whole life. And Leo’s assist was the first glimmer of hope I’d ever gotten that it might be possible.
I let out a deep sigh, crossing my arms over my chest. “How about next time you want to help me, you warn me first?”
“I’m willing to consider that.” Leo murmured, finally lifting her eyes from the engine. “I’m sorry if that was too far. I just… I don’t like watching people push you around.”
“I know,” I nodded, surprising myself by reaching out a hand toward her.
Wiping her hands on that work rag, she stepped forward, letting my fingers wrap around the swell of muscle at her forearm. Her brows furrowed as my index finger caressed the sensitive skin by her wrist, tracing a line of her tattoo. “When you say you had to make this call…?”
The question landed on her shoulders like a lead weight, dragging her eyes down along with her posture. But I slid my hand down, giving hers a squeeze. “You can tell me anything.”
Her honeyed gaze flicked up to mine as she squeezed my hand back. “My folks were always very strict and had high-expectations — that kind of stuff comes standard with the whole military brat thing. But they were just never happy with anything.”
A bitter laugh pressed past tight lips. “I got straight-As and they were disappointed, I graduated early and they were disappointed, I became a doctor and… at a certain point I realized that there wasn’t anything in particular they wanted from me besides ‘more.’ And I couldn’t keep living like that so… I drew a line.”
She shrugged as she ran her thumb over the back of my hand. “I know the situation with your mom isn’t the same, but the way the light fades from your eyes when she does that… I don’t want to see you dim for anyone.”
I bit my lip as I considered her point. “I hear you, but… she’s my mom. I can’t just ghost her forever.”
“I’m not saying you should. If you want a relationship with her, I think that’s worth pursuing.
But if I can give you any advice? Pursue it on your terms. Whatever you feel like you owe her, you don’t.
Not your money, and certainly not your happiness.
And if that’s too far for her… Just know I’m here.
Happy to talk about anything you need, Princess. ”
“Thanks, Leo.” Warmth bloomed in my chest at the reassurance. It was nice to have Leo close, to get to talk to her like normal. We hadn’t been able to do that since…
“There is something I want to talk to you about, actually.” I cleared my throat, trying to fight down the blush on my cheeks as her eyes softened toward me. “About that kiss…”
Her lips pursed slightly. She knew as well as I did that this conversation needed to happen, and from the looks of it, she’d been avoiding it just as much as I had. “I’m sorry about—”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” I shook my head hard, swallowing down my nerves.
“I’m sorry. I should have talked to you about it sooner, or at least given you any sort of warning that it was coming.
My head has just been spinning with all sorts of questions and doubts, and it was a spur of the moment thing, and… ”
As I paused to take a breath, I could see her bracing for the letdown. The flicker of pain in her eyes cracked open something in my chest. I never want to see her look like that again.
“I… I really like you, Leo. And to be honest, I don’t know what that means. I don’t know what I want, exactly. But… I know I don’t want to keep avoiding you until I figure it out.”
She blinked back her shock, a broad smile swiftly taking over her face. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously,” I laughed.
“I’m sorry, too.” She shook her head.
“I told you not to—”
“I shouldn’t have avoided you. I told myself I was just giving you space to think, but it was a stupid idea. I should have checked in and made sure you were okay.”
“I’m more than okay now.” I smiled, lifting my free hand to the side of her neck.
The feeling of her skin prickling beneath my touch sent a shiver through my spine. She grinned back at me, raising an eyebrow. “So much for our ‘straight’ roommate. Called it, by the way.”
“Oh, did you?” I leaned back, raising an eyebrow.
“Mhm. Spence did too. To be fair, I think you might be the only one who didn’t know.”
At the mention of Spencer, I realized there was one more secret I was still holding onto. “Actually, about Spencer. We, um…”
“Fucked?” Leo raised an eyebrow.
I nearly choked. “She told you?”
“No, you just did.” Leo laughed. “But to be fair, I had a suspicion, especially once you kissed me. Spencer’s been wayyyy to giddy lately, so I figured she had to be fucking someone. It wasn’t me, and it certainly wasn’t Dom, so…”
I shook her by the shoulder. “Ew, please don’t make me think about Dom fucking.” Discovering my attraction to women via exposure therapy with my roommates was already overwhelming enough. The last thing I needed was to find out I was secretly into that monstrous millionaire.
But as Leo hovered in front of me, letting her free hand rest on the side of my thigh, all thoughts of Dom faded to the background.
Admitting my feelings had lifted a weight off my chest. I wanted to close the gap between us, to give her a real kiss instead of the panicked peck I’d snuck in the other night. But first, I needed to make sure we were on the same page.
“Is this okay?” I bit my lip. “That I don’t know what to call these feelings?”
“Absolutely.” Leo nodded, eyes flooding with earnest compassion. “You never have to label it if you don’t want to. I’m just glad that, whatever you end up being attracted to, it seems to include me.”
Relieved by the reassurance, I smirked as she brought her hand to my cheek, gentle pressure inviting me to lean forward.
As she guided me closer, my chest tightened with anticipation.
The tension had been building between us for days now, and I couldn’t believe I was actually about to kiss Doctor Leo Callahan.
But before our lips could meet, the office door slammed open, startling me bad enough that I headbutted Leo.
“Oh fuck!” My hands clapped over my mouth as I watched blood spill from her lip, painting her teeth red.
“Is it bad?” She lisped, raising a hand to the cut and pulling her fingers away bloody.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” I reached forward, cupping her cheek to get a better look, but the blood was gushing out too fast to see the wound. I’d gotten her pretty good.
While I couldn’t stop apologizing, Dom couldn’t have given less of a fuck. She stormed through the shop toward the door, phone ringing in her pocket and her face drained of all color. “Put your dick away. Shop’s closed.”
Maybe it was walking in on her apparent arch nemesis trying to make out with her roommate but Dom seemed utterly haunted as she zipped toward the garage door. Without any warning, she shut off the lights, leaving us completely in the dark as she got into her car and answered the call.
I had a feeling it wasn’t entirely about our PDA.
“What a fucking bitch.” I muttered, heat pulsing through my veins.
But used to Dom’s bullshit, Leo simply pulled her collar up to stem the blood and strode across the shop to flip the lightswitch. By the time the lights flickered back on, the cotton had soaked through crimson.
My stomach turned at the sight. “Fuck, Leo. Do we need to get you to a hospital?”
Pulling the cotton away just long enough to examine it, Leo shook her head. “I’m literally a doctor, Kier. Give me five minutes with the first-aid kit, and I’ll be fine.”
Grabbing a red kit from one of the shop shelves, Leo walked across the shop and ducked into a bathroom around back. But as I watched her walk, my eyes caught on something that made my heart rate spike.
The office door: in her rush to leave, Dom had left it open.