15. Rose #3
“Nah. Leon is the youngest of six half-siblings, with an asshole of a father. Not surprisingly, they’re a combination of doctors, lawyers, and Olympic athletes—a very opinionated bunch of overachievers.
They all have serious daddy issues according to Leon.
He doesn’t listen to anyone. H is a middle child, with a sister on either side and the only boy among all his cousins, so he’s an expert at tuning people out.
He doesn’t give a shit what Leon and I say most of the time.
” His gaze flicked to hers; the gray looked more silver in the shifting light from the screen.
“Plus, they know me well enough to know better.”
“High praise,” she joked quietly, tilting her head back to look up at him, and he grinned again. His gaze dropped to hers and made her stomach flip. Just as fast, his attention shifted back to the screen.
She caught Harper watching them with a soft smile on her face until she turned away. She knew Ainsley was doing the same, watching and analyzing, cataloging to discuss at a later date.
“You wanna tell me about this truce?” he whispered out of the corner of his mouth, turning his head so he could talk directly into her hair as she leaned into him, taking the strain off her back and sides. The last thing she needed was her ribs acting up again.
“She nodded in my direction.” Rose sighed, and he raised an eyebrow at her.
“Is that all?” The question came between complaints from Ainsley and Harper. Their objections pointed to the two contestants fighting over a roll of foil.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in the mud since I transferred. That’s true enough.” She sighed, low and slow. “It was film day, so usually I’m ignored or frowned at, but I got a nod today. It’s big news.”
“High praise,” he mocked, and she let out a huff of amusement.
“It’s better than being met with outright hostility or disgust, so I’ll take it.” She looked back at the screen. “This show is awful.”
“Oh, it’s trash, but it’s great when you don’t want to think. My mom binges old seasons when she’s fried from grading essays.” He chuckled lightly. “I’ve caught her passed out at the kitchen table or in her reading chair with this show on plenty of times.”
“My mom does that with car makeover shows,” she murmured, her lips tilting at the memories of her mom complaining about upgrades on a classic.
“Is she the one who did the work on restoring your Bronco?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“She supervised and painted it, but my best friend and I shared the remaining work.” His mouth dropped open a bit, and she pressed her finger under his chin to close it.
Guess he wasn’t expecting that. “We spent a lot of time scavenging in junkyards and scrolling through eBay to put that baby back together in time to get my license.”
Kirin nodded, his lips pursed for a second like he was thinking. “Did you rebuild anything for your best friend?”
“Yeah, a motorcycle like her dad used to have.” She smirked, their heads close so they could whisper to one another as Kirin’s pinky rubbed over the back of her hand. “Kenz said I could drive her around if we needed to go anywhere together.”
“What’s she like?” he asked as she turned her hand over to give him her palm.
Kirin spread his fingers over her sensitive skin, and her body tightened as the almost forgotten warmth spread. The shock made her hand contract, and her fingers easily slid between his until their palms met.
“Besides being the best human?” she asked, and when he nodded, she sighed.
“She’s not a huge fan of people. She moved around a lot as a kid, her dad was military, and when she landed in Arizona, she wasn’t in any mindset to make friends, but she said she saw me in class and just kind of claimed me.
” She gnawed on her bottom lip. “She’s overseas right now.
She checks in as often as she’s available.
Sometimes it’s every week. Other times I won’t hear from her for months. ”
He hummed to himself. “What branch?”
“Army,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes as she rested her head on his shoulder.
“That’s rough.” His voice was somber, and she took a lungful of air, the scent of him invading her senses, before she sighed. Why does he smell so damn good?
“It’s not ideal, but she’s good at it, so I guess I can’t be too upset.
” She sighed again, her eyelids growing heavier as she settled into the scent.
There was something so calming about him, especially sitting this close.
She was practically on top of him, and it was like sleeping on a heating pad.
“Getting tired, Flower?” He chuckled, and she blinked at the screen.
“I’m not tired,” she said around a yawn.
The show chose a couple of contestants for the elimination battle round. Their cakes, sitting on cake stands at the table in front of the panel of judges, looked better than anything she’d ever made with every tool available to her.
Kirin pressed a kiss to her hair before leaning his cheek against the crown of her head. “This is the best part. Pay attention.”