“Why do people think dog jokes are hurtful to gwyllgi?” Tisdale deftly smoothed over the awkwardness. “I love dogs. I hope she is allergic to them. No animal deserves the treatment she would give it.”
Lips parting to agree, I shut them just as fast to avoid inviting more conversation.
Addie swooped in, her head bowed and her fingers twisting in a knot. “I am so sorry.”
“You’re Hadley’s big sister.” Tisdale patted Addie’s tangled hands. “I’m so glad to meet you.”
“She’s not that…” Addie mashed her lips together. “Okay, she is that bad.”
“It’s all right,” Tisdale assured her, but her knowing gaze met mine. “I don’t hold children responsible for the words or actions of their parents.”
Dread twisted through my chest, a corkscrew to the heart.
She knew.
Tisdale knew.
Or she suspected.
Frak, frak, frak.
No. I was being paranoid. That was all. Tisdale didn’t know I was a Pritchard by birth. I was projecting. Yeah. Projecting. That was it.
Where’s a teleporter when I need one?
Had I not already given my heart to Midas, I would have offered it up on a silver platter just then. He strode across the lobby, aiming straight for me. He didn’t stop until we stood toe to toe, and he engulfed me in a hug that lifted me off my feet and left them swinging the way Boaz sometimes did when we hadn’t seen one another in months. But I had seen Midas hours ago.
“I’ve come to rescue you,” he whispered in my ear. “Twice in one night.”
Forget being independent. Forget being strong. Forget self-respect. “Yes, please.”
“Mom.” Midas turned me loose then kissed her cheeks. “I’m taking the invalid to bed.”
Turning her head, Addie coughed into her fist and made a strategic retreat toward the front door.
“You can call me if you ever want to talk.” Tisdale clasped my hands. “You don’t have to wait for disaster to strike to use my number.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I peeked up at her. “I’ll remember that.”
“Come on.” Midas looped an arm around my waist. “Let’s get you down for a nap.”
“Make sure you feed her.” Tisdale pointed at him. “She needs to keep up her strength.”
Smile on his lips, he bobbed his head and echoed me. “Yes, ma’am.”
Mashing my face into his side, I let him guide me into the elevator blind. “Thanks for the save.”
“Mom worries about you.” A shrug moved through him. “She can be worse than Abbott at times.”
“No one is worse than Abbott,” I grumped, and told him about my trip to the infirmary.
Ready to shower, eat, and spend quality time alone with Midas for the first time in days, I stepped into the hall but pulled up short when I noticed the box in front of our door.
“Are you serious?” I nudged it with my toe. “Another one?”
“Don’t touch it.” Midas hauled me back. “What if it’s another bomb?”
After taking a healthy step back, I palmed my phone and dialed Abbott. “Did you leave us a gift?”
“Oh. Yes. The box. I got your note.”
More suspicious than ever, I asked, “What note?”
“A note was taped to the infirmary door, in your handwriting, so I had a nurse drop the condoms off at your door. I would have mentioned it while you were here earlier, but I didn’t want your perfectly healthy sexual appetite to embarrass you in front of your mother-in-law.”
“Which nurse?”
“Your friend, Lisbeth.”
“Thanks.” I ended the call before he picked up on my worry and dialed Lisbeth. “Hey.”
“There was enough rubber in that box, it would have bounced if I dropped it.”
“Well, that answers that question.” I slumped against the wall. “You did bring up the box?”
“Yes.” She hesitated, her quick mind filling in the blanks. “Unless someone tampered with it, it’s legit.”
“No one else has been up here since we left,” Midas said, reading off his screen. “Only Lisbeth.”
The security crew must have fed him an update, maybe even a slice of surveillance from our hallway.
“I think we’re good.” I caved to the awkwardness and blurted, “Bye.”
Her laughter rang in my ears as the call ended.
“Someone pranked us.” I let us into the apartment. “But who?”
Dollars to donuts Bishop was the culprit. Lisbeth was likely in on it too. And Remy. Oh, yes. Remy. Little miss let me forge your signature had clearly been practicing more than signing my name.
Traitors.
“The possibilities are endless.” Midas picked up the box and set it inside the door. “Does it bother you?”
“Everyone in this building is so invested in our personal lives they’re donating condoms to the cause.”
“Welcome to the pack.” He kicked off his shoes. “Where our business is everyone’s business and everyone’s business is everyone else’s business.”
Awkward as it was to ask, I was on a roll tonight. “Can they tell we haven’t…?”
The scarlet flush that raced from his chin to his hairline gave me my answer. “Does it bother you?”
“That they can smell our business, or that we don’t have business to smell?”
There. Nice and vague and right to the point. Middle schoolers were probably more descriptive.
“Both.”
“We’re moving at our own pace.” I led him to the couch and shoved him down so I could plop across his lap. “I don’t care what the others think they know.” I linked my arms behind his head. “I care that you’re here, I’m here, and we have a few hours alone together before I start snoring and drooling.” I scratched his scalp with my fingernails, and his eyes rolled closed. “You know, really driving home how lucky you are to have me sleeping next to you.”
“I am lucky.” He nuzzled my cheek. “I don’t mind the snoring or the drooling.”
What a pretty little liar. “I’ve woken up to find you wearing earplugs.”
“I did wake up that one time convinced I’d fallen asleep in the forest during a lumberjack
