Always Only You by Chloe Liese (z-lib.org).epub

“Ah. And you didn’t leave this time because…”
He stops in his tracks. “Because I was waiting for you. Of course, I didn’t
leave.”
“You could have waited in your car, Ren.” I spin so I can face him. “You
didn’t have to deal with that for my sake.”
Ren’s mouth quirks in the faintest grin. “What do you say you let me worry
about how and where I wait for you, Francesca?”
“As you wish, Søren.” I pinch his bicep teasingly. “Now help me finish off
my pizza so we can make it to Children’s, then get home. Before Pazza poops on
that fancy couch of yours.”
“YOUR FRIENDS ARE GREAT,” REN SAYS.
I scowl as I stare out the car window. “They’re in the doghouse.”
Next time I’m at water aerobics, I’m going to tell Annie that terrible
vegetable joke she can never get over. She’ll pee herself in the pool from
hysterics—thank you, Annie’s advanced pregnancy. Lorena’s the worst
offender, though. I’m sending a Chippendale dancer to her office hours. That’ll
teach her.
Ren laughs. “Frankie. You’re badass and cool. Your friends telling a few
barely embarrassing, entirely hilarious stories only rounds out the picture.”
I grumble under my breath and shift in my seat, trying to find a comfortable
position. Kind of hard when both of your hips hurt.
Ren grips the steering wheel at exactly ten and two o’clock, leaving two
o’clock just long enough to adjust his rearview mirror at a red light. “You
weren’t serious about Pazza pooping on the couch, were you?”
“No, I wasn’t. She’s crated for the day. I mean it’s been years since she
chewed out of her crate and ripped up my entire living room furniture set.”
Ren makes a strangled noise and hazards a glance at me. “You’re messing
with me, aren’t you?”
I grin. “You’re fun to tease, Zenzero. I can’t help it.”
“Trust me, I’ve heard that one before.”
Guilt hits me, settling heavy in my gut. Both because I’ve borne the brunt of
missing a joke or tease too many times to count—happens a lot with a highly
literal brain—and because he told me the other day that he was one of those kids
for whom high school was pure misery. He’s probably been messed with enough
for two lifetimes.