Broken Course (Wrecked and Ruined #3)(26)

"Hi." Erica says, folding her obviously pregnant body onto her couch.

At the sight, Sarah once again throws her hands over her mouth in shock. "Oh, God," she breathes from behind her hands.

Laughing would definitely make me a dick, so I do my best to stifle it. I know she is thinking the absolute worst right now, and that bothers me on some level, but her expressions are priceless.

With her hands preoccupied, the sheet begins to slip from her body. I grasp the top to prevent it from falling to the ground. I should probably correct whatever nefarious ideas she has about me now, but the jealousy in Sarah’s eyes has me wishing I could play it off for a few minutes longer. I’m relatively sure, though, that, in a few minutes, she won’t still be standing here.

"Sarah, this is my friend, Erica Andrews. Erica, this is my girlfriend, Sarah Erickson." I slip an arm around Sarah’s waist.

"Don’t touch me," she hisses, quickly stepping away.

"Leo, stop being a dick. You know what she’s assuming," Erica growls at me before speaking to Sarah. "Hey, Sarah. Trust me. My relationship with the jackass standing next to you is not anything like what you are thinking right now. We’re just friends."

"Riiiight," Sarah drawls out sarcastically.

There are no adequate words for how much I am loving this flash of jealousy from her. However, I need to put an end to it, because against my better judgment, I have a strong desire to get between her legs again, and spending time talking to Erica is killing those thoughts.

"Okay. Okay. Seriously, Erica is like a sister to me. She is married to Slate Andrews…and pregnant with his baby, might I add. I had nothing to do with that." I grin as I hear Erica confirm it behind me.

"Wait. Slate Andrews the professional boxer?" Sarah asks, clearly confused.

"Well, Slate the ex-professional boxer. I run his security. And they had someone trying to climb their gate tonight." Watching for some sort of reaction, I can almost see her emotions rattling around in her head.

"Really? Well, does her husband know that you call her babe and y’all say ‘I love you’?" she snaps at both of us.

"Yes, he does," I say very slowly. "Hey." Stepping forward, I grab her hips. "I swear to you it’s not like that. I’ve called her babe for years. And I do love her, but not in any way that should possibly ever worry you. Erica is the only family I have." I shrug, not having any more of an explanation for her.

I really like Sarah, but this could be a very pivotal moment for us. I need to see her true colors in a stressful moment. I know about her past, but I need to know who she is now. This may have started out as entertaining, but now, I’m actually nervous about how this is going to play out. What if she can’t handle my relationship with Erica? Where would that leave us?

Come on, Sarah. Prove to me who you really are.

I plead with the universe that she’s the woman I think she is and not the person she talked about that day all those months ago. Jealous is one thing; irrational is something totally different.

"I know this looks bad. So I get that you’re upset, but you have to believe me. It’s not like that." Squeezing her hips tight, I beg for her to be the person I think she is.

Her eyes flash between mine, seemingly searching for the truth. She’s warring with her emotions, and there is absolutely nothing I can do to sway the battle.

Finally, her hard expression softens as she asks, "Promise?" Her cheeks heat in embarrassment.

Letting out a relieved breath, I hook an arm around her waist. "I swear."

Her shoulders instantly relax as she drops her head to my chest. "I’m sorry," she whispers. "I must look like even more of a crazy woman getting all upset over a man I’ve been out with twice. I just assumed…" She shakes her head, rolling her forehead over my chest.

I look up to find Erica leaning toward the screen, closely watching our interaction. Her eyebrow is lifted as she watches our exchange, but the side of her mouth is tipped in a small grin.

Remembering her words from earlier, I say, "Get out, Erica."

"Right. Yeah. Sorry." She grabs the remote and aims it at her TV, but pauses. "I’m sorry to interrupt your night, Sarah. But I have to admit, it was worth it just to see the way he looks at you. I’ve never seen him do that before."

I cock my head to the screen and give her a what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you look, but it only makes her laugh.

"Goodnight." She quickly flips off the screen, and I touch the button to fully sever the connection.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Sarah asks, lifting her head off my chest.

"It means Erica has a big f*cking mouth." I smile and place a gentle kiss to her lips. "Hey."

"Hey," she responds, never truly meeting my eyes.

"You want to hang out with me for a few minutes while I close things down? I need to make a call and get Erica’s gate fixed."

"If you want me to," she says shyly.

"I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea tonight, but you getting all jealous while wrapped in my sheet is probably the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. And that’s saying a lot, because earlier, I watched you come on my hand."

"I’m in a sheet," she blinks rapidly.