Page 120 of Take It Offline
“I’d rather not be alone.” She grabs my hand, holding tight. “You didn’t have to do that, though.”
“Yes, I did. You don’t have to face this by yourself.”
As expected, Reese has already let herself and Ivy into my apartment using her spare key. When we enter, Ivy is up and hugging Emma before I can blink.
“How bad is it? On a scale of the world’s smallest instruments, do I have to get a ukulele?”
“It’s a violin at most,” Emma says. “If it ever gets ukulele bad, I’ll be moving to a deserted island.”
“Have you spoken to them yet? I’ll come with you if you need me to, and before you say no, I’ll remind you that I played Madame Thénardier in school, so I can be menacing when I want to be.”
It’s not hard to imagine. Ivy might barely come up to Emma’s shoulders, but she’s surprisingly jacked, and anyone who’scycled into Ops from her area, Developments, always speaks of her in awed tones.
“Not yet, and thank you, but I think it’s best I go by myself.”
“If you need someone to practice on, I’m here,” Ivy says, releasing Emma. “And in the meantime, this”—she scoops up her bag and pulls a bottle of bubbly out of her tote—“will help.”
Emma practically sags with relief. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”
At those three words, it’s like an invisible hand has reached into my chest and decided to use my heart as a stress toy. I busy myself with shucking my jacket and emptying my pockets while doing my best to ignore it.
“I’m assuming no introductions are necessary, since you’ve already helped yourself to my stash,” I say, waving toward the opened bag of M&M’s on the counter.
“We were hungry,” Reese says, lifting her chin, clearly unremorseful. “And you know peanut is my favorite.”
Of course I do. I keep a bag of them around just for her. I don’t even like peanuts.
“With that out of the way, how about we get to work? Ivy, glasses are in the top left cupboard. Reese, you’re on food. Emma’s going to change into something more comfortable.”
Using the excuse of lending her clothes, I follow Emma into my room, only for Reese to call out, “Let’s keep it family friendly, you two.”
Nose pinched, I shut the bedroom door behind me. “Inviting them was a terrible idea.”
Emma closes the gap between us and rests her hands on my chest.
Pulling her closer is as natural as breathing.
“No,” she whispers, “it’s perfect. Thank you.”
I tilt my head, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Nothing to thank me for. Now, get changed while I sort these two out.”
Horrifyingly, I find Reese standing in front of the stove, attempting… who knows what. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“You told me to take care of dinner.”
“Reese, you burn water.”
Turning, she points a spatula at me. “That was one time.”
Only because our parents didn’t want to have to call the fire department more than once. Since then, Reese is forbidden from cooking. “What’s our last meal going to be anyway? Since whatever you make will likely kill us.”
“It’s a surprise.”
I sidle up beside her and turn the burner off.
“Phone. Pizza. Now.”
“Fine,” she groans. “I’m on it.”
