She smiles. “Of course. The guy at the store was able to transfer my data to this new phone, so you are in my contacts.”
“Good. I’ll call you,” I say as I head toward the door.
“For work purposes only,” Maria adds.
I turn and glare at my sister. “I’m going to leave now. I don’t want to interrupt your plans.” Nor do I want her to embarrass me, which she will try to do if I stick around. I give my sister a hug.
“Try not to mess this up, Romeo,” she whispers in my ear.
Wait, is she softening to the idea?
I pull back, and Savvy meets my eyes with a small smile. Yep, she heard that.
Now I have her number. I’ll call her later to checkup. Yep. Checkup.
CHAPTER 19
Savvy
“So, you and my brother then?” Maria asks.
I realize I’m staring out the door he just went through. “What? No.”
I turn to her. Her arms are crossed, and she’s scowling. “You are a terrible liar.”
I drop her gaze, caught. “I’m serious. We’re not…” How do I explain? “It’s not like that.”
She sits on her couch and motions for me to join her. “I told him to leave you alone in that way. I don’t want him ruining our friendship.”
I sit down. “What made you say that? Did he ask about me?”
I’ve kicked myself for how things ended earlier today. I really needed time alone to process, and it wasn’t until after he was gone that I realized I essentially said “see you later” with no attempt to make plans to see him again. Well, unless I needed protection again.
“Something like that. Look, I love my brother, but you should know he’s not one to have relationships. He did once, and he got hurt really badly. He hasn’t been in one since. And you’re not the one-night-stand type. I don’t think you two together is a good idea.”
She does know me; I am more into relationships. But not with another guy from the military. Yes, I judged Hunter too harshly because of my past, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to make that mistake again. He seems like he’d be fun for a while. And after all I’ve been through, I deserve a little fun.
“I appreciate you looking out for me, but you don’t need to worry. I’m a big girl. If anything were to happen with your brother, it would not have any effect on our relationship.”
Her jaw drops. “You can’t be serious? He will end it, and you will be hurt. Then you’ll cry to me about it. It will very much affect our friendship.”
“No, it won’t. Maybe I want something short and fun. Would you be mad if I did?” If I say it out loud enough times, I’ll believe it. Maybe if I don’t want more, it won’t hurt when I can’t have it.
She plugs her ears. “No. No. No. I did not hear that!”
I’m laughing now. I give her a nudge. “Stop. I’m being serious.”
She sits up and stares at me. “So am I! I don’t want to hear about any of it. Gross. No!”
I lean back and sigh. “I feel different around him. It’s not something I’ve experienced before.”
“You better not tell me you feel all tingly when he’s around.”
“Actually, that’s exactly it,” I say.
She tosses a pillow at me. “That means you’re horny! How long has it been since you’ve had sex?”
I laugh. “It’s not that.”
