For the Love of Sin(35)
“Yes.”
“You’re funny, Sin.” He gave a rough chuckle. “Real funny.”
“Troy,” she began.
He shook his head. “Sweetheart, I told you before, you’ve been hanging around the wrong kind of man.”
“And I suppose you’re the right kind,” she said, her tone skeptical.
“Yeah, but when all you’ve done is hang around the bad guys, sometimes you have a hard time identifying the good guys.”
Soon after that, she kicked him out. She did it nicely, but she still showed him the door.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he told her. “You’re working, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” She paused. “Thank you.”
“For?” he prodded.
“For everything.”
The hint of huskiness in her voice was a balm to the raw feeling inside him. “You had a…demanding evening last night. Wouldn’t hurt you to take it easy today.”
Her lips twitched. “You’re not trying to look after me, are you?”
“Not me,” Troy said, then took advantage of her brief silence to kiss her.
Senada finished talking with the waitress, and Troy came up beside her.
“How are you tonight?” he asked.
“Great. How about you?” She waved to a customer.
“Good.” He shifted slightly on his feet. “How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”
She glanced at her watch. “About three hours. You?”
Troy blinked. “I don’t know. I had some peanuts a few minutes ago.”
She smothered a smile and nodded.
“You still look a little tired around your eyes. Are you sure you got enough rest today?”
Sin stifled a groan and leaned closer to him. She should have known Troy Pendleton’s protectiveness instinct would go ballistic once he learned her secret. “You’re hovering,” she said, and walked toward the kitchen.
Troy followed her. “I’m not hovering.”
“Oh?”
“Just asking a few questions.”
“Uh-huh.” She stopped at her office door. “Well, I answered them. Are you happy now?”
Troy sighed. “You know, Sin, you have a big problem with people being concerned about you.”
His statement jabbed at her. Her dietician had once said something similar. “Ever thought it might be your problem? That you might be a little too protective?”
“No.”
Damn his self-assurance, she thought. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, Troy, it’s time for my insulin. Despite the fact that you don’t think I can take care of myself, I’m managing quite nicely. And before you ask, I’ll be eating a sandwich and some fresh vegetables in about thirty minutes. Would you also like to know how many squares of toilet paper I use when I go to the bathroom?”
He looked down his nose at her. “You got a smart mouth, Sin.”
She stretched her mouth in a suggestive smile. “After last night, you certainly oughta know.”
A couple of hours later, Senada closed up the bar. Troy followed her home, left his nagging protectiveness at the door, and made the stars fall again.
Senada technically didn’t invite Troy to stay with her every night after that, but he did sleep with her, and he did stay with her. Every morning when she went to take her insulin, he asked if he could watch. And every time, she said no.
“I’m gonna go get some groceries for Maria and the kids,” Troy told her a few days later.
Senada shook back her damp hair and looked at him. “Let me go with you.”
He shrugged, fighting the secret delight he felt just being with her. “Okay.”
They went to the grocery store and argued.
“Marshmallow Crunchies,” Troy said. “You can’t expect kids to eat that other stuff. Tastes like bark.”
“You’re not the one who’ll have to deal with the sugar fit they’ll have once they eat it.”
“Okay. Compromise.” Troy took the box of cereal from her hand and tossed it into the cart. “One box of bark. One box of Marshmallow Crunchies,” he said with a grin, and tossed his box into the cart too. “Wonder which box will still be here at Christmas.”
They rounded the corner and Troy brightened. “Cookies!”
Senada groaned.
They negotiated down from four varieties to two, then tackled meat, produce and dairy products. Troy counted it a major victory that he managed to get the Fudgsicles past her. He accomplished that by finding some sugar-free Fudgsicles made by the same company and buying them for Senada.
“We bought way too much,” she said as they stopped in front of Maria’s house.
“Negotiations can be expensive.” He got out of his car and grabbed four of the six bags.