4 Shot Off The Presses Read Online Free PDF Page B

second, basking in the feel of his arms as they tightened around me.
    “I can hear the gears in your mind working,” Eliot mumbled sleepily.
    “You must be a super hero to hear that,” I replied teasingly.
    “They sound rusty.”
    “You’re funny,” I said, starting to pull away from him in an attempt to get out of bed and start my day. Eliot pulled me back close to him.
    “What were you thinking?”
    “I was thinking I have to get ready for a press conference,” I lied.
    “That’s not what you were thinking,” Eliot challenged.
    “Fine, I was thinking how pretty you are in the morning,” I admitted.
    “Pretty?” Eliot’s brown eyes found mine in the early morning light. “I don’t normally think of myself as pretty. Ruggedly handsome? Yes. Pretty? Not so much.”
    “Ruggedly handsome? You’ve given this some thought, I see.” I shifted up into a sitting position, catching a glance at my disheveled blonde hair in the mirror across from the bed as I did. “I don’t know how you do it,” I complained.
    “What?” Eliot was trailing his hand lazily down my arm but he hadn’t made a move to climb out of bed yet.
    “Look so good in the morning,” I said gloomily, running my hand through my snarled hair. “I think that’s another one of your super hero abilities.”
    Eliot opened one of his brown eyes again, smiling as he took in my mussed hair. “I think you look cute in the morning.”
    “I’m starting to rethink that super hero vision thing,” I said.
    “Maybe you’re the one that doesn’t see things clearly,” Eliot said. “Because what I see is cute.”
    I smiled at him as warmth rushed to my cheeks.
    “And mouthy,” Eliot added.
    I scowled down at him. “You couldn’t just leave it at cute?”
    “You’re not the only one that speaks before they think,” Eliot admitted ruefully.
    “And we’re up,” I grumbled.
    After showering together – which involved a few wandering hands and lips – we made our way out into the living room and found Lexie doing yoga in front of the television. I had to admit that I was impressed at the contortions she managed to get her small body to conform to, even though it looked more like torture than exercise. I glanced over to see Eliot regarding her curiously. “What is she doing?”
    “Yoga,” I said simply.
    “Why?”
    “It’s supposed to be fun.”
    “It doesn’t look fun.”
    “Well, it is,” Lexie shot back from her spot on the floor – where her knees were magically behind her ears. “You’re distracting me.”
    “From what? Bending yourself into a human pretzel? I have a sudden urge to dump mustard over you.”
    “And then eat me?” Lexie asked haughtily.
    Eliot looked suddenly uncomfortable. “This conversation took a turn I wasn’t expecting.”
    “I know how that goes,” I replied.
    “I still don’t understand what she’s doing,” Eliot continued. “That doesn’t look like exercise to me.”
    Eliot was apparently spoiling for a fight. Since Lexie and I came from a gene pool that was always spoiling for a fight, she wasn’t about to disappoint him.
    “This is hard work,” Lexie said primly.
    “It looks like something little kids do when they’re watching television and they’re bored,” Eliot countered.
    I opened my mouth to stop the argument that I knew was about to blow up but moved towards the kitchen instead. What was the point? Lexie and Eliot were squabbling machines these days. They were going to find something to fight about, even if I tried to find a way to delay it.
    I opened the cupboard to pick a cereal for breakfast, shoving Lexie’s whole-grain wheat blend to the side and grabbing my box of Fruity Pebbles. I poured the cereal in a bowl, added milk, and then walked back into the archway between the kitchen and the main room of the house. Eliot hadn’t moved, but Lexie was now standing in front of him, hands on hips, as she challenged him angrily. I had to give her credit. He had a foot and