Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
She sighed. “Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.” I disconnected and let out a breath. Damn. Why did everything always have to happen at the same time? I finally get a good-paying job, and now I have to let down my niece because of it. Life just wasn’t fair.
“Sounded like your sister wasn’t happy with you.” Stone’s low voice sent a shiver down my spine. “What’s going on?”
I huffed out a breath. “It’s my niece’s seventh birthday tomorrow, and they’re having a party for her. But don’t worry about it. I’ll just make it up to her on another day.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine without you for a couple of hours. You should go.”
I shook my head. “No. We have to stick together. It’s in my contract. I’ll just have to figure something else out.”
Stone shook his head. Then his eyes lit up. “Hey… I could come with you.”
“What? No.”
He flinched, and his brows dipped. “Why not?”
Oops. Had I hurt his feelings… again? Backtracking, I shrugged. “Oh… well, sure you can come if you really want to. Let’s just hope we solve the case by tonight. Then it won’t matter, right?”
His right brow rose, and his lips turned down like I was full of crap. “With the way things are going, I wouldn’t count on it.”
I huffed. “Yeah. Maybe not.”
He gave me a half-smile full of sarcasm. “If you’re worried about me, I usually get along fine with most people.”
I blinked. “So, you really want to come? Why?”
He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well… I don’t think you should let your niece down because of me. Family is important. And it’s only an hour or two.”
“Oh… well… yeah. Of course.” I bit my lips. “Hey, I’m sorry if I made you mad, earlier.”
“You didn’t.” He smiled tightly. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay.” I hesitated, but decided that it was best to move on. “So, I guess it’s settled?”
“Yup. Tomorrow at five, right?” At my nod, he set his coffee mug in the sink. “Then let’s plan on it.”
I heaved out a breath and shook my head. “Okay.” Sexy Stone was officially coming with me to a family gathering. What had I gotten myself into?
“You ready to go?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Good.” He stepped down the hall to the laundry room, and I quickly followed. We slipped out the door into the hall, and I waited while he locked up. After that, we trailed down the staircase to the lower floor before getting on the elevator and taking it down to the parking level.
It was on the tip of my tongue to question his sanity about going to the party with me. He said he didn’t want me to disappoint my niece, but it seemed like there was more to it than that. But what? He certainly couldn’t be interested in meeting my family, right? Damn! This was going to be the worst. Awkward didn’t even come close. Now I really needed to figure this out before then. How would I even explain who he was?
We made it to the bike, and I slipped my gloves on before taking the helmet. It wasn’t any easier to get the strap snapped together this time, and it took me a couple of tries before I got it done.
As I climbed on the bike behind Stone, butterflies rose in my stomach. I wrapped my arms around him and closed my eyes to savor the moment, grateful he couldn’t see my face. Why did I like this so much? It wasn’t just the bike. I liked wrapping my arms around him because it felt amazing. It was the one time I could touch him without needing an excuse.
Of course, it also distracted me from the discomfort of the burn on my butt, so why not enjoy it? Oh, crap. A physical pain gnawed in my chest to realize that once we figured out who was after him, my riding days would be over. Pushing that depressing thought away, I squeezed Stone a little tighter.
We exited the parking garage, and the butterflies began to dance through my chest. Yup… I was totally addicted, so no matter what the future held, I’d take this moment and enjoy it.
Several minutes later, we pulled off the street into a strip mall on the south end of town. We parked in front of a game store with all kinds of video game posters in the windows.
Before heading into the store, Stone caught my gaze. “Just a heads up… they won’t be happy to see me, so watch my back, okay?”
My eyes widened. “Really? What do you think they’ll do?”
“Depends on who’s there. Just don’t shoot me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you teasing me?”
His lips twisted. “Maybe a little.” With a lopsided grin that did funny things to my stomach, he pulled the door open and motioned me to go in first.