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)
“That’s Gracie. My niece.” That photo always brought a smile to my face. Just the pure joy of my niece was enough to lift me out of a bad mood.
Nodding, he glanced between me and the photo, a smile playing around the corners of his handsome mouth. “I see the resemblance. She’s adorable.”
I smiled. “Yeah… she is.”
He motioned to the wall, brows raised. “These are great. You’re really good.”
I shook my head, but wasn’t able to suppress a blush. “You should see all the ones that didn’t turn out. But… thank you. It’s a new hobby of mine; it helps with the stress.”
“When did you take it up?”
“After the acci— um… about a year ago. I’ve been too busy to do much lately, but I’m hoping to get out more.” I itched to take some photos of him and his motorcycle, but now that I’d seen more of his smile, I really wanted to capture that. There was something about his mouth, something genuine and honest when he smiled. Not that I’d necessarily show the pictures to anyone… they’d be just for me.
Catching myself staring, I rubbed my nose. “Should we go?”
“You got everything?”
“Yeah.”
I locked up the house, and climbed on the bike behind Stone, feeling like I belonged there, wearing my black, leather jacket, and ankle boots. Elation rushed over me, and I couldn’t help smiling.
On the way back to his apartment, we stopped by a Mexican restaurant. Stone had ordered some food while waiting for me, and it was packed in a sturdy Styrofoam container and ready to go.
He placed it on the back of his motorcycle and fastened it down with a bungee cord. That didn’t leave a lot of room for me, but, since it gave me an excuse to plaster myself against him, I couldn’t complain. He didn’t seem to mind, either, but that was his problem, not mine.
Back at his apartment, he showed me the guest room, and I put my luggage inside and hung up my dress. He was on the phone when I came out, so I set the table and put the food out.
He paced back and forth in the living room, and I tried not to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help listening to his side of the conversation. From his tone, he didn’t sound happy, and I heard him say that staying in touch just wasn’t working for him. It hit me that he might be having an argument with a woman.
He’d mentioned a girlfriend earlier, but I thought he was bluffing. I knew he wasn’t married, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t in a relationship. Although, from his side of the conversation, it sounded like it was over. For some reason, that brought a smile to my lips. He ended the call and joined me in the kitchen.
“Everything okay?”
He glanced my way before sitting down. “I hope you like Mexican food.”
“Yeah, I do.” He really should have asked long before now, but obviously, he was deflecting. I let it go.
We ate in silence, but my nerves about going to the club and meeting more snake gang members got the best of me, so I couldn’t eat much. “Thanks for dinner. What time do you want to leave for the club?”
He checked his watch. “It’s just after seven-thirty. Let’s leave in about an hour.”
“Okay. After I clear this up, I’m going to settle into my room. Let me know if you need me.”
His mouth quirked. “I’ll clean up. Go take care of whatever you need to.”
Chapter 8
Stone
After clearing away her plate, Serenity hurried into her room to change. I wasn’t sure what she’d heard of my conversation with Aubree, but I wasn’t about to discuss it with Serenity.
Aubree kept calling me, even though I’d broken it off several weeks ago. She claimed she just wanted to stay friends, and that’s why she was keeping in touch, but it was starting to get on my nerves. What had I ever seen in her? Compared to this weird connection with Serenity, Aubree didn’t even register on the chart.
It reminded me of Serenity’s chat on the phone earlier. It sounded like someone was suing her, and it sounded personal. Maybe that’s why she’d taken this job. But what had she done to get sued? Whatever it was, it sounded like the other person was dragging things out.
I wanted to know what was going on. Not that I cared, but if it affected her job with me, it would be good to know. I shook my head, admitting to myself that, even though I didn’t want to care, I did.
After putting away our dishes, I slipped into my room and changed into a black dress shirt, making sure my usual shoulder holster and gun were in place before slipping on my black jacket.
A few minutes later, Serenity came out of her room wearing a sexy, red dress that took my breath away. Before I could say a word, she hurried into the bathroom and shut the door. Holy hell. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. How was I supposed to concentrate on the job with her looking like that? I was going to have to fight off every guy in the club before the night was over.