Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 58808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
“What? Do they look bad?” She puts honey in front of me instead of syrup. “I tried,” she says self-consciously. And it’s the first time I’ve seen her nervous around me. I smile and pick up the fork she put down. Cutting the thin, misshapen pancake, I take a bite. It tastes like crap, but I smile and swallow when I look up at her hopeful face.
Fuck.
That was like eating horse shit.
She beams and goes back to the stove to make more. I put the fork down and shake my head, reaching for the water and drinking it to get rid of the aftertaste that is left in my mouth.
“I’ve been thinking…” she starts, brushing her hair over her shoulder.
“Yes?”
“If I come back, we go back to our old deal. New bags.”
“You have a closet full of bags. Literally.”
“And?” She flips her pancake to the plate and sits down beside me. “Are you judging my bags?”
“Oh, hell no.” I smile.
“Good. Because if you judge my bags, you have to go. That’s not negotiable.” I lean over and bite her pancake from her fork. “Hey, that was mine.” She looks at my plate. “You haven’t even finished yours.” She cuts again and forks a piece, and before I can snatch it, she puts it in her mouth and starts to chew. Her mouth moves, and I see the shock on her face. She isn’t sure what she’s tasting then she spits it out.
“You—”
“Yes?”
“You liked that?” she asks, staring at my plate. I cut another piece, put it in my mouth, and chew. “That’s disgusting. How could you?”
“It’s great,” I say, mouth full of food.
“Grayson, tell me the truth.”
“You can have all the bags you want. You still have my credit card. It’s all yours,” I tell her.
Her eyes go wide. “No, that card is yours. I just used it to piss you off.”
“I gave it to you to use. And keep,” I inform her. “I have another. Did you even notice the name on the card?”
She raises a brow, gets up, and walks to her purse, pulling the card out of her wallet. Her head whips in my direction when she sees her name on it. “When did you do this?” She gasps.
I shrug. “What does it matter? It’s yours. Your spending limit is endless.”
“You shouldn’t tell a woman who has never had access to any sort of money for most her life that her spending limit is endless.” She winks, putting it back. “But thank you.”
A knock comes on the door, and she gets up to answer it as my stomach starts turning. “Are you okay?” Avani asks. She pulls open the door to see Zuko standing there. His eyes find me and then lock on Avani.
“What is wrong with you?” Zuko says.
I push past him and straight out the door, throwing up the contents of my stomach onto the lawn. I hear Zuko’s soft laugh as Avani mutters under her breath.
“You trying to kill him already?” Zuko asks.
“It was the pancakes, wasn’t it?” she asks sullenly.
“Pancakes? Fuck, you are trying to kill him. You sure you want this one around?” Zuko asks as I look over my shoulder, wiping my mouth.
Zuko has his thumb pointing to Avani, who is trying to contain her laugh.
“I told you I couldn’t cook. You said it was good,” Avani mumbles.
“Newsflash, it wasn’t,” Zuko adds.
I shake my head, realizing too late that it was a mistake when I heave again.
“Fuck, let me find something,” Avani says, running back inside.
“I’m not sure you should take it. Whatever she gives you might kill you.” Zuko chuckles.
“Shut up,” I grumble as I straighten. Grayson’s trying to hide his smirk, but it’s not working. “Why are you even here?”
“We had some business to attend to in the city.”
I wipe my mouth before I speak again. “So, you killed someone. Will I see this one on the news?”
“No, do you ever?” He winks. That’s true. Somehow, they are like magicians in what they do. It’s dark and twisted, and that’s saying something coming from me. Because I’m dark and twisted on the inside, it’s just that they are next level. I guess I had to learn it from somewhere.
“We got the bodies out before the police arrived. Wanted you to know that.”
“Thanks,” I reply, and he nods as Avani walks out with a glass.
“I wouldn’t drink that. She’s already tried poisoning you with food,” he tosses out as he walks off.
“I didn’t mean to poison you,” she whispers, looking up at me adorably. She actually feels bad. “You shouldn’t have eaten it.”
“You cooked for me.”
She shrugs. “Yeah, I tried. And I almost killed you.”
I brush her off and shake my head. “No, you didn’t. All is good.” Just as the last word leaves my mouth, I’m bending over and throwing up again.