Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
“I appreciate your attempts to save me from trouble, but let me remind you that I’m here of my own choosing. I can take care of myself. The problem is that you’re trying to jump into a world you know nothing about, and that’s gonna get you killed. So”—Sky paused and heaved a deep, cleansing breath—“move your ass and let me inside. Some of these muffins are still warm. Let’s eat and chat.”
Sky stepped forward, and Nolan wisely retreated, allowing him into his home. A tiny inward squeal might have echoed through Sky’s brain. He was finally in Nolan’s house! As Mad and the rest of his friends had stated on numerous occasions, Sky had been drooling over Nolan since the poor man moved into the neighborhood two years ago. But no matter how hard Sky tried, he couldn’t figure out how to make friends with him. Or even if he was straight.
That was a concern.
Both men and women had been visitors to Nolan’s place, but only one woman with short blond hair and a preference for dresses returned on a somewhat regular basis. A girlfriend? It was becoming a stronger possibility considering Nolan had yet to mention a sister.
He was going to need to be stealthy when it came to ferreting this information out of him.
Holding in all his squeals and giggles, Sky hurried inside before Nolan could come to his senses and kick him out.
Nolan’s house was a single-story with the front door opening directly into his living room, which, if he was being completely honest, was boring. White walls, a lumpy brown sofa that looked as if it had been inherited from his grandparents’ basement, and a battered coffee table covered in books, papers, and a couple of old fast-food cups. It wasn’t dirty, but it needed a good tidying.
“Sorry,” Nolan mumbled as he closed the door. “I wasn’t expecting a guest.”
“No problem. You’ve got bigger things on your mind than worrying about entertaining.”
Nolan stepped past him and threw him another skeptical glance. “I just put on a pot of coffee in the kitchen.” He led the way down the hall to the small kitchen that was made to feel even smaller with its dark-brown cabinets and dark countertop. Dirty dishes filled the sink, and there were more fast-food bags lying around.
Yep. This was all the proof he needed. Nolan was coming over for dinner at least once a week, if not more frequently. This man’s only vegetable intake was probably a potato, and that was limited to french-fry form. He needed to be introduced to a green bean or a freaking Brussels sprout.
“Sorry,” Nolan muttered again. He opened a cabinet and pulled out a pair of plain white mugs.
It was then that Sky realized he’d lost control of his smile and his expression had shifted into a scowl. That was bad. He didn’t want Nolan to feel bad about his home.
“No! Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m worried about your eating habits and whether you’re getting enough vegetables in your diet.”
Nolan snorted. “You sound like Jennifer.”
Sky’s heart lurched. The woman had a name. Jennifer. Should he hate it? Maybe he should hate that name. “Your…girlfriend?”
“Ha!” he barked out. “No, just a friend. Old friend. She complains I don’t eat anything healthy and wouldn’t know a vegetable that wasn’t first breaded or deep fried.”
Sky loved Jennifer! She was the best!
“Maybe you can come over for dinner. I love to cook, and I’m great with vegetables.”
Nolan picked the carafe up from the coffeemaker and held it as he stared at Sky over his shoulder. “You mean join you and Frank for dinner?”
With a choked laugh, Sky set his basket of muffins on the table. “No, Frank doesn’t have dinner with me. It would be only us.” Sky paused and replayed that in his head. Was he coming on too strong? Couldn’t be. He wasn’t wrapped around the poor, delicious man like he wanted to be—but still, Nolan was struggling with a missing brother and vampires and yes, apparently underworld minions that liked sandwiches were an issue, too. “Or we could invite my friends over. And Jennifer! A big dinner party. The weather’s turning nice. We could do a cookout.”
“Your witch friends?”
Sky turned his glare on Nolan as the man brought over two mugs of coffee. “If you’re going to have a problem with every little thing, you’ve seriously got no shot at finding your brother with the vampires. You need to lose this huffy attitude you’re working. Sure, this is a lot to take in, but you’ve gotta pull on your big-boy pants and adapt. I’m here. I’m not going to let you get hurt.”
Nolan grunted, and it seemed as if his shoulders relaxed a bit as he placed the mugs on the table. “Let me get some plates.”