Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Yeah, I’d have to agree with you.” I playfully looked around too and actually wasn’t surprised to see a few people standing across the street.
Nosy fuckers.
But with human senses, Stefan hadn’t noticed them, so I smiled and nodded toward where the noise was coming from. “You ready? I happen to know that a certain grumpy…guy is going to be in attendance tonight.”
His dramatic groan made me laugh. “You’re not the only one who’s been warned off.”
Nearly every visitor I’d gotten lately reminded me that Boyd had a thing for the librarian, so I had to stay in my own lane. The descriptions of what they thought I would be doing varied from the confusing to the ridiculous, but everyone was convinced Boyd would get Stefan and that was that.
And I had to admit…they’d obviously been right.
There was definitely something between the two men if Boyd would get off his ass and stake his claim.
“Let’s go in before I die of embarrassment in the parking lot.” The little librarian took a breath and turned back toward the main room, but his gumption quickly began to fade at the idea of actually having to move his feet.
He looked like he needed a push, so I tried to look reassuring as I followed him. “You’ve got it, cutie. And don’t look now, but you’ve got company.”
“What do I do?” His startled expression made it seem like a legitimate question, so I answered him seriously.
“You talk to people. Hang out and see if something catches your attention. Have a snack. Just explore. There’s no right or wrong.” My overly simplistic answer had him nodding, though, so I thought I’d done pretty well.
“I like snacks.” Offering up random information was better than panic, so I smiled and tried to encourage him.
“Then make Kenzie very happy by asking for a piece of his cake and that will go a long way in helping you make a few more friends.” I’d have liked to give him another boost of confidence, but Boyd was glaring at me like he was planning where to hide my body once he killed me. “The grump is incoming and looks kind of jealous if you ask me.”
Giving Stefan a wink just to drive the grumpy accountant insane, I stepped back and headed off to find anywhere else to be, just in case.
Fucking with the jealous dragon was not my goal, even though I wasn’t sure why I was at the party. The little I was interested in always seemed to be in his own world and never looked twice at me, and the grump I was also drawn to wasn’t much better.
But at least he knew there was a spark between us…not that he was overly pleased with the situation.
Yep, there he was, glares and everything.
Hmm, I was starting to see why Lorne never looked twice at either of us. We were probably giving off the most conflicting signals and fuck only knew what he’d been told by our wonderfully nosy neighbors.
And Carrick’s wonderfully cheerful disposition was probably a great help.
“You know, if you keep frowning, your face is going to stick like that.” Walking up beside him, I did what I did best…fuck with him. “Wait. It already has. I’m sorry.”
Rolling his eyes, he went from scanning the room to glaring at me. “I’m here because I was threatened.”
That was new.
“Groceries? Post office? Oh, or fucking with your garden again?” Those were the top three that everyone had used in the past but he shook his head.
“Landing on my house and setting my favorite tree on fire.” Carrick didn’t say who’d done it, but he pissed off half the town on a regular basis, so it could’ve been anyone.
“That was a good threat. They must’ve really wanted you to come play.” Yep, someone had not thought their plan through.
“I don’t play.” His clipped response and dry tone made that clear.
Carrick was not a Daddy and I wasn’t sure anyone at the party was interested in his love of floggers and paddles.
Anyone who said that mages didn’t have hoards was blind.
Their hoards were just weird.
“You just don’t play like this.” Nodding toward tables filled with coloring books and cake, I wasn’t sure what to say about Lorne’s mess of beads.
If I hadn’t known what his hoard was already, I’d have thought it was craft supplies.
Carrick’s scoff was so pretentious it made me want to laugh. “I have no desire to play with random littles who don’t give me the time of day in real life.”
He didn’t seem to understand his attitude was the problem standing between him and the subs in town. However, considering there seemed to be more littles than traditional subs in the area, smiling probably wouldn’t have helped.
And our slightly odd dynamic probably didn’t help either.
Oh, and I couldn’t forget that our mate seemed to be the sparkly little with his head in the clouds.