Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Call Selene if you need something
Other than a cell phone number and a four-digit code below it, that was all that was written on it. Right beside the paper, he’d left what I was pretty sure was a house key, what definitely was his car key, and the same card he’d let me use to buy my laptop.
Had he made his decision about continuing to be The Defender? Was he back on duty? How long would he be gone? Where was he going? Last night, we hadn’t talked about what it meant that he was able to fly again, and we’d laid on his bed and talked for a while, mostly about his secret comic book career.
That sneaky son of a bitch. Of course he’d told me the truth in the most disbelieving way.
I really admired him.
Too much, and that made me mad.
We were both skirting around the vision thing again, and I damn well knew it. I was going to keep doing it too. So was he, from the feel of it.
He liked me as a friend. He liked my boobs, but so did random strangers. Him staying in my life in a positive way was the most important thing, and I wouldn’t let myself forget it.
Because in what universe would a man like him end up with someone like me?
I folded the note and slipped it into my pocket. His handwriting was scribbly, and it made me smile that there was one thing he wasn’t good at. I could make fun of him later and remind him about that time he’d lost at the carnival over and over again.
It was while I was thinking about that, that a knock came from the front door.
My first thought was that I shouldn’t answer, but then I remembered where I was. In the safest place I could be. But just in case, I grabbed my phone and pulled my new multi-tool out of the back pocket of my jeans as I crept toward the front door just as another knock rattled it. I flipped the sharp blade out.
My skin prickled suddenly. A strong buzz shot through my spine. And I felt it.
Oh boy. I didn’t need to use the peephole to know who it was. I flipped the blade back into place and put my multi-tool in my pocket. I opened the door, already mentally bracing myself for the force of nature on the other side.
I wasn’t disappointed.
Standing there, holding a cane with a big red rock that might or might not be a ruby, dressed in a simple cream button-up shirt and navy slacks, was Alex’s grandma.
At her side, in overalls, was a little blonde girl with her hair tied up in buns on each side of her head. She was beaming, holding a board game in her hands. “Hi!” she greeted me.
I hadn’t seen this coming. I smiled at her. “Hi, Asami.” Then I held my breath and gave the other woman the same kind of smile. “Good morning.”
“Hug?” the little girl asked, setting her game on the floor.
Oh. I dropped into a crouch and wrapped my arms around her, feeling hers go around me and—
“Oh shit.” A grunt slipped through my lips as she hugged me back. Tight. Really fucking tight.
Too fucking tight.
“Careful,” the scary one said at the same time Asami’s hold loosened.
“Sorry!” she apologized, dropping her arms instantly.
“We’re still learning our strength, aren’t we, Asami?” the grandmother asked, sounding stern.
“Sorry, Gracie.” Her face screwed up into the purest form of apology.
If the comment about carrying a tractor hadn’t been proof enough, here it was. Wow. This tiny thing was amazing.
I held my arms out again. “It’s okay,” I assured her, a sucker for that bright face. “Want to try one more time?”
Oh, she looked happy, and so, so gently, those little arms went around me, hugging me back just perfectly. We smiled at each other when I pulled back and slowly stood to face Alex’s grandmother. She tipped her head to the side, and I recognized that expression. Up on my tiptoes, I leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
My lips stung afterward, and it took just about everything in me to keep my expression even.
“Come in,” I said, like the house was mine.
The older woman went in first, then Asami, and when I started to push the heavy door closed, she helped me… and I knew I didn’t imagine how much easier it had been.
By the time we faced forward, Grandmother was halfway to the kitchen.
The little girl slipped her hand through mine and tugged me to follow.
In the kitchen, I gave Asami a glass of apple juice, made Grandmother a cup of tea—she told me where to find it before I even had a chance to wonder—and refilled my own glass with water. While I did that, she set up Candy Land on the table. I had to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth, trying to get used to the way the woman made me feel as I took a seat too.