Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 143382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 717(@200wpm)___ 574(@250wpm)___ 478(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 717(@200wpm)___ 574(@250wpm)___ 478(@300wpm)
“Do you need another dirty chai?” Harlow asked him.
“Yes. But carry on with your conversation. I can wait until you’re finished,” Byron answered.
Byron was always hyper-caffeinated, which meant hyper about always having caffeine. It was only four women discussing sexy nighties that slowed his roll with that.
Thus, I shot him a side eye.
Raye got started on his dirty chai.
Harlow took my hand and walked me away from Byron.
She kept hold of it as she said sweetly, “I think he’ll be worth the wait. And today is nearly halfway done, so tomorrow will be here before you know it.”
“I’m falling for this guy, Lolo,” I whispered.
Her eyes lit with happiness and her hand squeezed mine tight. “He’s a good guy. And he’s really into you. I love how he looks at you.”
My breath was coming funny when I asked, “How does he look at me?”
“Like you’re the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, and he can’t believe his luck.”
What?
Really?
Eric did that?
Super gorgeous Eric, ex-FBI guy, current generally badass PI?
Wow.
“Totally how he looks at you,” Luna confirmed as she squeezed by us to punch an order into the computer.
“See?” Harlow asked. “So it’s totally going to be worth the wait.”
No man kissed that well when he didn’t fuck just as well.
Okay. I didn’t know that for certain, because I’d never been kissed anywhere near as consummately as Eric kissed me.
I was just connecting the dots.
So, yeah.
I had a feeling I knew what was to come, and the wait seemed like torture.
But Harlow was right.
This was Eric.
We were building something, something pretty damned beautiful.
It’d be worth the wait.
Had I said how much I loved my besties?
Just to reiterate, I seriously loved my besties.
I gave Harlow’s hand a squeeze back and said, “Thanks, babe.”
Everyone jumped when we heard shouted, “Where’s the crazy coffee guy?”
We all turned in the direction of the shout, and I saw the guy who Tex snapped at about the sugar cookie syrup a couple of days before standing just in from the coffee cubby.
“He’s not here!” the guy yelled. He then stabbed a finger toward the coffee cubby. “That guy’s good, but he’s not the crazy coffee guy. No offense!” he shouted toward the cubby.
“None taken!” Otis shouted back.
The guy kept yelling. “But you can’t give him to us, take him away, give him back and then take him away again!”
“Chill, dude,” I ordered.
“You chill!” he screeched. “I want the crazy coffee guy back!”
“He’s moving to Phoenix. He has a wife, cats. They all need somewhere to lay their heads. He’s house hunting,” I lied. “Give him a chance to settle in, man. Yeesh.”
“So he’s gonna be back?” the guy asked.
I had no idea.
Though, I hoped so.
“Yes,” I told him.
“Promise?” he pushed.
“Promise,” Raye cut in. “Now go get your coffee from Otis. Tex will be back soon.”
“When?” the guy asked.
“Soon!” Luna snapped. “Go back to Otis. Get your coffee. And chill, sucka!”
The “sucka” was a good touch, and it worked.
The guy hung his head and moped back to the coffee cubby.
I moved to Raye. “Is Tex coming back?”
She nodded, a happy light glinting in her eye.
“Tito officially hired him. Though, he gets to make his own schedule, you know, just in case he has to go undercover at a moment’s notice,” Raye replied, then, in an afterthought, she added, “Or clandestinely meet with his arms dealers to replenish his supply of grenades.”
My day brightened.
I turned to Tito to see how he reacted to these goings-on, but he had his nose stuck in a book.
It was a Rock Chick book with a light-purple cover.
Not surprising, Tito had always had a quiet way with keeping his finger on the pulse.
Anyway, somebody needed to do the research, and I was back and forth on it. But when it came to those books, I was leaning toward that somebody not being me.
I got to work, and it was just after the lunch rush when they walked in.
Daisy.
With Stella Gunn.
Stella showing caused more than a mild sensation, and for once, it wasn’t because of the addition of Daisy. Even if Daisy was wearing a track suit comprised of shimmery, pale-pink velour joggers and a matching cropped jacket that was unzipped to the point Mr. Shithead might give us a limitless number of questions he’d answer for an entire year just for a glance. This was bedazzled with diamante around the waistband of the joggers and at the wrists of the jacket.
Oh, she also had sequined, pink and purple platform sneakers on her feet.
But Stella outshone her because Stella was mega-famous, and it didn’t hurt she was also mega-gorgeous.
Totally got why Eric decided to date her as his cover.
One didn’t normally hang at a kickass coffee/cocktail/fusion food joint and have one of the most celebrated musicians in history casually stroll in.
Therefore, I, along with everyone in the joint, only had eyes for Stella.