Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Chapter
Eleven
My eyes widen and I feel fire flicker around my fingers. She can’t cross the warding. She is a demon! I knew it and I—
“We forgot the wine,” she says, voice drifting up through the open windows. “It’s in the car.”
“Shit, you’re right.” Harrison pulls his hand out of hers, kisses her cheek, and jogs back to his car. Saanvi inches forward, walking over the invisible line of protection. Hunter bumps me with his nose in a very I told you so move.
“I know,” I whisper to him, rolling my eyes at myself. I’m on edge, and I need to chill. Closing my eyes, I take a few deep breaths, waiting for Harry to make it to the door before I open it. Hunter, playing the part of regular dog, wags his tail and jumps up excitedly when Harrison comes into the house. “Hi,” I say, standing to the side to welcome them in. Hunter settles down and Harrison gives me the bottle of wine.
“You must be Anora,” Saanvi starts, holding out her hand to shake.
“And you’re the famous Saanvi,” I reply with a smile. “This is Hunter. He’s really friendly.”
“Aww, I love dogs.” Saanvi crouches down, earning bonus points from me as she scratches under Hunter’s chin. I catch Harrison’s eye and give him a tiny nod of approval.
“Is dinner ready?” Harrison asks, taking off his shoes. “I’m starving.”
“Yeah, come in.” I wave them into the dining room and introduce Saanvi to Ethan and Nik. I tend to overthink and, therefore, over explain. It’s not unusual to have a roommate or just let a friend crash with you for a while and I highly doubt Saanvi is going to press Nik for details. Though knowing him, he’ll tell her the truth which is less believable than anything I can come up with.
“Your house is beautiful,” Saanvi tells me as I bring the last dish out of the kitchen and set it on the table. “Harrison told me it’s been in your family for a while?”
“Yeah, it has.” I take my seat next to Ethan. “Our great-great grandma bought it when she moved here from the east coast. Then her daughter—my great aunt—inherited it and now it’s mine.”
“Why did you get the short end of the stick?” Saanvi jokes, playfully poking Harrison.
“Estelle was quite gifted with the power of foresight,” Nik starts. “I’m sure she saw this place becoming a bachelor pad if Harry got it.”
Saanvi laughs, thinking he’s joking. “I can see that. You’d have this place be all white and gray with stark, modern furniture.” She looks around again. “You’ve done a really nice job updating but keeping the house original.”
“Thanks, but I can’t take too much credit,” I admit. “It went through a renovation before we moved in. I’ll give you a tour after dinner.”
Saanvi smiles. “I’d love that.” She looks at Harrison, who gives her an encouraging nod. “And the barn if it’s not too much trouble. I’d love to meet your horses.”
“Asking Anora to show you the horses is like opening Pandora’s Box,” Ethan teases, turning so he can look at me. My stomach flutters when his eyes meet mine. “I do admire her passion. It crosses over into other areas.” He raises his eyebrows and flashes a coy smirk. God, I love this man so much.
I spoon a helping of the vegetarian lasagna Nik made onto my plate alongside an even bigger serving of sautéed vegetables. We eat as we talk, getting to know Saanvi a little better. She transferred to Chicago for work as a software developer a year and a half ago and had been living with her aunt and cousin in California before that. Harry met her through work and went out a few times with mutual work friends a few times before he took her on their first date. She hasn’t raised any demonic red flags—yet—and Hunter hasn’t been able to sense anything off about her either.
“The blood doesn’t bother you?” she asks, reaching for her wine glass, after confessing she’d wanted to be a veterinarian but passed out the first time she saw a dog come into the clinic with a large open wound.
“No,” I reply with a shake of my head. “I loved assisting during surgeries. Honestly, I think I can speak for everyone in the vet-field to say we’re bothered more by the owners than anything else. I lost count of how many times I’d been screamed at because someone didn’t bring their animal in soon enough for treatment or if they couldn’t afford to pay for medication.”
“Ugh, that sounds awful. Makes me glad I work alone in an office on a computer that only talks back when I tell it to.”
I laugh and open my mouth to reply when I suddenly pick up the smell of cigarette smoke. “Did we leave something in the oven?” I turn my head and inhale. Whatever that is, it’s not burned food but the very distinct smell of cigarettes. With the temps dropping as soon as the sun goes down, we already closed all the windows in the house and, even if someone were out on the road, Hunter would be able to sense them.