Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 78142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
But tonight? I snarf down the burger as if I haven’t eaten in weeks. The sooner we’re both done, the sooner I can escort Dragon back to the door and end this unease.
Once I’m finished, I pick up my plate and take it over to the kitchen.
Dragon still has a few chips on his plate, but he makes no move to eat them. I return to the table and gesture to his plate. “Done?”
“Not quite.”
Crap.
“Okay. You want anything else? More chips?” I glance at his empty glass. “More water?”
He shakes his head slowly. “I’m good.”
God, what is with this guy? Every other man I know can eat an entire bag of potato chips in one sitting. Growing up with two brothers, I was lucky if I ever even got a chip on the rare occasions my mother brought any into the house. And they weren’t awkwardly invading someone’s personal space when they were doing so. But Dragon seems to have no qualms about how odd I find his presence. He makes no move to eat the last few chips.
There’s only one thing I can think of to fill the silence.
“Dessert, then? I have some ice cream in the freezer.”
Damn it, why did I just say that? He’ll probably take an hour to get through a bowl of ice cream.
“Not much of a sweet tooth,” he says.
I blink, slightly grateful for his rejection. “All right.” I walk back to the kitchen. “I’ll just clean up a little, then.”
“Yeah. Whatever.” He stares at his plate. “Pretend I’m not here.”
I wrinkle my brow. Seriously? He just said that?
I grab a scouring pad for the cast iron and get to work. With the water still running, I rinse the plates and load them in the dishwasher. When I turn off the faucet, a faint humming drifts toward me.
Interesting tune. Kind of sad, and not one I’ve heard before.
“What’s that?” I ask.
Dragon turns toward me. “What?”
“You’re humming.”
He lifts his eyebrows. “I was?”
“Yeah. Is this a new song the band is working on?”
“No.”
“It’s really beautiful. Sounds kind of…sad.”
“I’m afraid I don’t really know what you’re talking about.”
“You were definitely humming, Dragon.”
He frowns. “Yeah, I probably was. I fiddle around with tunes in my head, but none of them are good enough for the band.”
I take a few steps toward him. “Why would you say that?”
“Because Jesse and Cage are both musical geniuses. They write most of the music and lyrics. They’ve never asked for my input.”
“Have you offered your input?”
He shakes his head quickly. “Why would I? They both have degrees in music. I don’t even have—” He stops abruptly.
“You don’t even have what?”
“Nothing.” He rises. “The burger was great. What do I owe you?”
I drop my jaw. “You really didn’t just ask me that question.”
“Relax. I’m kidding. I appreciate the meal.”
For the love of God, what was I thinking, inviting him to eat with me? And what am I thinking now? This is all on me. I invited him for dinner. He simply came by to tell me I didn’t need to let him stay with me.
So why do I feel this strange obligation?
“Fine,” I say.
He stares ahead. “Fine what?”
I wave my hands. “You can stay here, okay? There’s plenty of room, and I’ll be at the office most of my waking hours anyway. So why not?”
He wrinkles his forehead. “Where is all this coming from?”
“You obviously think I’m some kind of stuck-up person who has a huge penthouse but doesn’t want to share.”
He furrows his brow. “You’ve got me all wrong, Diana.”
He’s right. I’m reading all kinds of things into this. I’ve just always hated it when people make assumptions about me based on my family’s wealth.
“I honestly just came by to let you know I’m in town,” he continues, “and to tell you that I have no intention of asking for—”
“Just stop it. I said you can stay.”
“I’ve already checked into my hotel. My stuff is all there.”
“Then come back tomorrow. You can move in then.”
“Diana—”
“Look. This will make my sister happy. It will make her new husband happy.”
“But it’s not going to make you happy.”
I blink for a few seconds before responding. “I’ll deal. Like I said, I’m starting my first real job as an architect on Monday. I need to make a good impression, which means I need to put in a lot of hours at the office. I’ll hardly be here.”
He shrugs. “All right.”
Seriously? He’s not even going to offer me a thank-you?
He walks to the door and then turns once again, meeting my gaze.
His eyes are beautiful—a gorgeous gold and green with long black lashes—but I’ve never seen them look happy.
And he should be happy now.
He’s sober, and his band is doing great things. They opened for Emerald Phoenix during the recent European tour, and even though Dragon was only present for one performance, he’s still a member of the band, and he’ll join them on future ventures. The tour was a smash, and Dragonlock is on their way.