Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
I was nodding before she’d even finished her offer. “I’d like that.” That sounded way less pressure-y than getting coffee or something else. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea, and I nodded some more.
Then I remembered.
“Actually,” I dropped my voice to the tiniest whisper. “There’s something I need to tell you before we make plans.”
That made her nervous.
“I already told the elders, but—” I scrunched up my nose. “—you should know that women who spend a lot of time around me become pregnant. I told them to tell all of you, but I’m not sure they have.”
The woman, who had to be around my age, dropped into a crouch, one hand on the table, the other on the bench. Her eyes were wider than ever. Her voice so quiet I barely heard her. “It’s true?”
So people had been told. What a relief. I nodded.
Her eyes roamed my face, like she was searching for a lie or trying to confirm some other way that I was pulling her leg. After a moment, when the same waitress who had called her name did it again, a small smile came over her mouth that was somehow the brightest one of all of them. “We heard, but….”
“It’s true. I just need to throw the disclaimer out there. If you talk to anyone else about it, around the ages of when you can get pregnant, please tell them. I don’t want to wear a shirt with a warning sign that says Stay Back 50 Feet or Get Pregnant,” I told her with a small smile.
The concern disappeared. Phoebe looked happy. “I’ll spread the word, but that’s not… I don’t see anyone complaining about that.”
She hadn’t heard my neighbors in the past when they’d found out they were unexpectedly pregnant. Sienna’s excellent hearing, and our thin apartment walls, had kept us in a lot of loops. Some days, we’d sit on our couch and instead of watching TV, she would eavesdrop on the neighbors and repeat what was going on.
Dang it, I missed her again already.
“Thank you, Nina,” my hopefully-friend-in-the-near-future whispered. “Thank you,” she repeated, backing away as her name was called once more.
I hadn’t expected that, but it lifted my spirits to the freaking skies, maybe beyond.
And I’d forgotten all about Henri.
Through the window, I saw the two men were still out there. The other man was still talking, and Henri stood there like he might be listening, but he might also be contemplating murder. I ate a fry and watched him shake his head at whatever the blond was saying.
I ate more fries, taking a bite and then another of my BLT while the man kept going and going, and Henri got more visibly frustrated by the second. I swear his ears were turning red. When I was halfway through my fries, Henri said something that had the other man’s face going redder than his ears before the werewolf turned and came inside without a second glance.
He was definitely pissed when he shot a dirty look toward one of the waitresses—the blonde who had been making faces—before sliding into the booth.
Matti ate fries sometimes….
Pushing my plate across the table, I used my clean fork to scoop three onto Henri’s plate before pulling it back toward my side.
I kept my gaze away from him while I started eating again. He sighed after a minute, ate each of the fries, then picked up his utensils and started in on one of his two steaks. Nothing else. Neither of us said a word while we finished our food, and it wasn’t until he set his knife and fork down that I peeked at him.
I couldn’t help myself. “So that was the infamous Dominic?”
He sipped his water, his throat bobbing with the swallow. His cheek was tight again. “Yeah,” the fountain of information answered, gritting his teeth the whole time, the action saying a hell of a lot about what had happened out there.
Did I want to know? Of course I did, but it wasn’t my business, so I didn’t ask more intrusive questions. I’d already overused my needy card today. So instead, I folded my napkin into a little accordion while Phoebe brought the check. I put cash down, which got me a look from Henri, who hesitated while he alternated between me and the receipt. After a minute, he put his card down along with the cash.
“I’ll text you,” I told Phoebe after I’d typed in her number, which had been on the check, into my contacts.
“Okay,” she agreed with another shy smile. “See you, Henri.”
He nodded at her, then tipped his head at me. We got out of the booth and headed outside and got in my truck. I pulled onto the main street through town. Lobo Springs, my new home.