Page 98 of Love & Heart Braking

“You’re incredible,” I told her. “An absolutely amazing, kind, brave person. I’m honored to be your friend.”

More tears leaked from her green eyes. “Back at ya, girl.”

I stood and wobbled slightly. Oops. Must’ve sipped more than I thought. The flagon was empty, and I set it beside a rubbish bag for pick up in the morning. Returning to Soleil, I extended a hand down. “Now how about we do something to cheer you up. You can chase sprites in the park? Or we can find a late-night bakery?”

She wiped her face, then took my hand.

When Soleil was upright, she snapped her golden wings out, drawing the awed murmur of all the drunks in the vicinity who were in a state to be very impressed by such sparkling things. “I have an idea, but you’ll need to catch a ride with me.”

I’d flown with her plenty, but she wasn’t usually a few flagons deep. “Where abouts are we talking?”

She pressed a hand to her chest. “And ruin the surprise? How dare you.”

I cocked a brow.

“Nothing super bad.” She smirked. “It’ll be heaps of fun. You in?”

Most likely I’d regret this. But sticking together was how we’d got out of the gutter once.

I stepped closer to my best friend and hugged her athletic frame. “For you? Always.”

22

Loading more avocado onto a square of chocolate, I popped the gourmet treat into my mouth, then wandered into my wardrobe.

I heaved the tome out of the hiding place and placed it on my freshly made bed.

This girl had felt seedy all day—though not as bad as Soleil—but while sleep was high on my priority list after a day that dragged, reading this manual was higher.

I popped another avocado-laden square of chocolate into my mouth, then wiped my hands on the sleep shorts that were two sizes too small. I’d had them forever and they were the comfiest thing I owned, so I’d damn-well wear them if I wanted to, okay? The matching cami was also two sizes too small, but my boobs really didn’t fit into that one, so I’d shrugged into a comfy off-the-shoulder T-shirt instead.

Cross-legged on the bed, I worked the metal clasp open and turned through the pages. I’d go through the tome from cover to cover soon, but I wanted more on that metal arrow first.

Near the back, a faded drawing caught my eye.

A knock at the front door made me jump.

“Mars alive.” I released a shaking exhale and covered the tome, then crossed to look through the peephole.

I wrenched the door open and placed a hand on my hip. “Can I help you, Detective?”

An answering grin had started curving his lips, but it dropped more suddenly than Soleil’s flightpath last night. His eyes widened as he raked a gray gaze down my body.

Hmm, my berserker approved of this outfit, did he?

Good. Because I wasn’t ever throwing out these shorts. I pivoted and gave him the back view. “Come on in.”

Yep, half my ass was hanging out.

I glanced back to find he hadn’t moved. “Is there something wrong, Dev?”

He didn’t shift his focus. “You know exactly what’s wrong, you little minx.”

My lips twitched. “Oh, you mean this?” I slapped my ass, then padded to the bed, making sure to give him a great, swaying view as I crawled into the center again.

Devereaux was still in the doorway, and now his eyes were closed. Whispering something to himself, he walked in and closed the door, then took a seat on the couch.

“Why don’t you come closer?” I tilted my head.

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