Page 46 of Bones

Here.

She put the other boot on and transferred stuff into one bag that she carried inside while I put the rest in the back seat of the truck’s cab.

When she came out a few minutes later, she’d changed into the black leggings, a fitted gray tee, and a black and blue flannel. The neckline might’ve covered everything, but the fit of the top showed her body that she’d hidden under her flowy dress and then my clothes.

I wasn’t sure which I liked better… The tightness of the clothes or the fact she’d grabbed a flannel that matched the one I wore.

The closer she got, the more I was certain it was both.

Her steps were bouncy, and she grinned at me as she neared. When I opened the door for her, she handed me the bag that held my clothes and climbed in, giving me a quick glimpse of her ass.

Definitely both.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE NEXT CHALLENGE IS A DOOZY

DEKE

“Wait, whoa. Back up andrun me over again—I mean, run that by me again,” Kevin ordered, sitting forward in the chair across my desk until I thought he’d slump to the floor.

When we’d arrived at Black Horse, I’d belatedly remembered the books and had dug through the bags to offer them to Aurora since it was going to be a boring as hell day. And then I’d vowed to buy her every book in the world at her squeak of delight. She’d scanned them before grabbing the first one that I’d grabbed from the shelves.

Based on her eagerness, I’d thought she would dive right in, but she’d sat in the office with me to watch as I worked. The clerical shit was the worst part of my job, but she’d seemed fascinated as I’d checked order forms and invoices to see why half the delivery was missing. And then she’d listened while I chewed out our distributor—which meant I was a helluva lot nicer to him than I normally would’ve been for such a colossal fuckup.

Talking to Black Horse’s general manager wasn’t something I could do in front of her without bringing up a million questions I wasn’t ready to answer. Since the restaurant wouldn’t open until late afternoon, I’d set her up in a booth with her book and a hot chocolate.

If her shocked reaction to breakfast earlier hadn’t clued me in, the one she had to the drink did it.

Aurora wasnotused to people doing shit for her.

Something as simple as mixing a packet of cocoa with steamed milk had made her eyes widen like I’d journeyed across the world to harvest and produce the powder before milking a rare cow—a task I would do if it would make her smile. I enjoyed cooking for her. The happy little noises she made and the way her eyes drifted closed filled the hollowness in me more than the countless number of people who’d visited my restaurants combined.

What I didn’t enjoy was the flood of guilt that filled her eyes or the way she got antsy like sheneededto do something in return. And I straight up fucking hated the nervous way she tugged on the ends of her hair.

Her reaction was another item in the long list of mysteries surrounding my mate. One I intended to straighten out soon because I didn’t want my fulfillment to come at the expense of her comfort.

It was a task that would be a lot easier if I wasn’t working twelve or more hours a day, which was why I was talking to Kevin.

I dragged my eyes from the office door to meet his shocked ones as I repeated, “I’m stepping back.”

It was more absolute than my initial plan to just cut my hours, but once the words were out, it felt as right as having Aurora close.

“Why? What happens to Black Horse? What’s going on?” He didn’t give me the chance to answer and kept talking as he roughly rubbed his eyes. “If this is about me calling you in on your day off, my bad, man. But half the damn order was in the wind, and no offense, you’re a scary motherfucker. I knew you’d get the results quicker than I could. And seeing as they’re on their way here with the missing itemsandsome seasonal veg for the inconvenience, I was right. But it’s handled now. You can go. Take tomorrow off. Hell, take a few days off.” He opened his eyes. “I mean, it’s your restaurant, so you can do whatever you want anyway…” Collapsing against the seat, he let out a long-suffering sigh. “Stepping back?”

“I told you from the beginning this would happen.”

Just as I’d told every other manager I’d employed over the years.

Staying in one place for too long was impossible. Eventually, people noticed that as they aged, I continued looking in my mid-thirties. The excuse of good genes and healthy living only got me so far before it was time to move on.

New location.

New name.

New style, new hair, new tattoos.

I still had a while until it reached that point, but Aurora’s arrival changed my timeline.

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