Page 45 of The Hitman and the Psychic

“Okay.” I hesitated, but decided that it was best to move on. “So, I guess it’s settled?”

“Yup. Tomorrow at five, right?” At my nod, he set his coffee mug in the sink. “Then let’s plan on it.”

I heaved out a breath and shook my head. “Okay.” Sexy Stone was officially coming with me to a family gathering. What had I gotten myself into?

“You ready to go?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Good.” He stepped down the hall to the laundry room, and I quickly followed. We slipped out the door into the hall, and I waited while he locked up. After that, we trailed down the staircase to the lower floor before getting on the elevator and taking it down to the parking level.

It was on the tip of my tongue to question his sanity about going to the party with me. He said he didn’t want me to disappoint my niece, but it seemed like there was more to it than that. But what? He certainly couldn’t be interested in meeting my family, right? Damn! This was going to be the worst. Awkward didn’t even come close.Now I really needed to figure this out before then. How would I even explain who he was?

We made it to the bike, and I slipped my gloves on before taking the helmet. It wasn’t any easier to get the strap snapped together this time, and it took me a couple of tries before I got it done.

As I climbed on the bike behind Stone, butterflies rose in my stomach. I wrapped my arms around him and closed my eyes to savor the moment, grateful he couldn’t see my face. Why did I like this so much? It wasn’t just the bike. I liked wrapping my arms around him because it felt amazing. It was the one time I could touch him without needing an excuse.

Of course, it also distracted me from the discomfort of the burn on my butt, so why not enjoy it? Oh, crap. A physical pain gnawed in my chest to realize that once we figured out who was after him, my riding days would be over. Pushing that depressing thought away, I squeezed Stone a little tighter.

We exited the parking garage, and the butterflies began to dance through my chest. Yup… I was totally addicted, so no matter what the future held, I’d take this moment and enjoy it.

Several minutes later, we pulled off the street into a strip mall on the south end of town. We parked in front of a game store with all kinds of video game posters in the windows.

Before heading into the store, Stone caught my gaze. “Just a heads up… they won’t be happy to see me, so watch my back, okay?”

My eyes widened. “Really? What do you think they’ll do?”

“Depends on who’s there. Just don’t shoot me.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you teasing me?”

His lips twisted. “Maybe a little.” With a lopsided grin that did funny things to my stomach, he pulled the door open and motioned me to go in first.

I rolled my eyes and hurried inside the store. A chime sounded, and the man at the counter glanced up. His smile faltered as he caught Stone coming in behind me.

“Uh… hey, Stone. Didn’t think I’d see you for a while. What can I do for you?”

Stone stalked to the counter, a friendly smile on his face. It seemed to scare the guy even more. “We came to find a game for Sen.”

He motioned toward me and winked. My mouth dropped open. Not only had he remembered my nickname, but I loved how it sounded when he said it. Oh jeez, could it get any worse?

“She’s real interested in the…” He glanced my way. “What game was it again?”

Since I had no idea, I glanced at the games on display. “It was this one.” I picked one of them up and smiled at him, surprised by how expensive it was. I turned to the manager. “Stone’s buying it for me. Isn’t that sweet?” Before he could answer, I held out my hand to shake his. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh…” He quickly shook my hand. “I’m Grady.”

“Nice to meet you, Grady.” Touching him had given me a quick flash of a video game cover. I had no idea what that meant, so I glanced around the store, hoping to find it.

With shaky fingers, he grabbed the video game I’d pointed to and began to ring it up. “Is there anything else you need?”

I swallowed. “Well, I’m not sure that’s the only one I want, but I can’t remember what the other one is called.” I chewed on my bottom lip and continued to glance at the games. “Is there one that has a man fighting on the front?”

Grady looked at me like I was nuts. “Can you be more specific? I mean… look around… most of them have someone fighting on the cover.”

“Oh! Right.” I chuckled. “This one is for my… nephew, um…” I closed my eyes, trying to picture the game I saw in my vision. “I think it’s actually got a tank on it.”

Grady’s eyes widened. “Uh… sure. We might have a few like that.” He motioned toward the back wall. “They’re back there.”

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