Page 113 of Whispers and Wildfire

“I do.” He caressed my cheek with his thumb. “Maybe I’m crazy, but there’s no one like you. And let’s be honest, we can’t seem to avoid each other. This was probably inevitable.”

“Probably. All right, Luke Haven. Let’s give this a real try.”

I settled against him, and he tightened his arm around me. And for the second time since I’d moved back to Tilikum, it felt like I was home.

CHAPTER 26

Luke

Openingthe door to the Timberbeast, I gestured for Melanie to go ahead of me. With a little twitch of her lips, she stepped inside. I walked in behind her and immediately touched her lower back as my eyes swept the bar, ready to level every guy in there with a hard glare.

Don’t even think about it, assholes. She’s mine.

Rock music played in the background, Rocco was tending bar, and the place was busy, especially for a weeknight. It seemed like the heat was getting to everybody. Looked like we weren’t the only ones who thought a cold drink sounded good.

Garrett and Harper were at a table together, sitting on one side rather than across from each other. Harper waved, so we veered in their direction.

“I don’t want to alarm anyone, but you seem to be missing a baby,” I said.

“I know, I feel so naked without her,” Harper said.

Garrett put his arm around Harper’s shoulders. “Mom’s at our place watching her for a couple hours.”

“And Owen is home too, so I know everything is fine,”Harper said, like she was trying to convince herself. “Do you want to sit down?”

“We don’t want to interrupt your date night,” Melanie said.

“I don’t mind.” Harper glanced up at Garrett. “Do you mind?”

He shook his head. “No. We have to head home soon anyway. Have a seat.”

The fact that I was there with Melanie—and obviouslywithMelanie—didn’t faze them. Since our second first date, word had spread through my family that Melanie and I were together. I’d expected some degree of concern, but no one seemed to think it was weird. My brothers had given me crap, of course. But that was their job.

Melanie took a seat, and I went to the bar to get us drinks. I brought them to the table and sat next to her, then scooted her closer and draped my arm over the back of her chair.

“How is the little one?” Melanie asked. “I’m sorry I can’t remember her name, but your family has a lot of baby girls.”

“Isla,” Harper said with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. She’s fine. She had a bit of a cold, but she got over it, and she’s been sleeping a lot better. Which is good for everyone.”

“Especially you.” Garrett leaned over and kissed her temple.

“So have you started working on the cartoon again?” Harper asked. “It was a cartoon series you were waiting on, right? The one with the evil queen?”

“Wait, what?” I asked. “What cartoon?”

“It’s calledEnchanted Hollow,” Melanie said.

“That’s the job you’ve been waiting for?” No way. “The cartoon with the evil queen? The one with the voice?”

She hesitated, like she wasn’t sure what I was getting at. “What voice? Do you mean my voice? Because if so, yes, it’s my voice. Have you seen it?”

“Yeah, my nieces and nephews were watching it one timewhen I was over there,” Luke said. “I heard the voice, and… that was you?”

“If it was Queen Ione you heard, yes, it was me.”

I shook my head slowly. “That’s so wild.”

“Can you do the voice?” Harper asked. “Sorry if that’s weird. I just realized I probably shouldn’t have asked that out loud. But I’m so curious.”

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