Page 38 of Rock Pucking Bottom

I tried to control my impulse to shift and just take Dino down by the most violent means possible. Only thing stopping me from doing that was the fact that I would scare Emmy to death and prove her right that I was nothing but a horror movie monster.

"Settle, Eoghan. Just bring him inside."

She then pushed me out the door. Trying not to be a raging asshole, I yelled out, "Dino, you're lucky I'm in a good mood. Come inside now if you want to visit, but if you keep lurking, I'll kick your ass."

I went back into the house and slammed the door. Dino could come in when he was ready.

Emmy was pulling out the venison steaks that were thawing in the sink. I wrapped my arms around her waist and said, "Let me make dinner. I make a mean Venison stew."

Dino came in, "It's bloody brilliant. I would let him make it. Can I invite Theo over?"

I turned and pointed at Dino. "You're lucky that she said to let you in."

Emmy also turned and put a hand on my shoulder. "Easy there, killer. I'll let you make dinner, but you have to be nice to your friends. Go ahead and invite Theo."

I sighed, but Emmy was right. I should ease up on Dino and let him invite his boyfriend over. Theo just did me a huge solid by getting me a good deal by the Legacy. But I was pissed off about him potentially scaring her.

Instead, I focused on gathering up the ingredients for my venison stew. I could get a little anal about the mise en place. Besides, chopping up the mushrooms, carrots and onions would give me something to do with my hands to cool off.

After pulling out all the spices from the cabinet, I went to the garage to grab a stout from my beer fridge. Dino followed me. I was about ready to ask if he wanted a beer, but opening the door was the biggest wha-wha moment in a long time.

All my beers were gone. It wasn't me, since I didn't drink myself into oblivion until I moved to Canada.

I turned towards Dino and squinted my eyes. "Did you or Theo get rid of my beer?"

Dino put his hands up in the air and said, "Wasn't us. I was hoping to get one since you always had good taste. Although it's good to know that you've been staying clean."

I didn't know if I should scream or sigh at my friend. I'd been home a couple days; did he think I couldn't control myself?

"But dozens of beers just don't walk out of a house. Now I'm short a key ingredient for my stew." I growled.

Dino was already on his phone.

"Theo. Bring over some stout. No, he's not drinking any. Two are for us, and one is for the meal." I held up two fingers up and Dino corrected himself. "Make that two for his stew. Thank you, Luv."

I heard Theo say, "Love you too."

Yet again, I found myself jealous of all the mated couples. If only I knew if Emmy and I were fated mates.

Chapter 33

Emmy

ThetriptoMinneapoliswas so much fun. I loved to see how much more relaxed Eoghan was with his friends around here. It was clear he could be himself, thanks to that familiarity.

With the trip winding down, I was packing my suitcase. Eoghan came up and wrapped his arms around my body. He kissed my ear and whispered, "Up for a trip to the library?"

That was such a surprise. "Sure. What for?"

"You'll see, but it's something that I'll think you'll like."

He had a wicked grin on his face, but his fingers interlaced with mine. He pulled me down to the car. We drove a short way to the library.

It looked like a typical, albeit very new, local library. As we worked our way through the book stacks and downstairs to the basement, I got more and more curious why we were here in the first place.

Won't lie. I loved a man on a mission, and he was on a mission right now. He wanted to show me something here.

We stopped at one of those secure metal doors with a biometric reader next to the handle. Eoghan punched in a code and then put his thumb to the scanner before the door unlocked.

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