Page 58 of Hallow Hill at Halloween: Part Two

“Rita, my darling, I canneverguess what you’re thinking. That game will keep me entertained for the rest of our lives.”

“Good to know. All I have to do to keep you is be unpredictable.” He chuckled. “If Kagan was like a, um, prototype? She might have thought she could do better temperament-wise?” Keir gave no hint whether I was hot or cold. My mind was racing through possibilities. “So, she decided to try again, but she overcompensated and made a party boy.” Keir tried not to give anything away, but I saw the light in hiseyes burn just a bit brighter, which probably meant I was on the right track. “Then Goldilocks tried again and made a sephalian who’s demeanor and personality is juuuuuuuuust right for an ideal enforcer.”

He pulled me closer, but neither confirmed nor denied.

“Am I right?” I asked.

“Asked and answered already. I don’t know. For certain. But I would never want your speculation to reach my brothers’ ears.”

“I would never…!” I stopped. “Keir, they have to have reached the same conclusion.”

He shrugged. “If they have, it’s best left unspoken.”

“Agree. Wholeheartedly. But here’s another question. Why do you think Maeve, um…?”

“Kept the first two tries?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe they aren’t exactly what she had in mind, but maybe she was still proud of them.”

“Right. I can see that, but what about your brothers? It can’t be satisfying to spend eons without a purpose.” Keir rolled onto his back so that he was looking at the ceiling. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to imagine life from their perspective. Unfortunately, I’m seeing what you’re saying.” He turned his head so that he was looking at me. “They need jobs.”

“Maybe. At least you might ask if they’re interested in jobs. But you should give that some thought before you ask.”

“You mean line something up.”

“Maybe ask Max if the Bureau has something suitable for a couple of incredibly good-looking sephalien?”

His brow creased between his eyebrows. “You think they’re good looking?”

I laughed then remembered how awful my breath must be. I scooted backward and, as I was rolling out of bed, I said, “I never wanted you to find out that I think they’re soooo much prettier than you.” I tried sprinting to the bathroom, but thinking I could move faster than my spouse was beyond ludicrous.

He caught me from behind, wrapped his arms around me, lifted me up so that my ears were level with his mouth and said, “Take it back.”

“I’ll think about it.” I didn’t want to surrender to soon. It felt too good to be wrapped in his warmth.

“Next come tickles.”

Oh no. The dreaded tickling. “Alright. Alright. You don’t just have the best personality. You’re definitely the best looking.” It was a lie, and he knew it. The differences between the three were internal, not external.

“Don’t forget it,” he said. “You’re mine, mine, mine.”

“I am yours, yours, yours. And, I think Kagan may be taken, or at least on the way to being taken.”

Keir set me down. “I don’t get it. How could anybody be interested in Esmerelda? If she was the last woman on earth even.”

“Love is no respecter of persons.”

“Is that a quote?”

“Yes. It’s what my dad said when I told him I was marrying Cole.”

“I would say it’s a shame you didn’t pay attention, but I can’t.”

“Why?”

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