Page 57 of Sunrise

“I’m serious,” she eventually says. “I want to listen to something new.”

“You could have texted.”

“Like I said…” She doesn’t falter. “I missed you.”

No one misses me. Ever. Just once in my life, I’d like for someone to think about me. For no reason other than because I make them smile. I want to matter. To mean something good to someone else. Sometimes Sophie makes me feel like I’m the good in her day. Like right now. But I have no idea if it’s genuine and sometimes I don’t trust it.

I’ve tried to get Sophie to open up to me like I do her, but she’s more secretive than Vault and I combined.

That’s not a compliment.

Clearing my throat, I play along. “You want romance or romance?” That’s all I read, which she’swell aware of.

Sophie giggles and I love hearing it. Maybe I’m full of myself, but I swear I’m the only human in the world that can make this womangiggle. It makes me feel like a fucking god, too.

“Romance, please.” She pops some calamari into her mouth.

“Spicy or sweet?”

“Is there a big difference?”

“You want to be collared and gagged or cuddled?”

She chews her next bite slowly. “Can’t I have all three?”

Definitely. “Plot or no plot?”

“Plot, please.”

“MF, MMF, MM, FF, or RH?”

“MF.”

Damn. Why does that hurt a little? I shouldn’t just assume she wants a book with a throuple. It’s not like she’d want to read something similar to the situation in her real life. We read to escape, not rehash reality.

“Dark or light?” Grabbing her wine, I take a healthy sip and wait for her answer.

“Light.” Her tone’s softer when she adds, “Please.”

“Contemporary or Fantasy?”

“My god, Knox, just give me a fucking book rec!”

“It’s not that simple. Tell me your preference.”

“Fantasy. Actually, I want something with aliens.” She leans back with this victorious smile, as if she can somehow stump me.

Not today, sweetheart.

Biting back a cocky smirk, I mentally sift through the catalog of romance novels stored in my brain and pull out my cell. A couple quick taps and I send three Knox-gave-this-five-stars audiobooks her way.

“They’re in your inbox.” I stand and smooth my chef coat down. “As much as I’d love to sit and chat, I have to get back to work. Let me know what you think of the alien dicks.”

“I will. Thank you, Knox.” She looks a little dejected that I’m about to leave. I turn and take a step away when suddenly… “Have you talked with Vault?”

There it is. Her real reason for showing up like this. Spinning back around, I give her my full attention. “Not really. Why?”

“No reason.”

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