Page 34 of Falling for the Beast

“Sleep well?” He grabbed a mug and poured her a cup of coffee.

She nodded, taking the mug from him. “And you?”

He shrugged and turned to pour the eggs into the frying pan. “You still nervous about Gavin finding us here?”

She made a face. Why did he think that? “No. Where did that come from?”

“You didn’t want me to leave last night. Weren’t you scared of Gavin?”

Oh. Yes, that sounded like a better reason than her selfish one of not wanting him to come home a bloody mess. “Right. That. Um, I’m okay. I feel better now.”

He looked like he wasn’t convinced, but he let it go.

She watched him cooking the eggs for a minute before deciding to come out with it. “Does the old woman still live around here?”

“Hmm?” he said, absentmindedly, as if he hadn’t really heard her.

“The woman who…cursed you. Does she live close?”

He scowled, but didn’t say anything, so she tried again. “Maybe we could find out if she’s still in the area.”

“She won’t help me.”

“You don’t know that. What was her name?”

He slammed his fist down on the counter, making her jump. He turned to her, fire in his eyes. “Leave it alone, Belle.”

She returned his fierce gaze with one of her own. “I’ll do as I please.”

The anger went out of his expression, and he chuckled and rubbed his forehead. “Yes. You probably will.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He scooped the eggs onto plates. “Evelyn will be coming by today.”

“That’s good.” She did want to talk with Evelyn. And she didn’t even care if Thaddeus overheard. She wanted more information, and if he wasn’t willing to give it to her, she’d get it somewhere else.

After breakfast, she got on Thaddeus’s computer and ordered some clothes and a few necessities. She was surprised that she could get about anything she needed. She’d never ordered anything online before.

When that was done, she curled up in the library with one of the books she’d had her eye on. Thaddeus fussed in the kitchen putting dinner in a crock pot, and then came in a half-hour later. He stood in front of the shelf like he was looking for something. She set her book on her lap. “Need something?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “No, I’m only browsing.”

“Browsing?” She laughed. “Are you bored?”

He gave her a hint of a smile. “Sort of.”

“Well, grab a book and come join me.”

He stared at her, a puzzled look on his face. “Join you? On the chair?”

“Sure. There’s enough room. I’ll scoot over.” She demonstrated how much room there was.

His face was unreadable for a moment like he couldn’t decide if that was a good idea or not. Then he picked up a book and approached the chair. She wiggled over a little more and he sat down. “What did you decide to read?”

He showed her the cover. “Hard-boiled mystery novel.”

“Looks good.” He pointed to her book and she showed him the cover. “You’ve got a few paranormal novels I haven’t read yet.”

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