Page 41 of Enticing the Elf
“Please call me Vin. I was so pleased when Dr. Griffiths—Rhys—said someone at the DEA wanted to join us today. We’re all very excited about his research and the partnership we’ve built with you.”
Ohhhhh. My heart melts just a little. Eoin’s thrown himself under a political bus to get me this experience.
“Rhys’s work is groundbreaking,” he agrees. “My king is always looking for ways to better the lives of his people.”
Dr. Rafter—Vin—seizes on that opening. “He might be interested in the work Dr. Leighton is doing. Come and meet her.”
Tossing me a wink, Eoin lets himself be drawn away. Once I’ve helped myself to a drink, I wander over to hover near the gossiping trio, hoping it’s not too late to hear more about the naked old friend.
“…she’s talking about getting Botox like she’s human. Um, hello? Doesn’t she realize she doesn’t have human metabolism?”The woman speaking, who I’m pretty sure is a succubus, rolls her eyes and lifts her drink to her lips. When she lowers it again, her gaze falls on me. “Hello. I love that shirt.”
Her friends turn to see who she’s talking to, and I smile as I step forward to join them. “Thank you. I’m Dáithí, and please don’t think I’m rude, but I’m dying to know what happened with the naked old friend.”
There’s a split-second pause while their brains recalibrate, and then they break into giggles. “Oh, darling, we don’t think you’re rude at all.”
It’s halfwaythrough the first inning, and my new friends and I have moved outside to the box seats before Eoin finally breaks free and comes to find me. I startle and nearly spill my drink when he slides into the seat beside me.
“Sorry,” he murmurs. “I didn’t mean to scare you. All good?”
I lean over to kiss him, buoyed by my enjoyment of the day, how absolutely delicious he is, and the fact that I’m on my third drink. The stadium might only provide human alcohol, but Faith, one of my new besties, brought a flask of some kind of spirits that her cousin’s company makes, and it’s definitely not human-grade. “All great,” I assure him. “This is the best date I’ve ever been on—or it would be, if you stayed here with me.”
The utter joy in his smile warms me from the inside out. “That’s the plan. I didn’t mean for us to be separated this long.” He glances at my glass. “Can I get you another drink? Or something to eat? The steward said he can get us hot dogs, if we want.”
“Hot dogs?” I feel myself light up. “Yes. That was the one thing missing. I’ll have two with everything and another one ofthese.” I hold my glass out to him. “I think it was the blue bottle and the one with the pink label.”
He takes it with a wry look. “How about a beer instead? That tastes better with hot dogs.”
He’s so right. “Perfect.” I grab the front of his jersey and pull him in for another kiss. “Mm. You taste best of all.”
“Excuse me, Dáithí’s honey of love? Hi. I’m Pamela.”
We both turn our heads to see my new friend Pammie tiddling her fingers at Eoin in a wave. “Is the hot dog offer open to the rest of us?”
Eoin grins. “Hi, Pamela. I’m Eoin, and yes. I’m happy to pass your order along.”
They all gush their thanks, and once he has everyone’s order, he winks at me and stands. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
As much as I respect Eoin, I have to admit to objectifying himhardin that moment, because his ass in those jeans as he walks away is a work of art. It’s so unfair—they’re not even special going-out jeans or anything, just his everyday ones.
“Mm-hm, Dáithí. You sure got lucky with him,” Ned says, not even bothering to keep his voice down. Eoin’s chuckle floats back to us as he reenters the suite.
“He’s pretty amazing.” I can’t hide the wistful note in my voice, and they all pounce on it immediately.
“Why does that make you sad?” Faith demands, lowering her sunglasses to peer at me over the top of them. The actual diamonds studded into the frames wink in the sunlight.
I shake my head. “I’m not sad. Eoin’s incredible and I’m pretty sure I’d be in love with him if I could let myself. But I don’t want to get hurt, so I’m taking it slow.” I barely know these people, tipsy or not, so that’s the most I’m willing to share with them.
Ned scoffs. “Sweetie, just dive in and worry about getting hurt if it actually happens. Our lives might be longer than human ones, but that’s no reason to second-guess everything.”
Pammie makes an agreeing sound. “Holding back from a man that hot who looks at you the way he does just because you might get hurt later is stupid. If he crooked his finger at me, I’d be all in, fuck the consequences.” She glances over her shoulder toward the suite. “Don’t tell my husband that.”
We break out into giggles, and I force myself to take their feedback on board. I’m putting Eoin through this because I’ve been hurt before, but I’m still here, aren’t I? It would devastate me if Eoin walked away… but losing time Icouldspend with him would be just as bad, though in a different way.
The question is, which would be worse?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Eoin
