Page 7 of Stained Hearts
“I know you do.”
The bell above the door rang, and Noel made to stand.
“It’s okay, pup. I got this one.”
Lincoln grabbed a menu from the holder on the counter and approached the young man and woman standing at the door, but Noel was up and rushing for the new arrival with his arms out.
“Hey, Aiden!”
The guy, presumably Aiden, turned and smiled at Noel. “Hey, how are you?”
“Good.” Noel hugged his friend tight, then turned to face Lincoln. “This is Aiden. We used to go to school together.” He gestured to the woman. “And this fine, upstanding woman is his sister, Olivia.”
Aiden chuckled. “Boy, that feels like a lifetime ago.” He glanced at his sister. “I’m not sure about how upstanding she is.”
“Hey!” She grinned. “Okay, maybe he’s right.”
I took a moment to look at Aiden as he shook hands with Lincoln. He was probably Noel’s age, midtwenties, with soft white-blond hair and eyes so blue and shiny, I was reminded of aquamarine. It didn’t escape my notice how short Aiden was. He couldn’t have been more than five foot or so. Even Noel towered over him. The thing I noticed most, though, was the hitch in his step. I wasn’t sure what the cause was, but I noticed he leaned on things quite often.
Olivia put her hand on his back. “We should sit down.”
Aiden rolled his eyes so loud, even I could hear it. “I’m fine. Stop mothering me.”
“Oh, wait. I want to introduce you to my friend.” Noel took Aiden’s hand and directed him toward me. “Aiden, Olivia, this is Tom Kotke.”
“Kotke?” Olivia leaned in closer, squinting as though she was trying to find something in my face. “Are you related to Robert Kotke from the shelter?”
“I am. He’s my brother, but don’t go spreading that around.”
“Oh my God! What a small world. I used to be Galen’s assistant at Primal.”
“Yes, he’s mentioned you and the work you did on the website that brought Primal to its knees. Nice job.”
Her cheeks pinked. “It was Galen’s idea, but I’m glad he let me be part of it.”
Olivia was one of the multitude of women whom Galen’s father had fired for refusing to have sex with him. It was hard to believe that women still had to deal with that bullshit in this day and age. One look at Olivia told me she was a force to be reckoned with, and I’d be willing to bet that was even more true after she and Galen turned what happened at Primal Imports into a public-relations disaster for them.
Aiden leaned heavily on the side of the booth. “Livvy, can we go sit? My legs are tired.”
“If you’d brought your chair like I said, you wouldn’t have had to do all that walking.”
He scowled, and I thought they were going to start arguing, so I butted in. I gestured to the other side of the table. “Here, have a seat. I’m almost done.”
“No, we don’t want to rush you.”
Aiden pushed past her. “Speak for yourself.” He slid into the booth. “I’m not usually pushy, but I’ve been doing a lot of walking today, and if I don’t sit, I’m going to collapse.”
“We can’t have that.”
Olivia frowned. “Slide over, brat.” She muscled her way in. “This is my brother, Aiden. He’s a nice guy, but can be… prickly.”
Aiden held out a hand to me. It was slender with long, elegant fingers. There was a bit of something dark under his nails, and when he saw me looking, he pulled away.
“I’m sorry. I forgot that Olivia picked me up from class. Let me rest a few minutes, and then I’ll go wash them and we can try it again.”
“What? No.” I extended my hand. “A little dirt never hurt anyone.”
He grinned and reached out. “Trust me, this here? For me, that’s clean.”
