Chapter 3
3
WIZARD
I t had been a very fucking long two weeks since I dropped into Thea’s signing. I’d done my best to convince her to go out with me, but she was proving to be more stubborn than I expected.
I’d even managed to pop in on her when she was out of the house a few times. Of course, I always had an excuse for being there. She’d still avoided agreeing to a date, but I learned more about her every time. I was even more convinced that she was the perfect woman for me. And she was losing steam in her rejections.
Still, my attention was more distracted than she deserved, so I hadn’t pushed any harder.
Tonight, Echo and I were staked out at a hotel, monitoring Ash on his date with Jean. Even though we were in the home stretch, I was in a shitty mood and was taking it out on Ash by being an ass and ribbing him endlessly through our comms. It was stupid, but I was blowing off steam.
When Ash finished giving Jean what she needed to break into his house, Echo had someone rush into the ballroom and tell him that his dad was in the hospital.
Ash managed to play the devastated son perfectly, and as he rushed from the room, I started a slow clap.
Echo rolled his eyes at me. “I’d be gone when he gets here if I were you.”
I grinned and continued helping Echo pack up our shit.
“My dad in the hospital?” Ash scoffed as he stormed into the room, yanking off his bow tie. “You couldn’t have come up with anything better? Do you know how fucking hard it was to pretend I cared?”
Echo shrugged. “Best I could think of to get you out fast while making sure she knew you wouldn’t be home tonight. In an hour, send her a text to check in and let her know you’ll be there for at least twenty-four hours.”
They talked about our plans while I continued to set one of my computers into a special hard case. After Ash had stripped out of his tux and pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, he turned to me with a scathing expression. “You and I need to have a talk, brother. Because if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to get your ass handed to you.”
“He’s just trying not to think about the woman who won’t give him the time of day,” Echo answered.
I snapped the case closed as I grunted, “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” I added it to the equipment on the trolley that we used to bring it all up from our van. I glared at him as I pushed the cart to the door.
Echo smirked. “Violet and I have no secrets. You think she doesn’t know what’s going on with you and Thea?”
“We’re not talking about this,” I barked before slamming open the door and pushing the cart through it.
“Touchy,” I heard Ash joke.
I growled in frustration but didn’t engage, choosing to get the hell outta there instead.
Everything was finally done and wrapped up a few days later. Knowing that Thea liked to write at a specific coffee house some afternoons, I checked the parking lot. When I spied her car, I hopped on my bike and headed over there.
The bell dinged as I walked inside, and my gaze immediately went to Thea’s preferred booth. She was focused intensely on her computer, her fingers tip-tapping the keyboard.
As I approached, her head popped up, almost like she sensed me, and when a slow smile spread across my face, pink bloomed on her cheeks.
“Hey, baby,” I greeted as I scooted onto the bench seat right next to her.
“Hi,” she replied softly, her full pink lips curling up sweetly. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you,” I replied, going for full honesty this time. Now that she could have my full attention, and she’d had some time to get to know me, I was done playing around.
“Oh?” Her expression was simply curious, but the darkening of her blush and the way her eyes brightened gave away her pleasure at my confession.
“Sorry it’s been a few days since we saw each other. Had club business to handle, and it was taking most of my time. It’s taken care of now, and you have one hundred percent of my focus.”
“Has it been a few days? I hadn’t noticed,” she said with an innocent blink.
I leaned in close until my lips would brush against her ear as I whispered, “Liar.” Then I kissed the shell before adding, “You know you missed me as much as I missed you, baby.”
Her breath hitched for a moment, making me smile. I inhaled deeply as I dragged my nose along her jaw. “You smell so fucking good,” I groaned.
“Y-you missed me?” she gasped lightly.
I raised my head and captured her jaw, turning her head so our eyes met. “I’ve dreamed of you each and every damn night. My thoughts of you were the only bright spot, the one thing that kept me going during the darkest hours of my job.”
Her mouth opened and closed a few times, indicating she was at a loss for words. Then she sputtered, “Did you…did you just quote The Spy’s Return ?”
I chuckled and winked. “More or less.” I’d altered the last word, but the rest had been taken directly from her book.
“How…?” Shock washed over her face, and she asked softly, “You’ve read my book?”
Releasing her chin, I grinned as I sat back against the booth and slipped my arm around her waist, tucking her close into my side.
“Books,” I corrected, emphasizing the S.
Thea double-blinked before her eyes grew wide. “How many?”
I lifted my free hand and counted to five under my breath, lifting a finger with each number.
“Five?” Her tone was astounded.
“Shhh. Still counting.” I hushed her, then continued to count until I finally announced, “Eighteen.”
Thea was quiet for a moment, her eyes wide as she stared up at me. “You’ve read them all?”
“Romance novels aren’t only for women, you know,” I joked.
She raised an eyebrow, and her gaze swept over me.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” I admonished, tongue in cheek.
Her head popped up to stare at me, then she burst into laughter. The sound was as beautiful as the rest of her. I could happily listen to it for the rest of my life…and whatever noises she made when she was coming.
“Romance novels aren’t usually my thing,” I admitted with a smile. “But you are a damn good writer, baby. Started the first one because I was curious, then I was hooked. Besides, it was a way to be close to you while I was so busy with club shit.”
Thea’s green orbs heated as her body practically melted into mine. “You win,” she said softly.
“Oh?” I leaned in close until our breaths were mingling. “What did I win?”
Her gaze moved down to my chest, and her cheeks reddened. “I’ll go on a date with you.”
Triumph and satisfaction roared through me, but I kept my cool, not wanting to put her off by being too smug. “Tomorrow night?”
“Um, how about Friday?”
I lifted her chin and shook my head. “Tomorrow. Not gonna let you change your mind.”
She giggled and nodded. “Tomorrow,” she conceded. “We can meet for lunch.”
I frowned. “That’s not a date.”
Thea huffed adorably. “Of course it is. That’s why it’s called a lunch date .”
“Semantics.”
“Take it or leave it, Baylor.”
“Fine,” I growled. “Lunch. I’ll pick you up?—”
“I’ll meet you there,” she interrupted.
Telling myself not to push, I swallowed my frustration and agreed. “Do you know where The Fuel & Flame Diner is?”
Thea’s head tilted to the side, thinking for a beat. “Isn’t that the place on Main Street? Across from Inferno Cycles and Customs?”
My brow rose. “You know our garage?”
Her cheeks flamed again, and she giggled. “One of my heroes specialized in custom motorcycles. I went there to do some research a couple of years ago. I talked to a guy…Cross, I think.”
She’d met Cross? Why hadn’t he told me? Jealousy burned in my chest until I forced myself to think rationally. He probably didn’t even remember one random conversation with a woman. Though how anyone could forget Thea was a mystery to me.
“He was really nice and didn’t even ask my name once I told him I was an author researching for a book.”
The explanation I’d come up with seemed even more plausible with that information, cooling the fire inside me. It seemed I wouldn’t have to kill my brother, which saved me a ton of shit with the club.
“Anyway. I’ll meet you there at noon if that works for you?”
“Sure, baby,” I confirmed. It was tempting to stay right where I was and spend more time with my woman. But I respected her job, and if she was anything like me, she probably wanted to be alone and free of distractions while she worked. “Much as I’d like to stay and be with you, I’m gonna let you get back to work.”
“Thank you,” she murmured. “I appreciate your understanding.”
I nodded and briefly squeezed the arm I had around her before removing it. “I know you must have a deadline soon with the preorder you have up.”
Thea’s face turned soft again, and she smiled. “You really have read all of my books, haven’t you?”
My tone was serious when I replied, “Never gonna lie to you, baby. I might have to censor what I tell you when it comes to club business, but I’ll always be honest.” I leaned in and kissed her forehead before scooting out of the booth. “See you tomorrow, baby.”
When I reached the door, I glanced back and saw her watching me with a dreamy expression. It took a fuck of a lot of effort to walk away, but I reminded myself that I had eyes on her all the time. That would have to suffice for now.