AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A sudden impulsive thought comes to mind.
“Two caramel macchiatos,” I blurt out. “Please.”
Gemma frowns at me in confusion as she settles back into her seat. A nervous buzz of energy pulsates through me. I just ordered Sloane a drink. What now? I’m just going to show up and bring it to her?
Fuck.
And now Gemma is watching me with narrowed eyes, trying to use her twin powers to read my mind.
“It’s for Sloane,” I say to put us out of both our misery. “She likes the same thing as me.”
Gemma’s sculpted eyebrow hikes up her forehead. “Since when do we bring Mom’s bestie a coffee?”
I shift in my seat, avoiding her stare. “Since now. It’s called being nice.”
“Nice,” she repeats. “Interesting. You do remember she’s a cop, right?”
“Yeah, smart-ass. And I haven’t done anything wrong. We’ll drop it off on the way back home. Stop making it a big deal. It’s not a big deal.”
Oh, it’s a big fucking deal.
“None of my business,” she says, waving her manicured hand at me. “Carry on, Romeo.”
Heat creeps up my neck, but I don’t satisfy her with an answer. She can assume I’m crushing on Sloane all she wants. It’s not like she’ll ever be validated with the truth. I’m not telling a fucking soul about this. Even Tate has tried to pry the information out of me and I won’t budge.
We pull up to the window where I pay and then fetch our crazy amounts of coffee. The girl at the window flirts with me, making sure to lean out the window to give me a nice view of her cleavage. I’m sure this works on most guys. Not this one. This one is still obsessing over the tits he drew last night.
Gemma observes everything quietly, which makes my skin crawl. Ignoring her scrutiny, I drive toward the police department. I’m jittery, even without the coffee, wondering just how bad of an idea this is.
The station is jam-packed with cars, but I find a spot up front. It’s marked “Chief,” but it won’t matter since this’ll take a second.
“Wait here,” I instruct, shooting my sister a death glare. “This will go faster without you.”
She sticks her tongue out at me. “What if she’s not there? What then?”
I don’t reward her with an answer as I climb out with Sloane’s coffee in hand. If she’s not here, I’ll toss it in the trash. Actually, that’s preferable since I don’t want to humiliate myself.
“Dempsey?”
As I walk inside, I see a familiar face behind the front desk. Kaden grins at me, as though happy to see me. This, at least, doesn’t make me feel like a total tool visiting one of the places I hate the most. I saunter over to him and offer my fist for him to bump. He returns the gesture before nodding at the coffee.
“For Aunt Sloane?”
My cheeks heat. “Yup. She probably doesn’t want it—”
“Are you kidding?” he hisses. “She’s a witch when she has to drink the coffee in the breakroom.”
The other woman behind the desk sniggers along with Kaden. “You’re a lifesaver today, hon.”
She points to where Sloane sits at her desk, head bowed and brows furled together in concentration. A tendril of blond hair has slipped from her immaculate bun and teases along her jawline. My fingers itch to stroke it back into place for her.
“I heard you were in need of saving,” I say in a forced, easy greeting. “Your savior has arrived.”
Sloane jerks her head up, confusion marring her pretty features when she sees me. Then, her eyes skate over to the coffee. A huge grin curls up her tempting lips and she lets out a girly squeak of delight.
“Oh my God! Dempsey, I love you!”
Several men in suits—probably detectives—glance our way. Meanwhile, I’m trying hard not to pull her words deep into my soul and take them as truth—as everything. Sloane rises from her chair and accepts the coffee from me. Our fingers touch, sending thrills of pleasure rippling through me.
