Page 176 of Nobody Told Me Thrift Shops Sell Stolen Dragon Heirlooms

The please did more damage than the command would have.

I looked at the paused screen. The incense burner sat there as if it had waited generations and could wait one more evening.

“Fine,” I said.

“Thank you.”

“My fingers are not crossed.”

“Are they?”

I looked at my left hand, where two fingers were absolutely crossed beneath the blanket.

“No.”

He was silent.

“Don’t do the face over the phone,” I said.

“I am not doing the face.”

I snorted, then nearly started coughing again. “I can feel you doing the face.”

“Rest.”

“I hate when people I like are bossy.”

His breath shifted.

So did mine.

The words had slipped out casually, but they didn’t land that way.

People I like.

Rafe’s voice came back lower. “Then I’ll try to be less bossy until you’re well enough to argue properly.”

“That seems fair.”

“Sleep, Quinn.”

I closed my eyes for one second. “Goodnight, Rafe.”

“Goodnight.”

He ended the call.

I lay there staring at the phone while Max stared at me.

“What?” I asked.

He didn’t need human speech to communicate disappointment.

“I said I’d rest.”

Max kept staring.

I threw my hands up. “I’m resting.”