I couldn’t say it. I didn’twantto say it. But I couldn’t deny it any longer because I could feel it resonate in my soul.
Love—it felt a lot like love.
Chapter 14 - Charlotte
Seeing my girl decked out in a posh beige romper and stylish sunglasses while standing next to three rugged men made me want to cackle. Her pale teal eyes contrasted her sandy skin, a sheen of honey glowing from her shell in the midday sun. Her pixie-cut hair ruffled as she dragged her nails through it. And though it seemed rustled as it would right out of bed, it was fashionable as hell.
“That’s Nina,” I sighed while gathering my bag from the pile near the door. “Always looking better than anybody else.”
“Not better than you.”
I glared defiantly at Adam. “I’m still mad about what you said earlier.”
“Hey, I was justjoking.”
“You weren’t. But it doesn’t matter. Nina could take down any of your men.”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and shook me playfully. “You’re telling me that woman—” He pointed at Nina. “Would be able to handle a guy like that?” He pointed at Lucius. “You must be drunk.”
“You must becrazy.”
“I’d like to see that happen.”
I laughed. “Well, you could ask her right now.”
He blushed. “Why would I do that? We’re about to go on a mission.” Flustered and slightly embarrassed looked sort of handsome on him. “Besides, I’d rather see you fight more than anybody.”
“You’re about to, I guess.” My heart lurched. “Or maybe that’s not such a good idea.”
“Why wouldn’t it be a good idea?”
I ignored the question while nodding toward the door. “Help me with the bags?”
While walking past my wolf sister, one of the men lifted a bow and arrow from the couch, smiling as he plucked an arrow from the quiver and positioned it on the bow. Nina nonchalantly snatched the items from him and said in a sophisticated voice, “That’s not a toy for little boys.”
“I’m not a little boy,” he retorted. “Or couldn’t you tell?”
“Couldn’t.”
My entire body shivered with laughter that would have burst from me were it not for Adam intervening. He walked up to the man and said, “Lucius, don’t flirt with our bodyguard.”
“I wasn’t flirting. I was playing with the—” Nina glowered at him. He cleared his throat and corrected his course, saying, “I wasinspectingthe bow and arrow for uh…for errors.”
Adam patted Lucius’s back. “Sure. Whatever you say. Just play nice.”
“I’ll lead the team forward,” Lucius assured. He looked at Nina and bowed his head. “My apologies, Miss…?”
“Miss Roberts,thank you,” Nina stated as she inspected her nails. “You’ll do well to keep your paws off anything else that isn’t yours.”
Lucius lifted his gaze without straightening his posture. “You got it, Miss Roberts.”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were flirting. But Nina wasn’t the type to mingle on the job. The moment she set her mind to something, she got it done without any kind of flailing. And she didn’t fail either.
Not like me, I recalled as I wandered out the double doors of the service lobby. The exit led into an alley that would spit us into the staff parking lot.She is so much better than me.
“Stop thinking so hard,” Adam warned while wrapping an arm around my waist. “You’re going to hurt yourself, cherry.”
“I was just focusing on the plan.”