by Roxie Ray
23
Abby
“Have fun,” I called out the door. “See you tomorrow!”
Bethany jumped in her car and waved at Tiffany until she had to turn the wheel to drive down the road. She’d been asked out on a date, and her parents would normally keep Tiffany, but they were on a cruise. And Tiffany’s father’s parents had chosen the same weekend to go visit family out of state.
So I’d volunteered Jury and myself to keep her. We had a spare bedroom, so she was spending the night. Ava was bringing Hailey over to hang out as well.
When Ava dropped Hailey off, Jury disappeared. “I promise, when it’s our kids, I won’t do this.” He popped a kiss to my lips and scurried into our bedroom and shut the door behind him.
Oh, he’d pay for that one.
It wasn’t a big deal, though. Hailey did all the work. She was nearly eleven, and obsessed with the idea of babysitting soon, but she was still a bit too young to do it on her own. She and Tiffany baked cupcakes under my close supervision, then I let them play in my makeup before Tiffany got a bath that left my bathroom soaked. Then she and Hailey went to bed in the spare bedroom after reading all six story books Tiffany had brought with her.
The next morning, I had to wake them both up with the news of the pancakes I’d made them.
They were almost finished when Bethany came back.
“Come in,” I called when she tapped on the back door. “Coffee?”
She sighed and nodded. “Please. Straight to my vein.”
“What’s wrong? Did the date go badly?” I poured a cup and shooed the girls off. “Girls, go get the coloring books and markers out of the top drawer of my desk and color in the living room.” Hailey eyed us as if she wanted to stay in the kitchen and talk with us, but she went and entertained Tiffany.
“It went great at first. We went to dinner at that nice restaurant with the glass wall.”
I nodded. “The only fancy restaurant in Black Claw.”
She snorted and sipped her coffee. “Exactly. But it’s worth it. I love being in such a small town.”
I agreed. “So, when did it go wrong?”
“Not till later. He was charming, funny, and totally into me. I was actually considering inviting him home for a little playdate of my own.”
I squealed and wiggled in my chair. “Okay, then what?”
Jury stumbled out of the bedroom in his workout clothes. He smiled at Bethany and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “Morning. Don’t mind me.”
After a quick kiss to the top of my head, he went out the back door for his morning run.
Bethany continued once he was gone. “We left the restaurant and I decided I wasn’t ready for the playdate. So, I suggested ice cream. The parlor is open till ten on weekends, so we had some time.”
I nodded, dying for her to get to the point. “Did he say he hates ice cream or something?”
She burst out laughing, but only for a few seconds. “No. We didn’t even get a chance to put in our order before Jury’s cousin came barging in the restaurant. He took one look at my date, Harry, and growled at him.”
Uh-oh.
“Oh. Oh, no. What did Harry do?”
She looked shocked. “That’s the craziest thing! He stood and walked away, like a puppy with his tail tucked between his legs! He didn’t even say goodbye.”
I wondered if this Harry was a dragon, too, or if Maddox’s mating alpha combo had been enough to influence a human. “That is nuts,” I exclaimed. “What did Maddox do then?”
“He sat down!” She threw her hands up in the air. “And I started yelling at him for growling at my date and I asked him who he thought he was.”
“Yeah? What did he say?” Our coffee lay in front of us, forgotten.
“He said he was Maddox and that he wanted to date me, and he’d be happy to drive me home since my date left me like that. As if it was Harry’s fault.”
I nearly cracked then. The urge to laugh at Maddox’s insane behavior was strong, but she wouldn’t understand. Not yet, anyway.
“Well, Maddox is a really good guy, Beth. He may have come across a bit strong at first, but you should give him a chance. He might surprise you.”
She looked at me like I was nuts. “Really?”
“Yeah. The Kingstons are an intense bunch, but you won’t find better men.” I lifted my coffee and took a sip to hide my smile.
I figured I’d leave it up to Maddox to explain his behavior to her when the time was right. It would be fun to watch it unfold and happen to someone else for a change.
Get Ready for Book 5 in the Black Claw Dragons Series, Her Dragon Destiny!
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Her Dragon Destiny
Get Ready for Book 5 in the Black Claw Dragons Series, Her Dragon Destiny!
Available Now!
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Her Dragon Hero
Black Claw Dragons: Book 4
Roxie Ray
© 2020
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and events are all fictitious for the reader’s pleasure. Any similarities to real people, places, events, living or dead are all coincidental.
This book contains sexually explicit content that is intended for ADULTS ONLY (+18).