Page 132 of A Taste Of Darkness

Something like that

Sterlie

So is the meeting with Kai?

Certainly wouldn’t surprise me seeing as he’s your new best friend

Milo

Yeah, right.

We’re getting along once a month for an hour

Sterlie

Yup. And that meeting sounds like it’s that time of the month again

Milo

I’m not seeing Kai

Sterlie

Good, because he wanted to help me out later

Well, he didn’t want to but Flora’s making him

Anyway, good luck with your meeting!

He didn’t open my last messages, which was even weirder for him.

Five minutes later, Michael stopped the car in front of my boutique. I didn’t even attempt to open the door for myself because if Milo found out, Michael would’ve been in trouble.

It happened before.

At least Michael was now allowed to look at me and talk back.

When I asked Milo why he refused to let me open my own doors, he said, “Because you deserve to be treated like a queen, and a queen doesn’t open doors.”

It was both adorable and strange at first. I got used to it, though.

“Have you heard from Milo today?” I asked as I got out of the car.

Michael closed the door. “No, Ma’am.”

“Huh, okay.” Making my way over to the building, I reached for the keys to open my boutique. Michael wasn’t following me. Not even to open the door.

He never stayed outside. Milo specifically ordered him to be inside the building just in case.

This morning just kept getting stranger.

I turned around, taking in Michael’s unusual smile. “Did I forget something?”

He shook his head, but the smile never faltered. “No, Ma’am.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”