Page 50 of One Big Little Secret

“Am I a stranger now?” I growl. “Is that why he kicked me?”

Her face heats. “Um… he thinks self-defense means defending other people, I think. He’s really good for his age, so his teacher moved him up to yellow belt with some of the older kids. But I think sometimes the verbal lessons go over his head.”

“Do not!” Arlo stamps his foot impetuously.

Christ, I hope he has a dad to steer him right. I’m so not the man who’s programmed for situations like this.

“Arlo, enough.” She looks at me. “I’ll talk to him. I promise you I’m not the world’s worst mom.”

“Hardly. You’re managing him as well as you can, I’d say.” I glare at the kid as she turns her back. “Never mind karate, though. He needs anger management,” I mutter under my breath.

“You could use a refresher, too,” she whispers as I head back behind my desk—the farthest away from her demon imp as I can get.

I’ll ignore that comment this time.

“Did you find your books?” I ask, hearing the ice in my voice but not caring. “Take whatever you need. I want to lock up and get out of here sometime tonight.”

“Don’t you have staff for that?”

I raise my eyebrows. “My staff don’t stay late just because I do. Only the owners pull insane hours.”

I stand up and turn to the shelves, looking over our small marketing section.

“Here, this one’s a banger. Dex and Archer will agree. We all readThe Millionaire Beast Withina few months apart. Not long before we started cobbling together Higher Ends.” I pass her the book.

She looks at the cover and eyeballs it skeptically.

“Thanks, but… I was kinda looking for something more serious on copywriting.”

“I see two books on that in your hands.” I nod at them. “Don’t let the lambo on the cover scare you. The author, Denny Falco, he’s a flashy dude who loves his fancy cars and gold. But he’s giving you a master class in motivation and basic business theory.” I pause, wondering if I should tell her why I really picked the book. “It helped me, Dex, and Archer. I think you’ll find some value. Did you know he was a single dad with twins when he flipped his limo lead business for eight figures?”

Her face relaxes and she turns it over in her hands, skimming the backside.

“Okay, sold. I’ll try not to judge it by the cover.”

“Hell, if the cover matched the content, I never would’ve made it past the first chapter.” I smile. “Give me your book report when you’re done.”

She laughs.

“Sure. Y’know, for a second I was amazed that youdoread—and that you decided to be nice. Emphasis on past tense.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Arlo’s loud yawn grabs my attention. “Looks like you’ve got some reading to do yourself after someone’s down for bed. Looks like he’s ready.”

“Am not.” The kid yawns again, clapping his little hands over his mouth.

“Thanks, Patton. You’re okay at this mentoring thing sometimes.”

She shows herself out, flashing a quick smile over her shoulder.

Goddamn.

Every time I start to wonder how drunk I was to have ever had a hot night with this hellcat, she goes and reminds me why.

One more nuisance thought I don’t need in my brain.

Just like the hard-on from Hades I have to sit down to hide.

7

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