Page 465 of Dark Love

“It’s not often people say that. And my boss is a good guy.”

Vex’s knuckles turn white, but he stays silent.

Don’t bring up the soup thing. It’ll just make this way more awkward. Stay positive. Pretend this won’t be an inquisition. “I’ve been trying to make friends at work.” That’s going mildly not terrible.

“Okay?” He moves on to cleaning the seeds out of a pepper.

“Well, every Friday night there’s a group dinner at some a different restaurant close to work. Everyone from that shift is invited… and they’re welcome to bring a guest with them.” I almost said boyfriend. That would have been bad. We haven’t even kissed. We can’t be considered boyfriend and girlfriend.

“Are you asking me to meet the people you work with?”

“Um… sort of… I guess. Only if you want to. You don’t have to. I know you have work on Friday nights—”

“Dahl.”

“Don’t feel obligated to—”

“Dahl, I’ll be there.”

“You didn’t even ask what time it is.”

“Doesn’t matter. You want me there, then I’ll be there.”

Oh.

Oh. That’s a relief.

Sort of.

What if Max is right and Vex beats up Adonis?

Pillow And Bookshelves

Dahlia

“You know there aren’t enough bookshelves for all of these books.” Vex slides a book into the bottom shelf, filling it to capacity.

The never-ending piles in the middle of the room have made this abundantly clear. “I know.” What am I going to do? “When I first bought this place, I thought it would be big enough. Then my parents started bringing the boxes over from their attic. Now I don’t know what to do.”

“We could put up more shelves.”

Just like that. He says it like putting up shelves is as easy as going to the store and buying a table lamp. “Absolutely not. I cannot handle the hassle of contractors.”

“And if contractors aren’t an issue?”

How could they not be an issue? “Um. Where would they go? The walls are full.”

“We could put one row down the center or if you think you’ll be getting significantly more books, we could make several aisles.”

Hmm. “Wait. We? Have I mentioned I’m clumsy and not mechanically inclined? I tried to nail in a picture frame and managed to bruise my thumb and put a hole in the wall.” The soft smile Vex gives me would make me agree to almost anything… except manual labor.

“Shelves aren’t hard. How about I put them up and you supervise and bring me snacks?”

That sounds fair. “Is this going to be another one of those things you try to pay for to irritate me while being incredibly sweet?”

“Definitely.”

“Vexing.” It’s so tempting to stick a tongue out at him like I’m still five. “Where did your name come from?” I’ve heard some interesting names in my life but his doesn’t feel like a real one.

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