Page 8 of I Am Sin

“Nothing.” He rises. “The burger was great. What do I owe you?”

I drop my jaw. “You really didn’t just ask me that question.”

“Relax. I’m kidding. I appreciate the meal.”

For the love of God, what was I thinking, inviting him to eat with me? And what am I thinking now? This is all on me. I invited him for dinner. He simply came by to tell me I didn’t need to let him stay with me.

So why do I feel this strange obligation?

“Fine,” I say.

He stares ahead. “Fine what?”

I wave my hands. “You can stay here, okay? There’s plenty of room, and I’ll be at the office most of my waking hours anyway. So why not?”

He wrinkles his forehead. “Where is all this coming from?”

“You obviously think I’m some kind of stuck-up person who has a huge penthouse but doesn’t want to share.”

He furrows his brow. “You’ve got me all wrong, Diana.”

He’s right. I’m reading all kinds of things into this. I’ve just always hated it when people make assumptions about me based on my family’s wealth.

“I honestly just came by to let you know I’m in town,” he continues, “and to tell you that I have no intention of asking for?—”

“Just stop it. I said you can stay.”

“I’ve already checked into my hotel. My stuff is all there.”

“Then come back tomorrow. You can move in then.”

“Diana—”

“Look. This will make my sister happy. It will make her new husband happy.”

“But it’s not going to makeyouhappy.”

I blink for a few seconds before responding. “I’ll deal. Like I said, I’m starting my first real job as an architect on Monday. I need to make a good impression, which means I need to put in a lot of hours at the office. I’ll hardly be here.”

He shrugs. “All right.”

Seriously? He’s not even going to offer me a thank-you?

He walks to the door and then turns once again, meeting my gaze.

His eyes are beautiful—a gorgeous gold and green with long black lashes—but I’ve never seen them look happy.

And he should be happy now.

He’s sober, and his band is doing great things. They opened for Emerald Phoenix during the recent European tour, and even though Dragon was only present for one performance, he’s still a member of the band, and he’ll join them on future ventures. The tour was a smash, and Dragonlock is on their way.

I wait for Dragon to speak, but he doesn’t. He simply looks at me for a few seconds, nods, and then walks out the door.

ChapterFour

Dragon

I asked my parents once, after I started kindergarten, why they had named me Dragon. Some of the kids in the class made fun of my name—said it wasn’t a real name.

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