Page 33 of Verses

“And he just left you here?”

“We only live a couple blocks away.”

“On a cold night without a coat.”

“I brought a jacket.”

“I’ll give you a ride,” he said, walking out of the room into the back. I heard the locks on the back door click from where I stood, realizing that The Apothecary grew eerily quiet when it was almost empty.

When had Stu left?

“I’m okay, Wolf,” I said, picking up said jacket and putting it on, heading toward the front door.

“Don’t be stubborn, little bird. I’m taking you home and that’s final.”

Holy shit. There was something in his voice…yes, it was most definitely final, although I still considered arguing the point. More than that, though, there was something comforting there, and it was lying behind the question.

Why did he feel the need to drive me home when I could obviously care for myself?

I thought I might know the answer.

Still, I said simply, “Fine.”

Wolf headed in the back again without another word, so I pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket. Wanting to be encouraging, I texted Kyle:Great job tonight.

I didn’t expect to hear back from him—but maybe he would surprise me.

Wolf, on the other hand…that man was full of surprises. When he came back in the main room, he had a heavy jacket on, one that had more substance than mine. I guessed he’d wear his all winter beginning now, whereas I’d switch to a coat once temperatures really dipped. But seeing him in that jacket made me realize I’d think he looked good wearing just about anything.

Stop, Hayley. Jesus Christ.

Why did my mind keep crushing on Wolf? Even if Kyle and I did break up—and even if Wolf were interested inme—he was way older. The thought of us doing anything together felt a little weird when I dwelled on it.

So I had to fucking stop.

“Ready?” Wolf asked, heading toward the front door.

“Yep.” I walked outside while he held the door for me and paused on the sidewalk as he locked up. “The lights behind the bar are still on.”

“Yeah, we leave those on all the time. I think Marv figures it’ll detract any wannabe thieves. Makes no sense, considering you can’t see in there once the door’s closed,” he said, sliding his key out of the lock before pulling on the handle to make sure it was secure. “He was going to have a high-tech security company come in and monitor the place 24/7, but it would have cost a fortune.”

“Really?” I walked beside Wolf as he started heading down the sidewalk. “How many burglaries has he had?”

“None. This is Charlotte. He’s acting like we live in a bad neighborhood in a big city. I think one time when I first started working there, somebody had tried to get into the back door with a screwdriver. Probably kids. And they didn’t succeed anyway. All they did was break the lock.”

“He could get a camera if he was so worried about it.”

“Sure could. He doesn’t want to monitor it, though, or pay anyone else to do it. I suggested one of those Ring cams, but he has yet to do anything about it. I don’t know why he worries, anyway. The old bastard has more money than he’ll ever know what to do with.”

I’d heard that one before.

“This is me.” Wolf pointed to the bike parked in the first space on the side street. Why had I expected him to be driving a vehicle? I knew he’d been a biker…so it made sense.

But… “How exactly am I gonna be warmer on a bike than walking?”

Especially considering I was already half a block closer to home than when we’d left. Besides, it really wasn’t that cold tonight.

And just why was I complaining about spending more time with Wolf anyway?

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