Page 51 of Clean Slade
“Am I?” He grinned with a smoldering look, almost daring me to do it, but I rose above that.
Although that grin still managed to do things to me that I didn’t have time for.
I didn’t need distractions right now. I needed to fix things for both myself and Mac.
The last thing I needed was to develop a crush on my live-in nanny.
“You don’t find out these things via the internet. You ask or walk around. Believe me, there are treasures here in Mayberry you’ll never find in any search results,” I told him.
He didn’t miss a beat when he said, “I can see that.”
He wanted me. That much was obvious. Was I making a mistake bringing him into my home?
Maybe I was, but I needed someone to look after Mac while I was busy getting mixed into my old world.
I couldn’t afford to not have him in my life. I just had to remember to keep my distance.
“Come on. I’ll take us to the best place in town,” I said once Mac reappeared and we left the house.
Of course, the crocodile came with us.
“Are we going to Lilian’s?” Mac asked.
“Hell yeah.”
Mac did a happy skip and walked ahead of us as we got closer to Main Street.
When we reached the yellow building, Slade paused.
“Happy Witch Café?”
I laughed. I could definitely see why he found it strange. I had too when I first moved here, but Lilian, the owner, was the best human in town. And everyone swore by her cakes. She fancied herself a witch and apparently enchanted every baked good that came out of her oven, but we were all pretty sure it was all the power of conviction and just a marketing thing. Although, if you left it to the devout evangelists around these parts, they’d burn her at the stake as the devil incarnate.
“You know it,” I told him.
Mac was already walking through, and Slade followed her, when I spotted something out of the corner of my eye.
Not something.
Someone.
He was standing in the alley on the side of the café wearing shades and holding a small dog.
“Go ahead. I’ll be right inside,” I told Slade.
“Everything okay?” he asked, glancing around, but thankfully he couldn’t see the man.
I faked a smile, and Slade glared at me as he walked into the café.
Whether he bought my BS or not, I didn’t care. His job was to worry about Mac, not me.
As much as I’d love him to worry about me too.
I walked into the alley and stared at the man watching me.
“What are you doing here, Nino?”
“Is that how you greet your little brother?” he said in a growly voice.
