Page 72 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?!
I held him for a few more minutes, then kissed his forehead before I could even think about it. I worried he wouldn’t react well since we hadn’t even kissed—or been on a date—yet. But he let out a little sigh that made me smile against his skin and kiss him again. It also made me hopeful about our date.
That had to be a good sign, right?
After another minute, I quietly said, “We should head to the cars. I know you can’t tell because you’re touching me, but the curse is kind of strong right here.”
“So you can sense magic?”
“Yeah. I can tell its strength, but not always what kind of magic it is, if that makes sense?”
He nodded. “Gotcha.” He let out a long sigh. “Thanks for the, uh, hug.”
I gave him a squeeze. “Anytime, Sidekick.”
“I’m not your sidekick.”
“Whatever you say, sugar butt.”
He snorted. “For fuck’s sake.”
I chuckled.
When he let go, he was smiling, and he let me hold his hand on the short walk back to the cars—a definite win.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Miles
The kids wanted Chinese food, which worked out great for my plan. It was super easy to order a ton of extras. And I was planning on making up a little fib about not having enough room in my fridge for the leftovers. It would work perfectly.
I hoped.
We waited by the cars for the food to be delivered, and Clucky ran around doing a little dance the entire time, making everyone laugh. Even Chaos couldn’t help but smile at the goofy familiar.
I still couldn’t believe he was bonded to a cockatrice. I’d never seen one in real life, and I had to admit she was adorable.
It really made me wish I’d brought Sola here.
“Too bad Sola isn’t here,” Winter murmured beside me where we were leaning against the side of my truck.
My eyebrows shot up. “I was just thinking that.”
He tore his gaze away from Clucky to look at me. “Really?”
“Yep. Can you read minds?”
He snorted. “Nope.”
And thank god for that. No way did I want him hearing all my crush-induced thoughts about him.
He nudged me with his shoulder. “If we lived closer, I’d say we should go pick her up.”
I shook my head. “The thought crossed my mind, but I’m not bonded to her yet, so I’m not sure I want to expose her to any of this, you know?”
“Makes sense.”
“I… I think I might ask Chaos about bonding. I don’t know anyone else who has a familiar, so I have no idea how to do it. I don’t want to mess anything up.”
He wrapped his arm around my back, resting his hand on my shoulder. His thumb found its way to my collar, and he started rubbing the skin under it. “I’ve been told that it’s all instinct, so I doubt you can mess it up. But it won’t hurt to ask him. I’m sure he won’t mind.”
