Page 31 of Secrets at Dawn
Holy shit.Riley’s eyes widened.
I didn’t sleep well last night.Toby felt bad letting Riley believe it was because of the threats. While that might cause a large part of his stress, he wasn’t losing sleep over those fuckers. He could magic them away if he really wanted to. Not that it would be ethical. So yeah, maybe his attention wasn’t completely on thelecture, but he was paying attention to important bits. He wasn’t a monster. If he just magicked away everyone he didn’t like, there would literally be like ten people in Fortune Falls, and that was a high estimate. Toby didn’t people very well on a good day, and he was just tired and heartbroken enough to be in a pissy mood.
Do you feel safe in your apartment? You can stay with Cass and me. Or Zinnie will let you stay at the inn. No charge.
Toby swallowed down the lump forming in his throat. The Palmer family were great people. They didn’t deserve to be lied to. Not that Toby was outright lying, but omission was still a lie, right? Riley, like Griffin, was ready to step in and help wherever he could. Toby would bet their parents had a similar giving nature. Toby didn’t deserve it. Not when he was a big fat liar.
I stayed at Griffin’s house last night. He said he placed wards around his house, so it was safe there.
Riley raised his eyebrows.He must like you a lot. He’s sort of themy space is sacredtype. He doesn’t let just anyone inside his house.
That shocked Toby. Griffin hadn’t appeared super protective of his inner sanctuary. Toby just shrugged and changed the subject.I might take you up on your offer to spend the night, if that’s still okay.
Of course.
The conversation wound down, and Toby focused on the last few minutes of the lecture.
It was when class let out and Riley began walking him to his next class, instead of them parting ways like they normally did, that Riley began asking questions. And they weren’t talking about the incident last night. Nope. They focused on the thing Toby didn’t want to talk about.
“So you stayed with Griffin, huh?”
Toby nodded. “His spare bed is cozy.”
“Is that the only thing you liked?” Riley smirked, and a spark of humor entered his gaze.
“The sandwich was good, too. And he’s a nice guy.”
Griffin was more than just nice. Toby wanted to shout it from the rooftops just how great Griffin really was, but he didn’t think Griffin would be very happy that Toby shouted about him to his brother. Hell, Griffin wouldn’t like Toby talking about him with Riley.
“Right. Just nice.” Riley bit his lip and then grinned. “You might not realize, but you get a dopey expression on your face when you talk about Griffin.”
Toby was surprised his eyes hadn’t shifted and his fangs hadn’t dropped at the mention of his name. Dopey didn’t cover how he felt about Griffin, though. “He’s hot.”
That was even an understatement. “People have crushes on him all the time.”
Toby wanted to stake a claim. “It’s the curls and that smile. Very dreamy.”
Riley chuckled again. “He’s the whole package.”
“Yeah. He is.” Toby changed the subject. If he didn’t, he would start waxing poetry about Griffin’s kissing abilities. He wouldn’t ever tell anyone about it, regardless of who that was, but Riley was definitely the wrong audience. “Is it okay if I come by your place sometime tonight? I have to go to my apartment and grab some clothes.” He was still wearing Griffin’s clothes from last night. He was surprised Riley hadn’t noticed how the shirt hung off Toby, but then Toby had kept his coat on, even in class.
“I have to bake for the inn and diner after this next class, but I can call someone to escort you.”
“I should be fine. But if I’m not, I’ll just call your dad.”
“If you’re sure.”
He wasn’t, but he also didn’t want to be a bother to anyone, including Griffin. Especially Griffin, since he made it clear he didn’t want to be around Toby.
****
The decision not to call someone before he left the campus for home was the wrong one. He’d walked from his apartment to campus that morning. In his defense, he hadn’t thought the dickwads would be awake so early in the morning. Since Head Dickwad was the heir to the used car fortune and clearly had a rich boy complex, Toby figured he probably didn’t get up before noon. With Wolf Dickwad, he’d been taking a risk, but it was a calculated one. Wolf Dickwad may or may not be a criminal. Criminals slept late, too, right? The stereotype seemed sound enough to Toby, whose head had been in a fog anyway from lack of sleep and Griffin’s fake indifference.
But Toby realized his mistake the second he stepped onto the sidewalk and headed toward his apartment. He hadn’t factored in that he would also have to walk back home again. And his car was still parked on Main Street at the bakery.
Toby stopped and tried to be discreet when he looked around for anyone who might be suspicious. He was too tired to really pull it off, but he couldn’t sense anyone around.
He knew the path from the campus to his apartment well. He’d been taking it since he’d moved out of the dorms and into his apartment. He’d passed a couple of shops that catered to magic users. One sold herbs and bowls for spell making. Toby had gone inside out of curiosity. He’d purchased a small crystal that he kept on his coffee table. The other was a bookstore catering to treasure hunters and students. Sometimes Toby would walk home just to visit that store. It was his favorite bookstore on campus.
