Page 24 of South of The Skyway

Traitor.

The man was a freaking sunbeam. He grinned down at me, husky timbre light as he ruffled fluffy golden ears. “Hey, sweetheart, you’re just my little guardian angel, aren’t you?” While she panted in response, I could practically hear every set of ovaries in the building self-combust.Ffffs.

Wrenly’s brows merged with her hairline, her fair cheeks reddened, eyes full of sinful insinuation that earned my no-shit glower. She shook her head as she turned back to the percolating godsend.

“Seriously, do you bathe in peanut butter or something?”

Even hischuckleoverflowed with warmth. “What?” he balked.

“She never leaves my office. Not unless Noel or I bribe her with treats or a regular comes in, promising pets.”

“Knows good people when she sees them,” Rhyett supplied.

“How humble.”

His laugh was entirely unruffled. “How old is she?”

“Four.”

“So, just getting out of her puppy stage. Such a fun age.”

I scoffed. The affection in his tone was equivalent to a mother of five, not a bachelor loving on a nosy attention whore. “Big dog guy?”

“Hell yeah. We always had a brood of them running around.”

“Because a dozen children weren’t busy enough.”

“Including cousins? Never.”

“Jeez,” I mumbled. “I dunno how you deal.” Who the hell was this man? So endearingly crooning about his siblings, his cousins, like growing up in a zoo had been a damn good time, rather than the absolute chaos I imagined in my head. Life felt overwhelming as an only child. I couldn’t imagine being surrounded by people all the time, with nowhere to go to be alone.

“Eh,” he shrugged, straightening like an idiot, not expecting the immediate nose pressed into his palm. He absently petted her jawline. “It’s all we know.”

There was some merit to that, I supposed. Although, who in their right mind would intentionally clone a dozen crotch goblins when the world was going to hell in a handbasket, I couldn’t understand. Wren cleared her throat, drawing my relieved attention her way.

Proudly boasting two cups of black coffee, she set them on the counter, stifling the smirk curling her lips as she glanced between me and Rhyett.This is the problem with befriending your employees…

To her credit, she swallowed her glee until she was in the back hallway, tucking into the kitchen.

“Coffee,” I said, lifting one of the cups and nodding to an empty table as the bookstore door rang again. Noel certainly had her hands full. I spotted Holland glancing over her shoulder, ruling in favor of supplying reinforcements before shutting her laptop and waving goodbye to Ms. Dark Romance. They’d handle the gaggle of girls, no problem.

By the time I’d turned back for him, Rhyett was beaming with his mug in his hand, thick fingers dwarfing the handle.

“Does your face have a lower wattage setting?”

His suppressed laughter rippled through the dark liquid as he led the way and set the mugs down on the light wood, sliding aside the bowl of hibiscus. Noel brought them fresh each morning, her parents' property lined in rich greens, pinks, and purples. Royal happily collapsed onto the floor beneath the table as though he’d presented her with an engraved invitation.

“Just the one, I’m afraid. Do you need sunglasses?”

The fucking audacity of the man. The fucking audacity ofmy facemirroring his gleeful expression. Before I could process the quick movement, Rhyett had crossed and pulled the chair out, motioning for me to sit. Scowling, while equal parts confused and turned-on, I accepted. He smoothly lowered into the one across from me, sliding his mug back in one big hand.

“So, how long have you owned the shop?”

“Five years, give or take.”

“So you've been running this place since you were, what, a zygote? Impressive.”

My mouth fell open, gaping as he grinned. “What is that supposed to mean? We signed on this space our senior year in college.”

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