Sebastian came around the table and put an arm around my shoulders. “Maddy, you’re safe. If there is one thing I can promise, it’s that.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. Seriously. You guys don’t have to do this for me, and you are. Thank you.”
“You’re basically family now, so of course I’d do this. I mean, Nico is paying me like five hundred bucks a day in hazard pay to do it, but yeah, no problem.”
I punched him in the arm and laughed as I went back to my task. Sebastian grabbed a broom and started sweeping the floor. Basically family? What did that mean? It hadn’t registered when he first said it, but now I wondered why he’d said that.
I looked up to ask him to explain, but the front door opened. A familiar face walked in. Thankfully, it wasn’t the face I’d been afraid would show up.
Nico came striding through the door like he owned the place instead of me.
My heart fluttered at the sight of him. My mind had drifted to him multiple times throughout the day, and seeing him now brought confusing feelings to the surface. He’d said I was his mate, and that was information I had a hard time processing. I hadn’t really given myself much time to even think about it and what it meant. So much had happened. How could anyone get their minds around it? But I couldn’t ignore the ache in my chest when I watched him move through the room. Nor could I ignore that voice deep inside my head, the one that had been begging me to stake a claim on this man from the moment I saw him.
I glanced at my watch and saw it was just after two in the morning. I looked at Nico and tapped my wrist. “Awful late for a drink, sir. Sorry, we’re closed.”
Nico gave me a smirk. “Couldn’t sleep. I figured I’d relieve Sebastian and let him go home to bed.”
“My liege? My lord?” Sebastian said in an atrocious British accent. “Thou art too kind to your humble servant.” He threw the broom to the floor and bowed dramatically.
Nico shook his head. “Would you stop?”
“Okay, fine.” Sebastian stood and waved to me as he headed for the door. “See you Wednesday, Maddy. I think Felipe will be with you tomorrow.”
I waved and went back to work. Abi walked over and smacked me on the butt.
“Ow, shit. What was that for?” I said, rubbing my ass.
“Get out of here. Go on. We can finish up. Besides, your ride’s here,” Abi said, nodding toward Nico.
“Are you sure?”
“Get. Go on.” Abi shooed me away with a bar rag as she walked back to the bar.
I looked at Nico. “Well, I guess I’m done.”
He grinned at me and pointed a thumb toward the door. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving. I’d planned on making a grilled cheese before bed when I got home.”
“Eff that. Let’s go. There’s a diner down the road. It’s open 24/7. Great burgers, and a really good Greek omelet if you like olives.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Olives? In an omelet? I’ll stick with the burgers.”
“Suit yourself. Come on.”
He wasn’t lying. The diner was only five minutes down the road. I recognized it. It was a place called Gena’s. I’d driven by it at least a hundred times over the years, but had never actually set foot inside.
I realized the error of my ways as soon as I walked in. The building had that baked in coffee-bacon-grease-sugar smell of a really good, old-school restaurant.
The menu was classic diner fare, with a hundred different items. I always wondered how places like this were able to store so many types of food in such small spaces. We had a pretty limited bar-food menu at my place and still had trouble with space. Their menu had everything from chili dogs to chicken pot pie and Caesar salads. I shrugged and flipped the pages over to the breakfast section, deciding on a bacon-egg-and-cheese burger with hashbrowns.
“Damn,” Nico said after the server left.
“What?”
“I like that. A real woman who orders what she wants. I like that.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “I’m not the type to order a salad on a date to make the guy think I’m not a glutton or something.”
