With her drink, she walked over to a bench, sitting to stare out at the silver lake. Some teenagers played ice hockey in one section, while others skated in another. The sky darkened, the sun about to set.
Emmeline checked her phone; Luke was late. She nibbled on her lower lip, trying not to think the worst: that this was what he wanted, for her to wait for him only for him to stand her up.
“Mommy, look!” a little girl said, pointing. Glancing up, Emmeline spotted Torch, who was flying above with Motu in her paw. The little girl wasn’t the only one staring in awe.
Emmeline smiled to herself. Since this was the chimera area of town, her dragon would be a novelty. While she hadn’t been to Bayview much, it was nice. Unlike the Hills, but lovely all the same.
The hot chocolate was sweet and warm, and she took another sip, gaze straying to where there was a toboggan slide set up. It looked to only be open on the weekends, but there were some people pulling up their own toboggans and even a few chimeras flying the toboggans on to the top. Passengers shot down the steep slide, both children and adults shouting in glee. It looked fun—probably as thrilling as a dragon diving down in the sky.
Emmeline checked her phone again, then frowned. Luke was ten minutes late now, with no message. Standing, shewalked back and forth, sipping her hot chocolate until she reached the end. She went to toss it, just as a man a few years older than her tossed a crumpled piece of paper into the trashcan at the same time.
Her gaze met his, and she paused. He was very good-looking, with wavy black hair and stubble across his cheeks and jaw. There was a nasty scar slashed across his throat, the skin white and raised. There was another scar over his brow and in indent in one ear.
“What did you get?” he asked, giving her an easy smile.
“The hot chocolate?” she asked. He nodded. “A classic.”
He didn’t hesitate: “How about I get you another?”
“Oh.” She hadn’t been expecting that, but she wasn’t entirely averse to the idea, either. She was used to men offering her such things.
“I’m Flint,” he said. His voice was deep and raspy. “Give me a sec.”
Before she could respond, he headed for the hot chocolate truck. Emmeline checked her phone, wondering where Luke was. Then, Flint was back. She put her phone away as he offered her a fresh hot chocolate, steam rising from the top. The sweet scent filled her lungs. With a shrug, she took the cup.
She was standing here waiting anyway, and one little hot chocolate was no harm; she was hardly going home with him. Besides, Flint was handsome. She always enjoyed handsome men. Though his beauty had a dangerous quality to it, the way the flash of lightning did, with the promise to scathe.
He was the type of man she would have—years ago—cautioned Millie (with her terrible taste) away from, but Emmeline had handled plenty of men like him before. She wasn’t worried.
“You’re not from around here,” Flint said, tilting his head as he assessed her.
“Oh?” she asked. “Then where am I from?”
He took the chance to check her out, his gaze slowly going down, which amused her. She was used to men who were forward. They knew what they wanted and weren’t afraid to show it, which made them the most uncomplicated.
After everything being so complicated with Luke, this was a welcome distraction. She liked when guys fitted into neat boxes; it made it easy for her to manage.
“Let me guess,” he said, looking her over. “Dragon rider?”
Surprise lit through her, but she didn’t show it, not wanting him to think she was impressed. “Beginner’s luck,” she said casually. “There’s only three other animals to choose from, anyway.”
He shrugged easily, then pointed a finger up. “The dragon circling above kind of gave it away,” he said. She looked and, sure enough, Torch was flying overhead.
Emmeline’s lips twitched. “Someone’s sharp.”
“I get the feeling you like sharp,” he replied smoothly, earning a laugh out of her. She was about to respond when Flint’s gaze shifted to something over her shoulder. His expression soured.
Emmeline glanced back—Luke was there, looking royally pissed off. Anxiety spiked through her at his expression.
He stalked up to her and Flint, practically radiating tension as he came to stand by Emmeline’s side. She couldimmediately sense he was angry, though reallysheshould have been upset since he was the one who was late!
“Luke,” Flint said curtly, nodding. So they knew each other.
Luke didn’t respond. Instead, he turned to Emmeline, dark eyes stormy. “Go,” he said, voice hard. Her brows crinkled. He’d never spoken to her like that, his voice a command. She opened her mouth to argue, but he ground his teeth together. “Now.”
Her blood beat hotly in her veins. First, he was late, and now he was ordering her around like a toxic jealous boyfriend. How dare he tell her what to do!
As she geared up to fire back a response, she saw the tight expression on his face. He was at the very edge of bursting, glaring at Flint, who didn’t seem too pleased to see Luke, either, thoughhewasn’t acting like a barbarian about it.
