Speaking of…
Stone walked into the room wearing the clothes he’d been wearing yesterday. His hair was wet, so Nico assumed he’d taken a shower. His expression was wary as he glanced at Nico, then Stevie, and back again.
Leave it to Jäger to liven things up. As soon as he saw Stone, he came running toward him, tripping over his own little paws but rebounding quickly.
“Hey, little guy,” Stone greeted, going down on one knee to greet the puppy. “Have a good night?”
Jäger yipped and rolled onto his back, a silent request for a belly rub.
“Mornin’,” Stone said when he looked up at Nico again.
“Mornin’. There’s coffee.”
“I should probably head out,” he said hesitantly as he stood tall.
“That might not be possible,” Nico informed him. “The roads are worse now than they were last night. Good news is, the temperature’s supposed to get in the forties today, so it’ll melt.”
“Are you really tryin’ to run out?” Stevie asked.
Nico heard the disappointment in her voice.
“I’d prefer to stay,” Stone said, his gaze locked on her. “I just don’t wanna overstay my welcome.”
“You won’t,” Nico assured him.
Stone’s expression was one of doubt, but he didn’t say anything more.
“Grab some coffee. I haven’t started cookin’, but there’s bacon and eggs in the fridge,” Nico urged. “I’m gonna take a quick shower.”
Not only did he need one, he also needed a few minutes to process what was transpiring. There was a weirdness in the air. One that he didn’t recall afterthat night. He wasn’t sure what it meant— if anything—and since he was known to overthink things on occasion, he figured there was no better time than the present to do just that.
Twenty-One
While Nico showered, Stone stood at thestove, finishing up the scrambled eggs while the bacon crisped in the oven.
“I did not know you could cook,” Stevie said from behind him. “Your mom always teased that it wasn’t safe to eat food you made.”
“Yeah. But she’s the one who taught me.” He glanced back at her. “And I might’ve picked up a few things while I was workin’ on a ranch or two. Nothin’ fancy, mind you. But I can scramble some eggs, and I make a mean steak. What about you?”
“I like to cook, but I usually do less fryin’. That’s Nico’s specialty.”
“How long’ve you two lived together?” Stone tried to play it off as a casual question, but he wasn’t sure it came across that way.
“About a year now. I moved in when Niyah and Adam got engaged. They wanted to live together, and I would’ve been a third wheel. Nico offered to let me rent one of the rooms after Melanie moved out.”
“Tell me about her,” he said, curious about a woman who’d managed to get Nico to propose to her.
“She … uh…” Stevie sighed. “Melanie was nice enough. I think she loved Nico in her own way.”
“Meaning? What? She loved his money?”
“No.” Stevie set her mug down. “I think it was more than that, but she was very possessive. Once she came in and took over his life, she did her best to push everyone else out. Includin’ Niyah. And if you know his sister, you know she doesn’t stand for that. They butted heads a little.”
That was interesting. More so, that Nico would’ve allowed someone to do that. From what he recalled, he’d been close to his sister.
“And the company? What prompted you to start your own company?”
Stevie answered more easily. “My grandpa left me some money when he died. Since I didn’t want to work for anyone else, it was my only option, really.” She took a sip of coffee. “Nico already had his degree by then. I knew if he could venture out on his own, he could make some real money. He worked for this other company after he graduated college. They were holdin’ him back, so it seemed like the right thing to do.”
