“All right, come on, half-pint.”
He opened the door wide enough for me to see Kieran, Haz, and a man who looked familiar lurking behind them. Before I could place the stranger, Haz rushed in.
“You got glasses!”
“They just came. Did you know they can do same-day glasses?” I asked, waving him over to the couch. I knew it was rude not to get up, but well, I needed the blanket to hide the effect Hiro had on me.
“Can I try them on?” Haz asked.
“No,” Hiro and Kieran yelled.
I pulled them off and handed them to Haz.
“Whoa,” he drawled, perching them on his nose. “Everything is so blurry.”
“That’s how it was for me without them,” I mused.
“And you just lived like that?” Haz asked, handing the glasses over so I could put them back on.
“I didn’t really know any different.”
“So this is Ghost’s place,” Haz said, looking around with unconcealed interest. “Why’s it so empty?”
I shrugged. “Did you hear we’re moving in across the hall from you?”
“What?” Haz exclaimed.
Kieran groaned.
Haz turned to Kieran who was standing near the now-closed door. “You knew about this, and you didn’t tell me!”
“I was hoping it was just a nightmare.”
“I authorized a transfer of funds this morning,” Hiro announced.
“We’re going to be neighbors again!” Haz said. “Our kids can have plant-dates!”
“Come meet them,” I said, jumping up from the couch and getting tangled in the blanket wrapped around me.
Haz, the good friend he is, reached out to steady me, but it was already too late. We both went down in a heap.
“Would you be careful?” Both Hiro and Kieran roared.
“Do you think they share a brain?” I whispered.
Haz giggled and rolled to his feet, holding out a hand to help me up.
“Don’t touch him,” Hiro growled, putting his body between us. “Look what happened the last time you did.”
“The fall was my fault,” I said as Hiro put his hands beneath my armpits and hauled me up.
“You okay?” he asked softly, unwinding the blanket from my legs. “Let me look at your knee.”
“My knee is fine,” I said just as quietly. “I’m fine.”
“Don’t coddle him,” the familiar man with dark hair and a sharp suit snapped. “It will just make him softer.”
Hiro’s eyes flashed, and a jolt of apprehension went through me.
