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“What about you, Katherine?”
“What about me?” I ask.
“How are you? What’s new with you?”
The waitress comes to take our order before I can answer. Bryce gets a steak and orders a whiskey. I get a salad, knowing there’s no way I could eat more than that. Cody orders chicken nuggets, and I smile at him. He very rarely orders it for a meal at restaurants. He always says that it’s a kid’s meal, and he’s too big for that. Mostly, I think he likes being able to take the leftovers home to eat the next day.
After the waitress leaves, Bryce looks at me expectantly.
“Oh, um… I’m a teacher now. I teach third grade.” I shrug, not knowing what else to say.
“Do you teach Cody’s class?”
I grin at Cody. “No, we decided it would be better if he was in a different one.”
Cody laughs. “Yeah, I already have to live with her. I didn’t want to see her every day at school, too.”
I gasp. “You’re such a turd.”
Cody starts giggling at me, and when I glance at Bryce, he’s smiling at both of us. From that moment on, things are lighter. It’s those giggles that remind me that Cody and my relationship will never change. We will always be as close as we are now, whether or not Bryce sticks around.
Cody and I both relax into the afternoon, and lunch goes by quickly. Bryce pays for our lunch and walks us outside.
“I would like to see you again sometime, Cody. Would that be all right?”
Cody frowns. “Right now?”
Bryce smiles. “No, not right now. But soon.”
He shrugs. “I guess.”
“Great.” Bryce looks at me. “I’ll call you to set something up.”
“Sure.”
Bryce squeezes Cody’s shoulder and says goodbye. He starts walking down the sidewalk and doesn’t look back as he turns the corner.
I smile down at Cody to hide my disappointment. “Let’s call Nolan and go to the arcade. I’m starving.”
Cody groans. “Ugh. Me, too. This is why I don’t get chicken nuggets anymore.”
CHAPTER 22
Nolan
The Cosmic Brownie in my hand freezes against my lower lip. My eyes move across the page as fast as I can make them go without missing anything. Even my heartbeat is thumping faster than it should while sitting in the car.
Katie didn’t tell me how intense this book would be. The shifter war is coming to a head, and the battle is raging hard. There’s no clear winner, which is making me nervous. The book is almost over, so there has to be a winner. Right? That’s how this usually goes. Tilly and Ellie always tout how their romance books end with a happily ever after every time.
I take another bite of my snack, needing the comfort of the gooey chocolate. After I dropped off Katie and Cody at lunch, I went to the big box store to get some things we couldn’t get in Westlake. Mainly boxes of Lucky Charms cereal with only the marshmallows for Sara. They’re her favorite. That took all of an hour, even with me going down every aisle whether I needed anything in it or not.
When I couldn’t waste any more time in the store without feeling like an idiot, I came back to the restaurant to wait. I praised my smart thinking in bringing my book. I didn’t think I would have time to read, but I’m grateful I brought it anyway. I totally understand why people read exclusively on their phones. Being able to have your book handy at any time would be awesome.
The plastic wrapper crinkles in my fist. “No, no, no, that’s not what’s supposed to happen,” I say into the empty car. My eyes fly across the page as the main characters get into a car accident caused by the bad guys. I gasp when the villain grabs the girl, and even though she fights like hell, he still wins and takes her.
I turn the page to find out how they get out of this situation, but that’s it. It’s over. I flip the page back and forth, trying to get my brain to understand what I’m seeing.
“What the fuck? That’s it?”
