Page 9 of Friends to WHAT?!

“Stop saying ‘hot’ to me. And no, not really. I want to be a good father, a good brother, a decent son, and a caring friend. Zero percent of those things require hotness.”

“Screw hotness,” Sterne says, eliciting a scowl from Almond. “You said yourself that you want to be more take charge in your life. What’s more take charge than this?” He lays his hands on my shoulders, emerald-green eyes intense as they clash with mine. “Are you a wolf or a puppy? Will you conquer your fears, or will you cower in the face of them?”

“Cower,” I answer. “Definitely cower. At home, preferably, and not leaning against the side wall of Leora’s business.”

Sterne makes a buzzer sound. “Wrong answer. We’re conquering today, my friend, and we’re doing itnow.” With that, he spins me around, digs his hands into my back, andshoves.

I stumble onto the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding a run-in with old man Rory while Almond giggles behind me.

“Sorry, Rory,” I say. “Blame Sterne.”

The older man’s eyes twinkle with mirth as he shrugs off my apology. “No worries, Wolfe. But maybe don’t hang out with strange men in back alleys, yeah? It’s not good for your health.”

“What about me?” Sterne asks, the tug of a smile at the edge of his lips. “Any wisdom to impart?”

Rory grins. “You’re beyond help, I fear.”

Almond pops up beside us, snorting. “You can say that again.”

Sterne rolls his eyes.

“What are you lot getting up to, then?” Rory asks.

“A kidnapping,” Almond answers happily.

I choke.

Rory laughs. “I see the children are up to what they’ve always been up to.”

“You can say that again,” Sterne replies wryly. “We’re on a schedule, though, Rory. I apologize, but we can’t chat much. I have to be back at the station in fifteen.”

“Oh, go on,” Rory says. “Have your fun. Leave the old men to rot.”

“And you rot oh-so-beautifully,” Almond flirts, fluttering her lashes at the man. He winks at her, then trots off with an extra dose of pep in his step.

“I’m gonna throw up,” I announce.

“Oh, come on.” Almond rolls her eyes. “He’s, like, a hundred years old. I know I’m your baby sister, but this is ridiculous.”

“Not that,” I hiss. “That.”

She follows my gaze to Hunter’s Moon’s storefront window. Sterne does the same, then curses.

“I think we’ve lost the element of surprise,” I quease. “And I think, also, that we should abandon this ridiculous scheme andgo home.”

Almond winces.

“That’s quitter loser talk,” Sterne grumbles. “And you arenota quitter loser. Wolf up, Wolfy. You’re getting your girl. Today, or so help me, I will kidnap you both and lock you in a room together until you’ve figured it out.”

“I’m gonna throw up on her,” I mutter, growing more nauseous by the minute.

“No need to be sick,” Almond says. “Look. She’s looking right at you, and she doesn’t look like she hates what she sees. That’s good news. That’s opposite of throwing up type news. We carry on.”

She’s right, Leora is looking right at me. Directly. Ten feet away, separated by only glass, the woman I love has her pale green eyes locked on… my shoulders. No, my biceps. My chest. My stomach. My forearms. My… okay, so her eyes aren’t exactly locked on anything. Instead, they rove, over my clothes and my skin, skimming the lines of the tattoos that cover almost all of the portions of my body available for her perusal.

I allow myself a fleeting glimpse of her own angelic form, curves covered in drapes of purple fabric, sinful thoughts beneath royal clothing.

I shake my head, disgusted with myself. No sinful thoughts. No angelic forms. I have not been invited to partake of any such thing in any such way. Chastised, I focus my gaze on only the bits of her visage that reside above her collarbone.