Page 14 of Luck Be a Genie

“Now, Lucks, is that nice? To attack a man’s physique?” His words were playful, but I detected an undercurrent of insecurity and concern that made me pause.

Was it actually possible Nick was worried that I wasn’t attracted to him?

Nick?

Had he not clocked all the women—and some men—who had been eyeing him all day like he was a piece of prime rib and they were starving?

“I only care what you think, Lucks,” Nick said softly.

“Did you just read my thoughts?” I demanded.

He shook his head solemnly. “I can’t read yours, remember. Your chaos magic blocks me. But I wouldn’t anyway, even if I could. At least, not without permission. You just have a very expressive face, and I’ve gotten to know you pretty well in the last year.”

I sighed. He was right. How could I have forgotten his magic didn’t work on me? “I think you’re very attractive, Nick. I wouldn’t have teased you if I thought that you doubted that in any way.”

He squeezed the hand that he’d managed to grab again the moment I’d wedged myself in beside him on his tube. “I don’t doubt it with anyone else. But aside from my own, your opinion matters the most to me.”

I leaned my cheek against his shoulder and thought about what he’d just said as we meandered slowly down the river.

After about five minutes of silence between us, I finally said, “I don’t like that you’ve given my opinion so much weight with you... but I understand.” I smiled up at him. “I’ll try to use my power over you responsibly.”

He laughed as he brought an arm around me and kissed my forehead. “That’s all I ask, sunshine. That’s all I ask.”

Chapter 6

Lucky

After Nick helped me out of the inner tube, we dried off, reapplied sunblock, and then used the QR code near our loungers to order lunch. Nick ordered a strawberry lemonade, kabobs, and nachos, while I ordered chicken tenders and fries. I’d probably steal some of his nachos, though, if I could. For a drink I just ordered what he did. It sounded light and refreshing.

As we sat and waited for our meals, I pulled a paperback out of my bag and read for a bit while Nick dozed beside me.

Since he was a lot darker than me, he didn’t burn as easily, but I still kept an eye on him just to be sure he wasn’t burning.

There were very few things worse than second-degree burns all over your body from the flaming star above us.

Ask me how I know.

After a few minutes of reading, I glanced over at him again. I couldn’t seem to help it. He was just... Nick. Ever since I’d met him, I felt like there was something about him that drew me in. At first I’d just assumed it was because he was powerful. Power tended to do that, especially for those weaker on the paranormal power scale. But it wasn’t that. Nick didn’t go around flaunting his power like a lot of other supernaturals. In fact, for a genie, he was pretty normal.

Nick had a small pool bag beside his chair, and from its depths, a cell phone started buzzing.

Biting my lip, I glanced at Nick, who was sound asleep, then shrugged and went back to my book.

The buzzing stopped, then started again.

Biting the end of my thumb, I glanced at Nick again. He looked dead to the world, and very peaceful. So peaceful that I didn’t want to wake him up.

What if the phone call was important? Or it was an emergency?

They hung up, and I sighed in relief that I didn’t have to decide to pick it up or not—until the phone started buzzing again.

Covering my face with my paperback for a moment and groaning, I gave up and dove into his bag to scoop his phone up. The name on the screen read Big Bro.

Wincing, I answered it.

“Hello?”

There was a long pause. “Is there a reason you’re answering my brother’s phone?”