Chaos & the Geek (Grace Grayson Security #1) - Elizabeth Stevens Page 0,25

Although I had no idea how I was going to test it.

I didn’t know what it was about Amber that morning, but I saw something in her I’d never seen before. Maybe it was because she’d never actually looked at me before. Maybe it was because we’d said more words that morning than I think we ever had in our whole lives. Maybe it was because I still felt her fingers on my bare skin like a persistent tingle. Maybe it was because I wanted her to not actually hate me so much that I was willing to imagine any other possibility. No matter how horrible.

“All right,” Carmel sighed. “Anything I can do for you before I go, then?”

I blinked and realised there were two plates and two mugs of coffee in front of me. I smiled and shook my head. “No, that’s plenty. Go and visit your nephews.”

Carmel chuckled and waved me forward. I leant over the counter and let her kiss my cheeks the way she often did. “Lovely to meet you, Miss Amber. Leave your washing and a shopping list for me. I’ll see you tomorrow if you’re here.”

Amber scoffed. “Ah, I’ll no doubt be making more mess on Kit’s dining table.”

“That is a lot of paper.”

Amber pushed her glasses up her nose and folded her arms around herself. “It’s for my thesis.”

“Oh, you’re studying?”

Amber nodded. “PhD. Arthurian legend and classical romance.” She gave that nod again.

Carmel looked at me. “A smart girl here.”

I nodded at her. “Yes. Crazy smart. Always has been. Never fell for any of our jokes.”

“Your ‘jokes’ were so obvious,” Amber laughed. “No one was falling for them.”

I looked to her and her smile shrunk. But it was still there, just more hesitant. The look in her eyes was soft and questioning. Again, I felt her fingers on my skin and relived that moment of tension that had nothing to do with me worrying she hated me. In fact, it was the exact opposite. But I pushed it away.

“Let me walk you out,” she said to Carmel, and I got cutlery out of the drawer while they went to the front door chatting.

I pulled myself onto one of the bar stools and set up the plates.

I heard an in-drawn breath and looked up to see Amber, half-frowning and paused like she’d been about to say something.

“What?” I asked her, indicating she sit down.

She practically had to climb up onto the barstool next to me. Once she was settled, she snuck a look at me. “No. Nothing. I just would have assumed you’d need to be at work by now.”

I should have been. But it was a slow morning so I was going to take the time to try and peel away one of her infinite layers – if Nico could do it, it couldn’t be that hard. Could it? Perhaps I’d just realise she really did just hate me. I was definitely, in no way thinking anything inappropriate about her.

I shrugged. “It’s not that late.”

She nodded as she started eating. “I guess.”

“How’s the study going?” I asked.

She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “Fine.”

I smirked, hoping to elicit another of those smiles. “Fine?”

“Fine.” She nodded and seemed to fight a smile. A smile I was suddenly desperate to see again.

I looked at my plate in the hopes she wouldn’t notice. “Hawk told us about Champers Day. Tank wanted us all to celebrate with you on Sunday.”

She didn’t say anything so I looked up and found her smirking. She was looking me right in the eye and I felt an excitement I didn’t usually feel. I told myself it was only accomplishment. But there was this challenge and question and humour in her eyes I found it hard to ignore.

“What?” I asked, my own smile threatening to break through.

“Why do you lot not have normal names? Chaos, Hawk, Tank?”

“Rollie and Nico,” I finished, and she laughed.

“I actually feel sorry for Nico. Unless he was born Reginald or something?”

I looked down at my plate as I smiled. “No. He was born Nicholas.”

“He seemed really nice. Who did he friendly fire to not get a nickname?”

I was enjoying this side of her. I didn’t know what had brought it out. But I’d never seen it directed at me before and I was enjoying it. Knowing I was the one who was making her smile – okay, maybe at Nico’s expense – was a singular feeling after all those years of indifference. Do