Rocked (The Everyday Heroes World) - Julia Wolf Page 0,21
didn’t think I was in Phantom of the Opera territory, I’d never been in denial about my scars. They were thick and obvious. There was no hiding them with makeup, and a year or two after the accident, I got tired of wearing my hair down all the time to cover them. As used to my new face as I was, I was also well aware the scar was shocking to new people I met. I’d had patients in the middle of their own crisis ask me how I got them. A couple weeks ago, we were transporting a twenty-two-year-old male who’d been accidentally shot through the leg by his friend while they were target shooting. While I worked to slow his bleeding, he studied my face in horror and fascination. When we arrived at the hospital, he’d whispered, rather kindly, “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
Yeah, I was too.
Without thinking, I traced a finger down the unnaturally smooth surface. Then I filled my chest with a deep breath and got over it. I wasn’t one to throw pity parties for myself. I blamed my doom and gloom on Ellie’s impending trip.
“Thanks, my friend. I can always count on you to be my cheerleader.”
Veego’s thick brows lowered in consternation. “You can count on me for everything, Kitty Kat. Including not letting you beat yourself up.”
“I know.” My eyes met his. “Thank you. I’ll be back to pick Ellie up after dinner on Thursday. Have fun.”
As I turned, he caught my elbow. “You haven’t said anything about the rock star.”
I tilted my head. “Devon? What should I be saying?”
“I mean, you didn’t want him renting the cottage, but Ellie showed me the belt he bought her, and there was talk of tacos…”
Tugging my elbow from his grip, I tucked my hands in my pockets. “She invited him for dinner. Can you believe he’d never experienced Taco Tuesday?”
Something dark passed over Veego’s face. “What I can’t believe is you allowed him to have dinner at your place. That’s not like you.”
“Should I have shoved him out the door when Ellie invited him to stay? You’re being weird, Victor.”
He huffed a laugh and crossed his tree-trunk arms over his chest. “And you’re being unusually friendly with our renter, babe.”
Frustrated with his mood swings, I threw my hands in the air. “Come on! I thought we were done fighting. Are you seriously picking on me for being friendly?”
“No. I’m not picking a fight. I’m just trying to figure you out. That guy, Devon…he doesn’t have a great reputation.”
I mirrored his stance, crossing my arms. “You obviously want to tell me something, so go for it.” I held up a finger. “But unless he’s a known murderer or R. Kelly is his idol, I’m not sure I need to know all the skeletons in Devon Chambers’ closet. Besides, I’m assuming all your information is easily searchable on the internet. Or do you have some secret inside celebrity source?”
Veego dipped his chin and reached out to grip my forearm, unfurling my protection.
“Let’s forget the rock star. You know what we need, that we haven’t done in far too long?”
“What?”
“We need to go out. Ellie’s going to be gone Friday night. I happen to know you’re off, and so am I, which never happens. When was the last time—the pub crawl last summer? There’s gonna be some live music at Hooligan’s. You could dance…?”
He knew he had me. His smug grin and raised eyebrows told me so. I didn’t drink, so a bar wasn’t much of a draw, but live music and dancing? I’d be there. Hell, I might even dress cute.
“Okay. I’ll invite my crew, you invite yours.” I rubbed my hands together. “I’m actually excited about this.”
Veego faltered, his shoulders and smile drooping, but it happened so fast, I decided I imagined it.
He laughed and pulled me in for another hug. “Told you you needed this. You’ll be too busy dancing to worry about Ellie.”
“I doubt that.” I pushed away from him. “I have to get to work. See you Thursday.”
Leroy hopped back in the car, excited to go to Veego’s mom’s during my shift. Unlike Veego, Lorena adored my troublemaker dog, and she treated him like a king. He’d probably live with her forever if he wasn’t worried about hurting Ellie’s feelings. Me? He’d toss me aside in a second, but not his girl. Never his girl.
My eyes were crusty and no part of me wanted to roll out of bed. Normally, when I