Reign of Night (Thorne Hill #7) - Emily Goodwin Page 0,17
and the older I get, the more I do like Christmas. Obviously, we’re both aware my life can be crazy, and I never know what’s going to happen or if I’ll live to see another day.”
Lucas frowns at me, but I continue.
“Being able to be all cheery and invite people over for drinks and food and getting everyone I care about gifts just makes me happy.”
“I do understand that. Except for the food and drinks part. Lie naked on the table with your legs open for me, though, and I’ll eat.”
We had sex not that long ago, but a shiver goes through me, making my pussy quiver for him. Fuck, I’m one lucky lady.
“Your phone is ringing,” he says, able to hear it while I can’t. “I’ll get it for you.”
I pick up a piece of bacon and get one bite in before Lucas speeds back into the office. Kristy’s name and photo show up on the screen. I quickly finish chewing and answer.
“Hello?”
“Hey, how are you?” she asks.
“I’m good. You?”
“Good, too, freezing right now, though,” she replies.
“You must have stepped outside the door.”
“Yeah, and Ruby is with me, so don’t worry. We’re being extra cautious, and I take it you are.”
“Of course.” I pick up another piece of bacon. “Everything is going to be fine.” The lie rolls off my tongue so easily I almost believe it. “I trust Michael.”
“Yeah,” Kristy says, unconvinced but humoring me for my own sake. “Me too.”
“Go back into the Covenstead,” I tell her. “It’s snowing and I’m cold just thinking about being outside.”
“It’s freezing. I work this afternoon, so I’ll be back in town. Text me if you need anything.”
“I will. And same if you need anything.”
“Love you, Cal.”
“Love ya, too, Kristy.” I end the call and put my phone down, trading it for my coffee. “Show me the property you’re interested in?” I ask Lucas.
He goes back to his desk and picks up his phone, coming back over and sitting by me on the window seat. It was original to the house, and while we hoped to keep the century-old woodwork, it was beyond repair from years of water damage. The vampire carpenter Lucas found did an amazing job making this look like it fit right in with the rest of the house, especially this office, which looks like something from the Victorian era. Lucas wanted it like this on purpose, saying he rather enjoyed that period of time.
“It was a jewelry store. The owner recently retired, and the building will be vacant starting in January.” He shows me photos of the storefront, which is nestled between other businesses downtown.
“What would you put in there?”
"I’m not sure. I need to see what else is in town and how busy it seems tonight before I can make a decision. With it being a college town, any sort of restaurant would most likely be profitable.”
“Would you have to go to Paradise Valley a lot after you open some sort of business?”
“At first, just to make sure things are to my liking. You know we own many businesses, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” I break the last piece of bacon in half and pop it in my mouth. The hipster bar in Lincoln Park is Lucas’s most recent business venture, and he said he was hoping Eliza could take it over. He’s more involved in that particular business than he is in his others solely to train Eliza on how to manage something of that caliber. Anything that opens in Paradise Valley would be on a much smaller scale, I’m sure.
“The garland you ordered is out for delivery,” Lucas says, lowering his phone. “We can put it up today, if you’d like.”
I smile, nodding enthusiastically. “Is there an ETA on the delivery?”
“No, just arriving by six PM tonight. What about exterior lights? Would you like to order some?”
“Of course! I think classic white lights would look pretty on the house, with pre-lit garland on the porch and maybe two really big red bows each side of the arch where you walk to the front door.”
“You’ve thought about this, haven’t you?”
“Maybe once I slightly entertained the thought.”
Lucas laughs and kisses my forehead. “What do you want to do today?”
“I kind of want to do nothing.” The idea of lounging around with Lucas sounds amazing, but the thought of having nothing to distract myself with makes me anxious. My heart skips a beat, and I know Lucas can sense my nerves. “I’d love to read, actually. The library has big