Wolf Gone Wild

My stomach proceeded to step up to the diving board and do a triple somersault, while I tried to come up with a response that didn’t sound all throaty and stupid-sexy. Because Mateo’s playful side felt dangerously like flirting. But that couldn’t be, right? I was ninety percent sure he was pleased as punch when I accidentally friend-zoned him last night. I hadn’t actually meant to, but it just came out my stupid mouth. Then he was all “friends” and “awesome.” And I was like, fuck, what did I just do? But then Clara said friends was a good thing, even though she made that weird comment about friends and lovers. And then my nighttime cocktail of reading werewolf horror—I mean history—with carb-loaded fettucine somehow gave me psycho-sexual dreams about Mateo’s wolf. So here I was, staring at friendly Mateo looking entirely too adorable with that silly grin on his face, trying desperately not to make an ass out of myself, like telling him I wanted to marry him again, and—

“Here you are. Suicide Squad Sizzlers.”

Thank God! Saved by Joe again. I loved Joe. He was the best waiter in the whole wide world.

“Careful.” Mateo put his napkin in his lap while I did the same. “These are super hot.”

“Well, yeah, I kind of got that from the whole sizzling on the skillet thing.”

“Okay, smart-ass. I meant spicy hot.”

I picked up a fork and stabbed a big juicy shrimp in the buttery red sauce, then dipped it in the avocado-lime aioli on the side.

“Mmmm.” I closed my eyes on the first bite. “That is freaking delicious.” When I opened them, Mateo had frozen with his shrimp halfway to his mouth. He blinked heavily then shoved a bite in his mouth, too.

“Sure is.” He chewed, then reached for his tea, glancing elsewhere. His jaw clenched hard with each bite.

I forked another big one, the jumbo-sized tail too big to fit in my mouth in one bite. After I bit it awkwardly in half, Mateo looked up and grinned at me.

“What’s so funny?”

He stared at my face and laughed.

“What?”

He picked up the napkin dispenser, which was silver chrome and shiny as a mirror, and held it in front of me. Apparently, in my attempt not to overstuff my mouth, I’d tipped my nose in the red sauce coating the shrimp.

I went to grab a clean napkin from the holder, but he was already reaching across the table. “Come here, Rudolph.”

With a quick swipe, he wiped it clean, even though I leaned close to the napkin dispenser to double-check. All while he continued to chuckle at me.

“You didn’t see that,” I huffed at him.

“I definitely saw that.”

“Well, there goes my record of perfection in your eyes. I suppose we should dispense with this friendship here and now. How can you continue to worship me after this tragedy?”

“No worries, Evie. I’ll still worship you,” he teased. Yes, definitely teased. Even so, his words curled in my belly like a warm cinnamon bun straight out of the oven and melted just as sweetly.

Our food followed right after. Thank you, Joe. Again. I might want to marry him, too, before this lunch was over. Then I marveled at Mateo eating two double half-pound patties. Medium rare, mind you. Gross. But again, werewolf. So I got it. My burger was cooked well done. Crispy and deliciously juicy on the inside. And the Daredevil fries? Holy shitballs. What a meal.

“I might sell my first born to have those fries delivered to my doorstep every day.” I walked ahead of him toward the exit, glad I’d worn my stretchy jeans because I was hella full. My food baby needed room to grow.

“Happy you liked it,” he said from close behind me before he held the door open and let me walk through first.

“Your surprise wins at least four gold stars.”

“Four? Out of how many?”

I rolled my eyes. “Out of five, of course.”

“Why only four?”

“Oh, Mateo.” I angled my head and gave him my bless-your-poor-little-heart look. “If it were a Marvel-themed grill, then it would’ve gotten you five perfect stars.”

“Well, then.” He unlocked the truck and opened my door, not giving me much room to pass him by. And just as I ducked by him, he added close to my ear, “I’ll have to think of another way to get those five stars.”

He gave my ponytail a firm tug, which sent a delicious tingle skating down my body all the way to my toes. As he closed the door and rounded the hood, I realized I was in big, big trouble. Friends shouldn’t make your toes curl from a platonic ponytail tug. Bless my poor little heart.

Chapter 13

~EVIE~

“We miss y’all!” Isadora cooed to me from the desktop we kept in the corner of the kitchen. “Is Clara holding down the shop okay without me?”

“Yes, don’t worry. I’ve been helping her in between shifts. Violet, too, if you can believe it.”

“Really? She isn’t sneaking off per usual?”

“I don’t sneak off!” Violet yelled behind me as she walked into the kitchen, then popped her head in front of me, filling up the screen. “Is, I’ve told you I’m not sneaking. Sneaking implies there’s shame involved. And there’s no shame in what I’m doing.”

Isadora rolled her grass-green eyes, the same shade as my own. “Then why don’t you tell us what you’re doing?”

“When I’m ready.” Violet winked at me then strolled into the kitchen where Jules was stirring her shrimp creole. Then she popped back, sticking her blue-haired head in front of me again. “If you want something juicy to discuss, ask Evie about her werewolf who’s coming to Sunday dinner.”

“Go away.” I shoved Violet on the shoulder.

“What werewolf?” Isadora leaned closer excitedly, her blond-haired, big-eyed face filling up the screen. “You have a werewolf? Coming to our Sunday dinner?”

“No. He’s not my werewolf.” Though lately, I had this irrepressible wish that he was. “And you and Livvy won’t be here,” I remarked. “So what’s one more mouth to feed? Jules is used to cooking for all six of us.”

Jules made a disgruntled noise from the stove.

“Besides,” I went on, “he’s really coming over to discuss how we plan to break his hex, so I just asked him to come to dinner beforehand.”

Violet was there again, putting her big head in my way. “Also so Evie can spend her four-hour-a-day minimum time allotment with him.” She waggled her eyebrows and drifted toward the pantry.

“What the hell have we been missing?” Isadora asked. “Why does all the excitement happen when we leave?”

“It’s not that much excitement,” I assured her, even as my tummy did a nervous arabesque and twirl.

“Has anyone seen Fred pass through here?” asked Violet from the walk-in pantry.

Jules placed the lid back on her Magnalite pot and propped a hand on her hip, wooden spoon in the other hand. “And why the hell would I have seen Fred pass through here?”

Violet stared at her, blank-faced, then said slowly as if to a child, “Because you have eyes and might have seen him walking through.” She used two fingers and walked on air to demonstrate.

“He isn’t allowed in the house, smartass, and you know it.”

“I still don’t understand this rule. Z is allowed in the house.”

“Z is potty-trained.”

I tuned back to Isadora who had her head tilted, listening to Jules and Violet going at it. “Well, nothing has changed here. Tell Livvy sorry I missed her.”

Is smiled big. “I sure will.”

“Hey, cousin!” Drew’s head popped onscreen next to Isadora, all tanned skin and bright blue eyes.

“Hey, Drew. Y’all taking care of my girls?”

“You know it. Cole took Livvy to a Gumbo Cookoff downtown. Travis and I are about to take this one down there.”

“Don’t wear them out. They have a flight to catch tomorrow afternoon.”

Isadora and Lizzy left early for their trip to see Mom and Dad, deciding to visit with our cousins before they ventured overseas to Switzerland.

Drew rolled his baby blues. “Don’t worry. We got it. How’s NOLA?”

“Loud, crowded, hot as hell. Nothing new.”

He chuckled, his bright white smile so infectious. He was the prettiest warlock on the planet, I was sure of it. And he knew it.

“Well, we expect to be fully entertained on our next trip to make up for the demands of these two. They’re so high maintenance.”

Isadora shoved him with her shoulder. I rolled my eyes. “My sisters are not high maintenance. Well…maybe Isadora.”

“Hey! I am not!” she protested, then turned sheepish. “Well, not very much.”

We all laughed, even Is. Because she was the queen of list-making and guilty of organizing trips down to pee breaks.

“You guys ready to go?” asked Travis, his giant form coming up behind them before he lowered his sandy blond head into view. “Well, if it isn’t pretty Eveleen.”

“Don’t do it, Travis! Don’t—” But he started singing anyway, off-key and horribly.

“Eveleen, Eveleen, Eveleen, Evelee-eeen! Please don’t take my heart away just because you can.”

Yep. To the tune of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” It was such a bad joke, but the doofus couldn’t help himself. Every. Damn. Time.

Isadora laughed while she made googly eyes at me. Drew and Cole were our cousins. Travis wasn’t. He was just the super-hot warlock who lived with them. He was a ridiculous flirt, but I never entertained him as anything more than a friend since he lived with Cole and Drew. I would’ve enjoyed dating a fine-ass hot guy like Travis, but that’s just the thing. I knew Travis was the kind of guy I’d have tons of fun with and most definitely hot sex with, then we’d break it off. And there would be that weird awkwardness every time we saw each other. Besides, they lived two and half hours away, so dating him wasn’t even much of an option.