Page 14 of Emeric

Sylvan pushed his chair back and stood with a smile. “You don’t need to. I’ll be right back.” He left the kitchen.

It was my turn to cock an eyebrow at Emeric. “Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?” I whispered.

“You’re jealous?” Emeric kept his voice low. “I thought you two weren’t together.”

“I’m not jealous. It’s obvious you’re interested in him.”

“He’s beautiful, Oleander, but I don’t need to tell you that.”

Sylvan returned with two paperbacks in his hands. He set them on the table between Emeric and me. “The top book is a rom-com that will hopefully make you laugh and swoon a little. The bottom book I had printed just for me. I didn’t publish it. I’m not sure I ever will. If I do, it will have to be under a different pen name. It’s dark, raw, and gritty. Sometimes I have to get the stories out of my head, regardless of what they’re about. This one was like that.”

“Thank you,” Emeric said. “I’ll be sure to return these when I’m done. And I won’t let anyone read the second.”

For a moment, I thought Sylvan was going to tell him to keep them, but he replied, “Sounds good. Let me give you my number.” And that was how Emeric was on the receiving end of Sylvan’s phone number.

We said our goodbyes after that, with Emeric saying he’d check in once he’d handled things with the neighbor. I made sure Sylvan didn’t need anything else while we were there. I didn’t get out here often, so I wanted to take care of anything he needed. He declined, saying he was good. Although, I saw a hint of a blush on his cheeks when he spoke.

Sylvan used to blush a lot in front of me. It seemed the more I was around him, the less he did it. I wasn’t sure if I liked that or not. Of course, his comfort came first. There was something endearing about him blushing when I spoke to him.

A sigh escaped me once we were in the Navigator on our way down the driveway.

“You wanted him to need you, didn’t you?” Emeric asked. I should have kept that sigh to myself. Emeric was far too observant.

My phone rang through the SUV’s speakers before I could reply. Thank fuck for that. Then again, why did she have to call me right now?

“Who’s Colleen?” Emeric asked.

“My mom.”

“You have your mom listed by her name in your phone?”

“If I put that she’s my mother, then anyone who gets my phone would immediately target her.”

“And this way they’ll leave her alone?” I could hear the question in his voice without looking at him. “Why put her name in there at all?”

“Because when I grab it and quickly glance at the screen, I like knowing it’s her. Plus, if someone takes my phone, they can see the call log and how many times I’ve spoken to her. I erase them when I remember. And just to throw people off, I have random phone numbers in here with all kinds of names on them. I don’t even know who the numbers belong to.” I said all of this while the phone kept ringing.

“That’s smart. Aren’t you going to answer it?”

“I’m still debating. You’re in the car with me.”

“Oh, come on. Answer the damn phone.” Before I could, he leaned forward and accepted the call.

“Hi, Mom,” I said, giving him side-eye.

“I didn’t think you were going to answer.”

“I’m coming back from an assignment. I have someone in the car with me.”

“Okay, listen, I’m going to text you. Read it later when you’re home.”

“Will do.” I ended the call. She was used to me being quick on the phone when I was busy. I didn’t always answer it. She understood, given the job I had.

“That was cryptic,” Emeric muttered.

“My mom is… well, she’s an amazing person. I love her dearly, but she’s not for everyone.”

“I’m intrigued.”