Page 53 of Burn Falls

Valencia and I looked at each other, and I shrugged. “Only if you’re buying.” V smirked.

Oh! Good one.

“Not a problem.” Athan moved to the guy who was sitting next to Valencia, tapped him on the shoulder and asked, “Don’t you want to move over?”

“Athan!” V scolded.

Athan and the man’s gazes stayed locked until the guy said, “Yes.” He got up, and Athan sat in his place.

“Rude much?” V asked.

“What?” Athan’s brows furrowed as though he wasn’t impolite to the guy.

“You could have asked him nicely,” V chastised.

“I did.” Athan lifted his arm to flag down Chance.

“All right you two,” I said. “You guys can work this out later.”

“Oh, we will.” Athan winked at Valencia, and she blushed. She might not remember every detail of them having sex, but she definitely remembered something.

Chance gave a head tilt and moved to Athan. “What can I get for you, man?”

Athan grinned at me and then turned back to Chance. “O’Bannion Burn. Neat.”

Chance rotated around and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the top shelf.

“So, Athan. What made you move to Russia?” I asked as I watched Chance pour two fingers of the amber liquid that was my legacy.

“It’s a long story, but essentially, I vacationed there a few years back and just decided to move there.”

“Wow, that’s amazing,” I said.

“It was at first, but now I’m thinking of moving to Burn Falls.”

“Really?” Valencia asked with hope in her voice.

Burn Falls was still far from Seattle, but closer than Russia. I wasn’t even sure which part of Russia he lived in.

“Does Draven know?” I asked before he could answer V.

“Nope. I haven’t made the decision yet, but I love how secluded it is, and how most people just pass through. Before I make that decision, I’ll need to tie up some things in Russia though.”

“Maybe I’ll hire you at OBB then,” I joked.

“One can dream.” He smirked. “But I’d drink every drop before you could sell any whiskey.” Athan took a big gulp from his glass.

Athan and Valencia dropped me off at home, and after taking a shower, I crawled into bed and sent a goodnight text to Draven.

Hope your night is going well. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.

I fell asleep before he texted me back, but the next morning I saw his reply:

Night, sweetheart. Can’t wait to see you either.

I packed all day while I thought about Draven and what our night would be like together. Because of his schedule, he thought it would be best to take a late flight so he could get enough sleep. I didn’t argue with him, though I would have loved to spend the entire day together. Nonetheless, his flight wasn’t getting in until ten at night.

Even though Draven had told me that he’d help box everything up, I ended up doing it all. I didn’t think he’d mind because it would give us more time to spend together. I didn’t know his exact plan with his friend, but I figured not having to help me pack would be a better situation for all of us.