Page 48 of Demon Dating Service

Luke lifted a skeptical eyebrow at her, but before he could say anything, Matteo chimed in.

“I’ll get it. What would you like?”

“Nope. You’re staying here with me. Luke can go.”

Luke almost groaned. That’s what he’d been afraid of. Overprotective Harper was determined to give Matteo the shovel talk. It was way too early for that nonsense. They hadn’t even gone out on a true date yet. They just kissed a little. Okay, and maybe Luke was hopelessly enamored and so in danger of having his heart shattered like glass. Which was all the more reason he didn’t want Harper scaring Matteo off. Luke glared at her. “Are you going to be nice?”

Harper rolled her eyes. “When am I not nice?”

“Do you really want me to give you a list?”

She huffed and gave his shoulder a tiny shove. “I won’t hurt him. Now go get Momma a cookie. It’s the only thing that’s going to get me through this next lecture.”

Luke rose and smiled at Matteo. “Can I get anything for you?” he asked, though he didn’t want to be away from Harper and Matteo for that long.

Matteo’s face lit up. “Could you get me a salted caramel mocha?”

Some of the anxiety that gathered in his chest evaporated at his joyful expression. “And a cookie?”

“Nah. Just the coffee is fine.” Matteo sneaked another quick kiss before Luke walked away, automatically adding an extra spring to Luke’s step.

Unfortunately, the coffee cart was at the opposite end of the hall and around the corner, which meant he couldn’t keep an eye on Harper as he waited for his order. There wasn’t a line upon his arrival, but he swore this was the world’s slowest barista. He bounced on the balls of his feet, the paper bag crinkling in his fist as he waited for Matteo’s coffee.

Harper wouldn’t scare Matteo off, right?

And why the hell did Harper talking to Matteo alone suddenly scare him more than the idea of Matteo seeing any of the demons?

Because the demons listened to him. Mostly. Sort of.

Regardless, Harper did not listen to him at all. That was why.

By the time he was striding back down the hall at a near run, he wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Could have been five minutes. Could have been five hours. He didn’t know. All he was sure of was that Matteo had been left alone with Harper for far too long.

As he turned the corner, Harper’s and Matteo’s laughter rang out, filling the corridor. That was good, right? Plus, Matteo was still there. He hadn’t run off screaming, swearing never to talk to Luke again. That was also a good sign.

As soon as Harper spotted him, she jumped to her feet, shouldered her bag, and snatched the little white bag from Luke’s fingers. “Thanks! I’ve got to run if I’m going to be on time for my class. Catch you later.”

And then she was gone before Luke could even ask her a single question.

He hurried over to the sofa and dropped into the spot Harper had vacated. It was now that he noticed that Matteo’s eyes were abnormally wide and his smile was a bit stiff.

“Are you okay? Did she give you the shovel talk? Please don’t take Harper seriously. She’s crazy. Everyone knows that. Her mouth runs, but she doesn’t mean half of what she says.”

Matteo blinked suddenly, and his smile relaxed as he accepted the coffee Luke was holding. “I…yeah…that was some shovel talk. Never had anyone do that. She’s definitely crazy.” His words were stop-start until he finally settled on an idea.

“Sorry. I don’t date much. I think she’s been looking forward to giving someone the shovel talk for a while now.”

“No, I don’t mind! She’s clearly an amazing friend, and I’m kind of jealous.”

“What?” Luke gasped.

“I’ve got friends, but there’s no one in my life who would watch my back like she’s trying to do for you. That’s fucking awesome.”

“Oh, yeah, it is. I’d do the same for her, but Harper is far more comfortable with the dating scene than I am. She’s in and out of relationships too fast for me to get protective.” Luke released an enormous sigh of relief and leaned into Matteo to rest his forehead on his shoulder. “Does that mean you still want to go out on our date?”

“Oh, God no! I can’t date you. Harper would kill me.”

Luke’s head jerked up while his heart stopped dead in his chest, only to see Matteo grinning at him like a lunatic.