Page 27 of Nails

He was bummed the moment had been broken before he could kiss her.And damn, he had wanted to kiss her.But at least he hadn’t walked away empty-handed.That kiss on her cheek?It might not have been much, but it was at least something.And for a guy who didn’t let many people in, it felt like the start of something worth risking.

He wasn’t sure when he’d see her again, but one thing was certain, he was going to make more time to visit his mom.It was something he should’ve been doing already.But now he had an extra incentive to show up.

With a sigh, he opened the screen door and stepped inside.What he wasn’t expecting was to be greeted by his mom and Snow, who were sitting in the living room, looking way too amused for his liking.

Of course, his mom made the first move.She raised an eyebrow while a knowing smirk tugged at her lips.

“So, how was your date?”

Nails chuckled, shaking his head as he kicked off his tennis shoes.

“It wasn’t a date,” he argued.

“Mm…hmmm,” she hummed, sounding unconvinced.“Helping her with her car, then disappearing inside,” she paused for a second as she looked at her watch, “for over an hour.”

Snow chuckled as he leaned back in the chair.The smirk on his face was damn near identical to his mom’s.

Nails shot him a look before turning back to his mom.“I was thanking her for everything she’s been doing around here to help you out.That’s all.”Okay, it was a little more than that.

His mom gave him a“yeah, right”expression.“A simple thank you doesn’t take that long.”

Nails blew out a frustrated breath as he rubbed a hand over his face, though he couldn’t stop the slight grin that pulled at his lips.

“Okay, fine.She invited me in for a cup of coffee.We talked for a bit, and then she got hungry.So, we had sandwiches.End of story.”

His mom’s eyes lit up.She looked far too pleased with herself.

“And?”

“What do you mean, and?”he asked, sounding amused.

“What did you think of her?”

God, he couldn’t believe he was sitting here having this conversation right now.

“She is interesting.Quite a character, actually.”

“And pretty, right?”His mom smiled.

“Yes,” he admitted, leaning against the arm of the couch.“She’s gorgeous.”

Snow let out a low chuckle.“Damn.I never thought I’d see the day.”

Nails rolled his eyes.“Okay, are you two done now?”

“For now,” his mom said, smiling.

Shaking his head, he pushed off the couch.“I’m heading upstairs to get a shower.”

As Nails climbed the stairs two at a time, trying to escape the teasing, he could still hear his mom and Snow laughing like they had just orchestrated a successful mission.

He shook his head, realizing that was sort of what happened.If it weren’t for his mom’s constant meddling and Snow’s words earlier, he never would have ended up in Riley’s kitchen drinking black coffee, swapping stories, and fighting the urge to kiss her like it was the most natural damn thing in the world.

CHAPTER SIX

Riley pushed open the frosted glass door of the HSI’s office.She rolled her eyes, smelling the familiar scent of burnt coffee.It was evident that Russell was in the office.He always forgot to turn off the coffee pot.

The place was mostly empty, which was normal for a weekend.Their office usually ran a skeleton crew on weekends, unless there was an emergency.But as she walked through the office, she couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but something felt off.