Page 25 of Shrouded in the Dark

Jasper rubbed his head as he passed him but he looked at me. "You’ll make sure he’s ok?"

I nodded and sat next to Cody, wrapping an arm around his shoulder putting his head on my chest. “Hey. You didn’t know that she has anxiety with new people or crowds. I wouldn’t have known if Felicity hadn’t told me.” I placed my chin on his head. “And you knew she’d be shocked if you told her she was cute. That was a little bit of cheating.”

Cody huffed. “I wasn’t doing it all that much to win.”

I moved and flicked his nose gently.

“Fine. I did it to win. But I wasn’t lying! She’s hot. Not cute, by the way.” He leaned into my chest more as he relaxed.

I blinked a little shocked. “What? You actually think she’s hot?”

He moved his head to look up at me. “You don’t? She’s just the right amount of fluff. My wolf likes her.”

“I mean, she’s cute and my bear likes her, but notthatway. I know Jasper likes her as a friend. Seth? Well, who knows what Seth thinks if he doesn’t tell us.”

Cody just shrugged but didn’t talk for a few minutes. “I’ll be more conscious of what I do.”

I grinned and nudged the top of his head with my cheek. “Alright.”

Chapter 6

Becca

The ride into town was quiet. Seth had put on a CD that played what sounded like classical music. I thought it might have been awkward since I hadn’t spent much time with him, but it was surprisingly comfortable. Seth had this quiet strength to him.

“How old are you?” I popped the question out randomly.

Seth turned left onto the road before he looked over at me with his right eyebrow up. “I’m twenty-five.”

“Huh.” He acted older but looked it. “I was going to guess maybe thirty.” I kept my tone light and looked at him from the corner of my eye.

His lips twitched. “Nope. Not that old, yet.” He glanced at me for a second before focusing on driving again. “You’re twenty-two? Started college late?”

“How’d you know that?”

Seth shrugs. “I Googled.”

My eyes narrowed. “Are you a stalker?” I grinned.

That got me a low laugh. “No, I’m just resourceful. Why did you start university late?”

I glanced out the window. The greenery was everywhere and refreshing. “I went to a community college to get my generals. It was cheaper that way. But I did it online.”

“I finished my Bachelors online, too. It was just easier since I was taking over the family business.”

I turned toward him as I held the seat belt band at my chest. “Business?”

“Mm. Yes.” The SUV stopped at a stop light. “I inherited the family business when I turned nineteen. You ever heard of Pots Grocery?”

I thought about it. There were a ton of grocery chains in Colorado, but Pots didn’t ring a bell. “No. Sorry.”

He shrugged as the light changed and we pulled forward. “It’s not a big deal. Pots Grocery is mostly east coast. It’s been in the family since the 1950’s. I don’t do much now that it’s been a few years, but I still have meetings twice a month or for emergencies.”

“Dang. That’s impressive of your family.” We pulled in front of a pizza store and parked a few spots down. “But is that really what you want to do?” I unbuckled and jumped out of the SUV.

I met Seth at the front of it on the sidewalk. He looked a little confused.

“You know, no one’s ever asked me that.” We walked down the sidewalk past one store before going into the pizza place. He held open the door for me.