Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(24)

“I’m glad you liked it,” Neil replied with a smile. “I like to cook. It’s a particular talent of mine.”

“Yeah, that Neil is a great cook,” I said, playing my assigned part. My part was to make Neil seem like a domestic god. “There isn’t a night that goes by that he doesn’t come up with something fabulous.”

It wasn’t true. Neil was a great cook, but I didn’t mention that he was also incredibly lazy and preferred to order in most of the time.

Chad smiled across the table at Neil, definitely impressed with his skills.

The dinner conversation revealed a lot about Chad Thomas. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d met an actual, plain old ordinary human guy. If I met a human in any capacity beyond talking to someone while in line at Starbucks, they were usually in the life. They were thieves like me or looking to hire one. They didn’t sit and talk openly about their lives. They didn’t talk about their careers as lawyers or how much they liked dogs. Neil was particularly happy with that last tidbit Chad had dropped. If he’d been a cat person, that might have been a deal breaker.

Neil stood up, gathering plates. “Let me go grab dessert.”

I glanced at the clock, and my heart sank a little bit. I shouldn’t have expected anything less. It was almost a full hour since the sun disappeared. Part of me hoped Daniel would come out as soon as he was released. He was, undoubtedly, locked in his apartment sulking. Or maybe he’d found those cheap hookers he’d talked about.

“Wow,” Chad said, his brown eyes widening. “That looks like it hurts.”

My hand flew to the scarf I’d tied around my neck. Without Daniel’s blood, I healed like an everyday person, and the holes he’d left were transitioning from horrifying to merely disgusting. My fingers quickly redid the knot, and I blushed as I tried to find a good excuse. What was a reasonable explanation for the black and blue monstrosity that was my neck? There wasn’t one so I gave him a creative piece of crap that should let him know it wasn’t his business. “Bugs, man they get big out here in the country, don’t they?”

“That’s a bug bite?” He leaned forward, trying to get a better look.

“Oh, yeah, and let me tell you those suckers hurt,” I replied with a smile as Neil brought forth the raspberry cheesecake.

He’d barely set it down when the front door slammed open. Daniel stalked through the doorway carrying four long boxes on his shoulders. It was way more than even a built man like Danny should be able to carry. He put them in the entryway and walked back outside without a word. It took less time than it should for him to be back with more.

I had to catch his attention or he might scare our guest, who wasn’t used to super speed. “Hello, Danny.”

He caught sight of the three of us and stopped, finally letting his senses tell him what they should have told him long before now. “We have company?”

“This is Chad,” Neil said and introductions were made.

“Nice to meet you, Chad,” Daniel managed. “I have some more boxes to bring in. Don’t let me interrupt your dinner.”

Chad’s eyes were wide as Daniel turned. Oh, yeah, no question about it now. He was gay. “Who was that?”

Neil didn’t seem bothered by the fact that Chad was nearly drooling. “That’s Zoey’s husband, Daniel. If you think he’s hot, you should meet her boyfriend. I practically stop breathing when he walks in a room. He’s sex on two legs.”

I gave Neil my best “you’re going to die later” stare and got up from the table to follow Daniel outside. Stepping around the boxes littering my foyer, I made my way to the front yard.

“You bought my flooring,” I said with a happy smile. He was here, and he wasn’t telling me to stay away. It was progress.

“Yeah, well, turns out Visa works at Home Depot and hand-scraped hardwood is supposed to be good at alleviating the gut-gnawing guilt I feel at nearly draining my wife.” His eyes slid away, but there wasn’t any bitterness in his words, just a sheepish regret.

“You don’t take the same lessons from these episodes that I do.” I picked up his tool box from the back of the truck he was driving. He’d traded in his Benz for a truck after I’d pretty much destroyed it earlier this year. The truck was more useful anyway. He ducked into the cab and came back with a small thermos. I didn’t have to ask what it was.

Daniel handed me the cup of the thermos. He held it out, and I could see he was hoping I wouldn’t fight him on it. “And what do you take from the times when I nearly kill you?”

“That you never do.” I took the cup and drank it down. I didn’t have any desire to spend weeks waiting for my neck to heal. I tried not to sigh with pleasure as I felt the blood start to work. I suddenly wasn’t as tired as I’d been before. “That you always find a way. We always find a way.”

I untied the scarf around my neck, feeling the smooth skin there.

Daniel stopped on the porch and smiled, leaning the last box against the wall. “All right, Pollyanna, we’ll play it your way. Maybe it’s time to trust ourselves. Did I bother to thank you for saving me? You know, I’m supposed to be this big bad vampire, but I get my ass saved by a girl an awful lot. What does that say about me?”

“That you’re fortunate in your choice of companions?”