“I know,” he answers back. Even though he’s much further away now, he doesn’t have to shout. His voice travels to me clear as a high-res sound file. “This changes everything.”
22
It looks like Olafr’s asleep when I return, his furry body splayed across the girls’ feet. But I guess not, because when I start up the stairs I can hear him loping behind me. But this time when I get to my guestroom door, I resist the urge to reach down and pet him. Instead, I open the door without so much as a bye.#p#分页标题#e#
Olafr watches me go in, looking as if I’ve just stabbed his wolf’s heart, but I stay strong.
You don’t want to be friends with this wolf, I remind myself. And I close the door, thinking of how badly I just muddled things with his brother. It’s already going to take a whole slew of arguments to get me out of the huge mixed message I just sent FJ.
FJ, who’s staying down the hall from me. Just two doors down on the other side of Tu and Grady’s room.
A totally not fair image of me crawling into his bed and being greeted by another one of his hot kisses invades my mind. I’ve never in my life gotten into such a heated argument with someone. I think of the way it felt to finally stand up for myself for once. To look him in the eye. The way my heart thundered…and then dropped straight down into my stomach when he kissed me.
“This changes everything.”
I shake my head. No, no, no! Get out of my head, stupid Viking prince. I’ve got work to do…
I grab on to that thought like I’m hanging on to a tree in storm.
What I don’t need are thoughts of an outrageously fine werewolf with a smile that makes me feel all squishy inside, and a way of kissing that makes me feel like I’ve left the oven on somewhere.
What I do need is to get back to my work, which has always been there for me and would never end an argument by pulling me into its lap and kissing the hell out of me.
I head to my desk, determined to get my mind back on track. When I open my laptop, I see that Iggle’s already sent me her review notes. Great. That means I can go over the project one more time before tonight’s Skype session with the Korean firm.
But I feel a fog of weariness settle over me as soon as I start reviewing Iggle’s notes. I try to type…only to have the words blur. Damn, my last Red Bull is already wearing off.
Okay, maybe I should take a rock star. In this case, the nap kind, not the energy drink. Just a fifteen-minute snooze to get my brain back in gear. Then I’ll get up as soon as FJ returns with my Mountain Dew and Red Bull.
I crawl into bed…
….and when I wake, the room is blazing hot. Probably because of the sun, now high in the sky and shining through the room’s large panoramic window.
So it’s definitely no longer morning.
That’s fine, I think. I’ve lost a couple of hours, but I can make them up by skipping dinner downstairs. Again.
Which I know Aunt Wilma hates, but it’s not like the dinner table is all that inviting lately with a certain Viking houseguest in attendance. Yeah, I’m definitely skipping dinner.
I pick up the phone to text Janelle so she can let Aunt Wilma know I won’t be coming down…only to croak out loud when I see the time display on the screen. Not because it’s 1:37 PM, about an hour later than I thought. But because of the date. January 4, which can’t be right because today’s January 3.
But then I see the screen full of missed message notifications beneath
“No, no, no!” I say, stumbling over to my laptop. “Please tell me I didn’t miss the concept call!”
But apparently I did. The red circle on the icon of my mail program, which I rigorously keep at Inbox Zero, has a double digit number now; and iMessenger has a triple digit number, with a message from Iggle in the gray slider box.
WTF!!! Where are you???? Had to do the concept meeting alone and I’m having to ED like a MF up in here!!! WTH, Tee??!!!!
ED—Iggle speak for making executive decisions on every single question that’s come in since the concept meeting, which she handled alone. Iggle, who wakes and bakes like most people drink a cup of coffee in the morning.#p#分页标题#e#
No. This cannot be happening.
Why didn’t anyone wake me? Usually Aunt Wilma sends someone up to knock on the door when I don’t come down for dinner—
The answer to that question comes to me in a furry flash. Olafr. More specifically, Olafr and FJ. Not only did FJ not bring me my supplies, but I’m betting Olafr decided to make sure no one knocked on my door last night or this morning. Which is pretty easy to do, when you’re a huge-ass wolf standing in front of someone’s bedroom door.