Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
One week ago, he had broken down at the side of the road, a tire blowout, and before he had chance to roll up his sleeves, Eve had come running out of the animal shelter to offer help.
Grim, at first, had been prepared for the worst. His enemies lurked everywhere, and he knew all of them would love the chance to finally take him out. Eve had gotten to work, fast, at fixing his flat tire. She had talked constantly, telling him that pickup trucks were way too expensive, and there was no point in getting one. She had used his spare tire, gotten it on, and then asked him to promise to take his car to the nearest shop.
Again, still a little taken aback by her sweetness, Grim had agreed. He wasn’t used to people making demands of him, or asking him to do something for himself. The people in his world were selfish bastards who were only interested in their own agendas and what they wanted out of life.
Eve hadn’t even spoken about herself. He found her intriguing.
The moment he spotted her coming out of the building, he climbed out of his car and leaned against it. He expected her to notice him.
Eve went straight to her car. She had a bag across her body, which she pulled off over her head, and started to rummage in her bag for her keys. This was also new for him. He wasn’t used to women ignoring him. Grim commanded attention.
Eve hadn’t noticed him. She threw her bag inside the car and was about to climb in.
Grim had no choice but to speak up. “Hello,” he said. The moment he said those words, he knew it was a big fucking mistake.
Eve spun around and the moment she saw him, her frown turned into a smile. “Oh, hey. You’re the guy that, ugh, your car broke down. No, flat tire, right?” she asked, smiling.
“That’s me.” He was used to people being terrified of him, not smiling or trying to make a joke of it.
She glanced behind him. “Did you get your car fixed? It wasn’t a fortune, was it? I know some places can charge the earth for a tire change.” She shook her head.
“Everything is fixed.”
“That is awesome news. I’m so pleased I was able to help.” She reached out and patted his arm as if it was the most natural thing in the world to her.
No one touched him, unless he gave them permission.
Staring at Eve, he couldn’t take his gaze away from her. She was so beautiful, like a light shining through the darkness.
Grim knew he should stay away, that there was no way he should allow his darkness, his cruelty, to swamp her, but he was drawn. Like a moth to a flame. He had absolutely no power over it. He wanted her, and turning back now was out of the question. This was totally selfish of him. Eve wasn’t suited to his world. He would end up destroying her, but he couldn’t stop himself.
“I was wondering if I could take you to dinner?” he asked.
“Dinner?”
“Yeah, as a thank you. You showed me kindness, and I want to pay you back.”
“You don’t owe me anything and I didn’t do that so you could pay me back.” She gave him a smile. “Don’t be silly.”
Again, this woman was like another species to him. She was totally out of his league, and he knew that from the start.
“I would like to. Please. You didn’t have to help me. I was a stranger.”
Eve smiled. “Okay, fine, but I get to pick the place.”
****
This was so surreal to Eve. Never in her life had she been asked out to dinner by a total stranger. She hadn’t even been on any kind of date in her life. Not that this qualified as a date. She didn’t know if he would be a date or friendly dinner companion, and she didn’t even know his name.
“I’m so sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but I just realized I don’t know your name,” she said, offering him a smile. She felt so bad.
Scrambling through her brain, she couldn’t be sure if he had ever said what his name was.
“It’s … Graham.”
“Graham.”
“Yeah, Graham.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Graham.” She held her hand out and he took it.
He kept looking around the diner. It was a small, cozy place that served the best home-cooked food. It was also quite cheap and had a friendly air. She didn’t know if Graham was wealthy or a struggling-to-get-by kind of guy, or even the comfortable kind of guy. Either way, he didn’t need to buy her dinner, and the food at Gran’s Place was always the bomb.
The diner was called Gran’s Place, and she had been going there for years. So much so, she even called the owners Granny and Grandpa. In fact, she believed all the customers did because the owners insisted on it. She didn’t want to appear rude or upset them, so Granny and Grandpa it was. They were good people, and she loved it there.