Hopelessly Broken by Tawny Taylor Read Free Book Online

breakfast.” Aeron gently pulled the paper towel roll out of her hands. “ Since it was my fault, I’ll clean this mess up later, after we eat.”
    “But—“
    “My treat.”
    “But…” She glanced down.
    “What? You look beautiful.” He dusted his shoulders with his hands—not that it did much good. “What’s a little flour? It’s Saturday morning. Who’s going to notice?” His gaze locked on hers.
    “Can we go to Big Boy ?” Logan asked as he tried to clean Cojack. “They make Mickey Mouse pancakes. I love Mickey Mouse pancakes!”
    Aeron’s lips twitched. “Are you going to deny your brother Mickey Mouse pancakes?”
    She could no sooner deny Logan Mickey Mouse pancakes than she could deny Aeron anything. In one morning, one silly, childish act, he had cracked the chains of grief circling her heart.
    For the first time since that awful day, she didn’t just hope she might be happy someday, she knew it could be possible.
     
    Oh crap.
    His body was tingling. Everywhere. He didn’t want tingles. He didn’t need tingles.
    What he needed was time with Logan.
    He yanked his gaze from Jenn’s eyes. They had been sparkling so bright he hadn’t been able to look away. They still were, and it was a mesmerizing sight. So was the rest of her, from the tip of her cute little toes to the top of her head. The white flour made her skin look like porcelain, smooth and soft and fair.
    She didn’t know how beautiful she was. He could tell. If his life wasn’t what it was now, he would tell her. Again, and again and again until she believed it. But he couldn’t.
    Instead, he jerked his head toward the door. “Ready?”
    “Are you serious?” Those pretty eyes of hers widened. “We’re not even going to clean ourselves up?”
    “Maybe we ’d better,” Logan suggested. “The Pancake house probably doesn’t want a mess on their chairs.”
    “You’re probably right, Logan.” Aeron nodded. “I’ll meet you both at the door in five minutes. I’ll just change my clothes and brush off the loose stuff.”
    “Make it ten . Logan, change your clothes,” Jenn said, dashing toward the stairs. She was at the top before Aeron had even made it to the base of the staircase.
    “Fine. Ten minutes. But no longer.” Aeron grinned over his shoulder at Logan who had shadowed him from the kitchen. “We wouldn’t want poor Logan to starve.”
    “I’m fine.” Logan glanced around. “Where’s Cojack?”
    “Not sure. Probably waiting at the door to be let out. Can you put him outside before you go up to change, buddy?”
    “Sure!” Logan did a one-eight y and sprinted for the kitchen as Aeron stomped up the steps.
    Up in his room, Aeron dusted off as much of the flour as he could with a dry towel then changed into a pair of pants and a short sleeved shirt. A glance in the mirror told him he might want to wash his face before they left. Where the white powder made Jennifer look pretty and feminine, it didn’t do the same for him. It settled in the tiny gaps between his beard stubble, making him look kind of creepy.
    In the hallway, h e checked his watch. “Two minutes,” he called through the bathroom door.
    “I’ll be out in one.”
    He watched the second hand circle the watch face, fifteen seconds, thirty, forty-five.
    The door creaked open.
    His breath caught in his throat.
    In his many travels through hell, Aeron had personally seen the most beautiful angel God had created, but this woman made Lucifer look tired and old and ugly.
    “Sorry I took so long ,” she said.
    The results had been worth it. He almost told her that, but he stopped himself.
    “No problem.” He waited for her to step out. The area was tight, the corridor narrow. Her arm brushed against his. A charge of electricity buzzed up to his neck. Ignoring the obnoxious tingle zapping through him (for some reason, whenever they touched, it felt like an electric current charged through him), he closed himself in the bathroom. He took a