Page 390 of His Hungry Wolf

“I finally see where you get that from.”

“Don’t you dare say I’m anything like them.”

“I’m not saying…”

“Because you can get back in that truck and drive right back home, Mister.”

“Lou,” I said trying to bring him back to me. “Lou. Relax. You know I didn’t mean anything like that.”

“You’re right. And I’ve never once dislodged my jaw and swallowed someone whole. That fact alone makes me nothing like them,” he said talking himself down.

I stared at him wondering if he heard it.

“What?!”

“Did I ever tell you how adorable you are?”

My compliment broke through.

“Ahhh.” He put his palms on my cheeks. “And that’s why I agreed to marry you.”

“You mean fake…”

“Shh,” he hissed. “There’s a massive echo. They can hear every word we say,” he whispered.

“So they heard everything you just said about them?” I whispered.

Lou’s smile was devious. My baby knew exactly how to fight back against these people. He wasn’t as helpless against them as he pretended to be. I couldn’t have loved him more.

“Let me give you a tour,” he said returning to full volume.

Leading me by the hand, Lou walked me behind the stairs and the dining room. On one side of the room was a grand piano that looked tiny in the large space. On the other side was an elegant wooden floor with a large area rug and a living room set. Taking me back through the dining room, we crossed into the chef’s kitchen, prep room, dry storage, and laundry.

The carpeted second floor were all bedrooms. The master bedroom suite was over the side of the house with the grand hall. That was where his grandmother had slept. Next to it was the room that his parents occupied. Next to that was his brother’s room.

“Where do you sleep?” I asked after we ran out of doors.

He smiled and pointed to the stairs.

“You get the whole third floor?”

“That’s right. Otherwise known as the attic.”

Lou led me upstairs and through one of the many doors connected to the balcony. His room was nowhere near as polished as the rest of the house, but it was huge.

“It’s also where they store any bit of junk they get from their tacky friends.”

I looked at him unsure what I could say.

“Don’t worry, they can’t hear anything said up here. You’re free to speak,” he said slumping onto the queen-sized bed.

“I’m starting to understand all of the things you said about them. They might be the absolute worst.”

“Might be?” Lou asked with a smirk.

“They don’t eat children,” I reminded him.

“That we know of. But, come on. Would you put it past Chris?”