Free Rise of the Moon (Moonlit Series Book 1) by Rachel Hera

he’s hot, but if that’s all he has to offer…” I shrugged, not knowing what else to say.
    Harry looked at me for a second before smiling, “You’re very level-headed.”
    I didn’t know what to say to that, “Thank you?” I tossed the paper towels into the trash. “Also, on the note of level-headedness… Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”
    “What?”
    “Harry, I have never once seen you be rude to anybody, let alone a customer. Did you know them?”
    “No,” Harry shook his head. “It’s been a long shift, Evelyn. Even I get irritable.”
    “Irritable? They didn’t do anything,” I defended them.
    “You were verbally pushing them away before I came out of the back,” he pointed out.
    “So now you’re fighting my battles for me?” I asked, placing a solid hand on my hip.
    “Is this our first fight?” Harry defused the situation with a smile.
    “Get out of here,” I pressed my lips together to keep myself from laughing.
    He laughed though, “Well, I’ll see you around, Evelyn. Call me if you have any troubles.”
    “I will,” I told him, “But I don’t think anything more troubling than Marissa and Blake could come my way.”
    “Valid point,” he grinned. He waved as he opened the door, making the bell chime again. I hated that sound, and now I was to face it alone for fifteen minutes before one of my other co-workers showed up to keep me company. Then it was four hours until closing time.
    I let out a sigh.
    It was one of many that night.

Chapter 6: Blake
     
    I held up a piece of drywall while Dante screwed it into place. He hummed as he did so, clearly in a good mood. He, Jason, Kaya and I were all in an exceptionally good mood. I knew why I was –I had just officially met my mate in the last few hours. But considering they were grumbling about the construction we had to do on the house before we left for ice cream, they had done a complete one-eighty.
    I wasn’t the only one to notice this, as Noah, Jason’s father, kept on glancing over at the four of us. Noah was my father’s right hand man, a bodyguard of sorts.
    “Good ice cream?” Michael, Kaya’s father, commented. If Noah was Carlos’s right hand, Michael would be his left. The three of them had been friends right from their childhood, similar to how I’d grown up surrounded by Kaya, Jason and Dante.
    “The best,” Jason replied, picking at some drywall mud that had fallen onto his shoe. It left a gray smear on his the white of his sneaker.
    “I almost want to go for another round,” Kaya grinned, passing Dante another screw.
    “I think we’d scare the ice cream girls,” Dante murmured, smiling as he waited for me to pick up another piece of drywall. “Besides, it’s probably closed already now.”
    “Michael,” my father walked into the room, and everyone’s cackling fell to silence. “We need a list of everything this room requires. What medical supplies do you need?”
    We had bought the house earlier this week, and were already doing the final touches on the basement. To the untrained eye, the majority of the basement appeared to have been turned into a gym –or it would be once we’d set everything up. But we’d added two rooms that would be hidden behind the mirrors we’d hang on the wall. One of which was the medical room. The other room was purposefully empty. We’d finished moving furniture into the house quickly, and Carlos was taking his time upstairs to organize everything the way he liked.
    “Counters and cabinets would be a good place to start,” Michael chuckled.
    Carlos rolled his eyes, but smiled. Everyone’s shoulders visibly eased up. “Just make a list, and I’ll get everything you need.”
    “We’ll probably just need the bare minimum, since this is our secondary clinic, really,” Michael said. He looked at Carlos, “Don’t worry. I’ll make you a list. I’ll get it to you before Kaya and I leave.”
    “No rush,” Carlos lifted a hand dismissively. He