A Way to a Dragon’s Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

does.” She stepped around him and took the cake pans. “This is all going to work. I’m your big sister and therefore automatically always right. That’s just the way the world spins.” She walked away to the ovens.
    Caleb wanted her to be right. So much had fallen into place the last year, with the last three months being a complete surprise and a sign from the Universe that now was the time. But he couldn’t let go of the idea that Xander’s brothers might be right, that he might be about to hurt Xander in a way he could never fix.
    “You’re not going to hurt him.” Kathleen said from the ovens.
    “Get out of my head.” Caleb laughed.
    “No, I like it in here. Your mind’s dirty and disorganized but otherwise rather homey.” She set the timer and turned to face him. “You know it’s not automatic that you’ll scare Kryssa off. I mean she came with him, right? She knows what’s going on, probably better than he does. All you have to do is give her space and let it be a vee, you both with Xander and with no obligation to be together. It’s how it was with Nina and me when we first started seeing Vivian. Later the same thing happened with Nina and Max when Vivian and I started seeing him. It’s just about having a little patience and taking it slow.”
    Caleb shook his head. “It’s so much harder than you make it sound, especially now. When you meet her you’ll understand. Since I got off the phone just the memory of her scent is distracting me.”
    Kathleen’s face changed as if something just dawned on her. “Her family is full blooded Dragon, aren’t they?”
    “Damn near as far back as the Cretaceous Period,” Caleb said with a sharp smile.
    His sister gave a low whistle. “Okay, yeah, I understand, you’re definitely doomed. But, hey, she’s been working twenty-hour days for years. She’ll probably need the both of you just to mellow out a bit, let alone fully relax. Hell, you might even need to call in reinforcements, so don’t worry about overwhelming her just yet. You and Xander are definitely facing the greater danger.”
    Caleb nodded. “Thanks, really, I feel so much better. Just keep talking. If you accidentally say something useful, I’ll let you know.” He fought a laugh and lost. “Although the imagery helps at least. Anything that distracts from the disaster, right?”
    He looked over to see Kathleen covering a smile with the back of her hand. “It’s really not funny when you think about how badly this could go, Lee.”
    Kathleen shook her head. “I’m not laughing at the possible tragedy. I’m smiling at what might go right.” She walked over to him. “I know you love Xander, but you really like Kryssa too, don’t you? You have pictures of her and Xander on your phone, but it’s more than just them together. You talk about her non-stop after you visit, and you visit even when you and Xander are on a break. Some of this is definitely about Kryssa, right?”
    Caleb walked to the fridge. “Of course some of it’s about Kryssa. You’ve seen the pictures. Even you asked if she was single.” He pulled out a bowl of butter cream frosting and walked to the other side of the kitchen aisle.
    “Why are you running away from me?”
    Caleb huffed. “I’m not running away. I need to get this into the piping bags.”
    Kathleen walked over to him, and Caleb stepped away to get the bags. “You are running away. What happened? What didn’t you tell me?”
    Caleb whipped the butter cream, his eyes on his task. “I kissed her. Not a kiss of greeting or departure or comfort, but I kissed her like I meant it—because I did.”
    Kathleen leaned across the counter and tried to catch his eye. “When did this happen and why didn’t you tell me? You can tell me anything, and so far, this doesn’t sound like anything. Unless you were naked at the time I don’t see the reason for avoiding eye contact, not that you’d have to avoid eye contact. It’s me.”
    All true and