Chapter 38

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“I need to talk to you,” were the first words out of John’s mouth when he saw Arik.

Arik nodded. “Here or upstairs?” He seemed worried and it took John a moment to figure out why.

After a quick glance around, chuckling to himself when Rusty pointedly turned back to the grill, John stepped into Arik’s space to give him a quick kiss, murmuring, “It’s nothing life shattering. I just had an idea about something.”

“Ah. Okay,” Arik replied with obvious relief before they headed up to the apartment.

As soon as they were inside, John asked, “Have you already put the diner up for sale?”

“No. Why? Do you know someone who’s interested?”

John shook his head, sitting down on the sofa. “That’s what I wanted to talk about. You don’t really need Rusty and the others until you find a nest. Right?”

“True,” Arik agreed.

“And then it’s only for a day or two until it’s destroyed.”

“Again, true.” Arik sat on the arm of the sofa, looking over at John. “Where are you going with this?”