“I’mdebating between the spanokopita or moussaka,”IansweredValen, hoping my voice sounded normal.WhenIlifted my gaze to meet his,Iasked, “Whatabout you?”Thebreathless tone in my question surprised me.
“Whydon’t we order both?Andwe can add a platter to share?”Theflirtatious edge to his tone was unmistakable.
Whatnext?Wouldwe play footsie under the table?Ireally needed to start dating again to remember how exactly to act on dates.
Heasked you a question.Right.Ineeded to reply. “Thatsounds like a great option.”Itwould be far too much food for one person, but between the two of us, we could manage—especially ifValenate as much as it appeared he could with his impressive height and muscular frame.
Oncewe ordered, we chatted about the mountain and the area.Myconversation skills returned for the most part.WhenValenasked me about myself,Itold him aboutPaigeand howIworked for theSalemSupernaturalNetwork.Heasked about them both, being polite without being overly intrusive.ThenIasked him about his life here in the mountains.Heshared how much he loved living here.Whilehe did so,Inoted how muchIliked his voice.Itwas deep and rich.Iwas so intrigued by it,Imissed his next question.
“Sorry, what was that?”Ishook my head while the heat rose to my cheeks.
Hestarted to repeat a question but then stopped when the server approached carrying a tray with plates.
“Itwas nothing important.”Valenleaned back in his chair. “Herecomes our food.”
“Smellsdelicious,”Ipointed out.
Theserver placed a plate of moussaka, spanokopita, meatballs, stuffed grape leaves, and more between us.Shealso placed a largeGreeksalad covered with feta cheese on an available spot.
Onceshe left, we dug in.Thelayers of eggplant, tomato sauce, and beef were perfectly cooked and seasoned, and their flavors exploded in my mouth.
“Sogood,”Imurmured, my eyelids lowering in blissful satisfaction.
AfterIswallowed and reopened them fully,Valenwas watching me with his dark eyes. “I’mglad you like it.”
Thegleam of hunger in his gaze sent a jolt of awareness tingling between my legs.Isquirmed and straightened.I’dnever been on a date quite like this before with the chemistry instantaneous and almost impossible to ignore.
Aswe ate, he said, “Tellme more about yourself,Cassandra.”
Ifinished a hearty bite of the tasty spinach and cheese spanokopita and swallowed. “Well, you knowI’ma witch who lives and works inSalem.AndthatI’ma mom.There’snot much more to tell.”Ugh, that made me sound boring—that allIdid was work or take care of my daughter.Sadly, that was mostly the truth.I’donly recently started to get out more now thatPaigewas older andThornetook her on some weekends.
“Thentell me about your daughter,”Valensaid.
“Hername isPaige.She’snine and loves to draw.She’svery sweet.”Mygaze drifted off. “It’sbeen the two of us since she was born.”
Valen’sbrows drew closer. “Herfather isn’t part of her life?”
Igrumbled. “Notfor many years and only recently—whenhe wants to be.”
“I’msorry,”Valensaid. “Thatmust be tough.”
Idrew a long breath and exhaled slowly to move beyond any talk aboutThorne, which would definitely ruin the mood. “Iknow a wolf shifter inSalemwho grew up here in theWhiteMountains.Hisname isSebastianSerrano.Doyou know him?”
Valencocked his head. “FromtheSaccopack?”
Thatsounded familiar from the quarreling between the two packs before they joined. “Yes,Ithink that’s the one.”
Valenrubbed his jaw. “Idon’t think we’ve met.TheFranconiaandSaccopacks kept their distance for many years.IthinkI’vemet his parents, though.”
Wecontinued to talk while we made a dent in the platters of food.Conversationcame more easily as we grew more comfortable with each other.Hetold me how he also worked some nights as an enforcer for the wolf pack, a responsibility he took seriously.
“It’snot oftenIcan share that side of my life with others,” he noted.
“Meaningbeing a shifter?”Iasked.
“Right.Wepretty much keep that part of ourselves quiet.Younever know with humans.”
Howstrange and somewhat sad it was to live that way.Igrew up as a witch and was usually able to be open about it.Ofcourse there were times when we had to be careful.Therewere always people you came across who could be hostile if not downright violent to those who didn’t look or think like them.Fortunately, they were in the minority and were outnumbered by others who welcomed living and learning from people with different perspectives and lifestyles.Ipictured whoIspent time with on a regular basis, mostly at theNetwork.Mylife would be so bland without the variety of peopleImet there.
