He pointed at the loveseat. “Says the tag on that chair.”
She reached down and ripped it off. “Nowsays who?” Even though Gem’s black boots gave her a three-inch lift, she was still shorter than Christian, so she rose up on her tiptoes and gave him a defiant look.
I chuckled softly. “You guys don’t get out much, do you?”
Gem put her sunglasses on top of her head, the tag still hanging from one of the temples. “Never a dull moment with Keystone. Is Viktor ready to go? It looked like he was having second thoughts about this group outing when that woman asked him where the full-figured bras were.” Gem laughed brightly and strode past me. “She thought he was the manager.”
I smiled, following behind. “Maybe she was hitting on him. Viktor’s a dapper guy.”
“Viktor also doesn’t date,” Christian remarked. “She’d be wasting her mortal time.”
I glimpsed us in a mirror. Christian’s V-neck collar exposed half his chest, and the women couldn’t help staring. Even though I was dressed down in a cardigan and jeans, I’d never been the kind of girl who blended into a crowd. My daddy used to say that I didn’t learn how to walk when I was a baby—I learned how to strut.
Gem looked like a snow-fairy diva as she skipped ahead of us. “Claude! Oh,Claauude.”
An awkward silence fell between Christian and me. Viktor had made us partners, but since we hadn’t worked on any cases together, we didn’t have the same bond between us that the others had. Aside from that, Christian wasn’t exactly the most affable guy. We both had our misgivings about this relationship, so maybe I needed to make more of an effort.
“Why don’t we go out for a drink sometime?” I suggested.
He stopped and folded his arms. “Do you think we’ll get on better if you’re intoxicated?”
“Partners go out for drinks all the time. Don’t you watch those cop movies?”
“I don’t get out much. Remember? And to what do I owe the pleasure of your releasing the white doves and offering me an olive branch?”
I playfully slapped his arm. “I’m not asking you out on a date. But if I’m going to trust you as my partner, maybe I need to know a little more about what kind of man you are and whether or not you can hold your liquor. Or would you rather have an onion-ring-eating contest?”
As we passed the men’s department, he lifted a blue fedora off a display and set it on his head.
I dragged my gaze up to the feather tucked beneath the ribbon. “You look ridiculous.”
He tipped his hat and appraised me with a scolding glance. “Andthat’swhy I won’t have drinks with you.”
“Because I don’t think you can rock a fedora?”
He pinched his beard, feigning being in deep thought. “I find it rather peculiar that a crossbreed such as yourself is so concerned about what people think. You’re not officially Breed until you’ve let go of your inhibitions.”
I searched our surroundings and put the first hat I found on my head. Unfortunately, it was a plaid trapper hat with grey fur. “Tell you what, Mr. Poe. I’ll see your fedora and raise you a drink while wearing the hats. Pick any bar you want, and whoever takes off their hat first has to pay for everything.”
He chuckled darkly and leaned in close. “Thank the heavenly angels I have expensive taste in alcohol. You might want to return some of those blankets,” he said in a silken voice. “I’m a thirsty man, and you’ll need every penny.”
Claude casually strolled up to us with a little girl in pigtails sitting atop his broad shoulders. She looked about two or three and was having the time of her life with a six-and-a-half-foot-tall Chitah.
“Claude, why do you have a child?” I asked with a quizzical stare.
The little girl was mesmerized by his dark blond hair, her tiny fingers styling the large curls. He kept hold of her white shoes so she wouldn’t fall off.
“It seems that humans don’t keep a close eye on their valuables.”
Christian’s brows slanted down. “So… finders keepers?”
“Way up high!” the little girl squealed.
“Put the human down,” Christian bit out. “We have work to do.”
Claude remained cemented in place. “I’m not abandoning the child like her parents did.”
“Avery!” a man shouted. “Jesus, I’ve been looking everywhere.”
