There was a note with my name on it fastened to his collar. Unpinning it, I stood and opened the note.
“‘You’ve given me no choice but to send in my greatest weapon,’” I read out loud and peered over the note to see Oban had rolled onto his back and put his paws in the air. “‘Plus, you have to eat. Join me for a picnic?’”
I looked out the front window to see Luch leaning against his car with his arms crossed, a smile on his face. He looked like he could be in an outdoorsman advertisement, with a flannel shirt rolled to his elbows, and thick-soled hiking boots on his feet.
“You’re pretty damn cute, Oban. And so is your owner. Well, cute is an understatement for your owner. ‘Hottest man I’ve ever seen’ fits the bill, quite honestly. Not that I’d let him know that.” I rubbed Oban’s belly. Indecision warred. I was sorely tempted to turn my back on Oban and Luch, because a part of me understood that there was something about these two that would have a significant impact on my life. It was like standing at a fork in the path—one way, predictable, a road I’ve always taken before, and the other, dangerous, lit with pitfalls and danger but at the end might just be a hidden waterfall. Was discovering a secretwaterfall worth the potential dangers in the path along the way?
“Get a hold of yourself, Dr. Fletcher.” My thoughts were like I was about to jump out of a plane, not going on a simple picnic date with a cute client. It wasjusta date. What could be the worst thing that happened?
“All right, Oban. You’ve got yourself a date. But I’m going because of you, not him.”
“I always tell him that I’m better with the ladies than he is.”
My eyebrows shot up. Had I just heard Oban’s voice in my head? It wasn’t entirely unusual for me to catch an animal’s stray thoughts or to be able to communicate with them in times of high stress, but this was much more direct and conversational. Like Gloam. Which meant … what exactly? Was Luch a witch and just hiding it from me? Was that the reason he was so suspicious of my healing powers? Intrigued, I raised an eyebrow at Oban.
“Is that right? You’re quite the ladies’ man?”
“What can I say? Some of us are born charismatic.”Oban proceeded to shake his head and lift his snout, as though he was preening for me.
“Why can I hear you talk?”
“Because you’re magick, aren’t you, Faelan?”With that, Oban trotted to the door and waited, glancing back over his shoulder to see if I would join him.
“I have so many questions.”
Oban didn’t respond and I took that to mean that he wouldn’t be the one answering them. Which was fine, really, as it wasn’t his job to explain the workings of the magickal world to me, and Eriska had always impressed onme to be grateful for any communication that an animal chose to give me. Hounding them for answers rarely worked in my favor, and if anything, closed them off more.
Opening the door, I stepped outside and crossed my arms over my chest, raising an eyebrow at Luch.
He just gave me a cheeky grin.
Damn it, but why was this man so good-looking? A part of me wanted to slurp him up like an icy-cold lemonade on a warm summer’s day. But I was going to ignore that part of me and wait for him to speak.
“Good afternoon, Dr. Fletcher. Fancy a picnic?”
“I suppose so. As you mentioned, I do have to eat.” I surprised myself by answering. I’d been certain I’d tell him that I was busy, yet that smile of his was weakening my defenses.
“Fantastic. Need a moment to change?”
“I do.” I glanced from where he leaned against his car to the stairs to my flat. It would be rude to leave him sitting outside if I planned to go out to lunch with him. A normal person would invite their friend inside to wait. I was taking a stab at normalcy here, settling in, making friends and all that, so it would be the expected thing to do to ask him to come upstairs.
“Would you like to come up while I change?” I asked, reluctance obvious in my voice, and his grin widened.
“Love to. Thanks.” Luch snapped his fingers at Oban. “Come on, lad. The dragon is inviting us to her inner sanctum.”
“Bloody hell. I am not a dragon,” I growled and Luch chuckled, the sound warming my core, and I stomped upstairs. I wasnotmy normal self around this man. I raninto doors, growled, and always felt like I was off-kilter. Or one step behind. Either way, he unsettled me.
A bundle of flowers sat at my doorstep.
Grabbing them, I whirled, and came face to face with Luch. I was one step above him, the height difference aligning our eyes, and my breath caught.
“Are these from you?”
Luch’s lips quirked.
“Charming flowers for a charming woman.”
My eyes squinted. Did he know? Why did he phrase things that way?
