I heave a sigh. “You mean it could hurt your pocketbook. Scare off the humans and you scare off a major revenue stream.”
“Your parents too. All of us. Our entire economy relies on human guests.”
“Right. What do you want me to do?”
“Come to my office. I’ll show you the file on this case, and we can make a plan.”
I shake my head. There’s no getting out of this, but I need a break… from him, from the memories, from everything. “I just got back. I haven’t even had breakfast. Arden needs me.”
His lips thin. “First thing tomorrow then.”
“Where’s your office?”
He hesitates, just long enough for me to notice. “Dragonfly Casino.”
“Dragonfly Casino?” I scoff. “Living the dream then. Following in daddy’s footsteps.”
“I’m a Delaney, and my father isn’t involved in the day-to-day like he used to be. I run the place for all intents and purposes.”
“Bully for you. If you’re waiting for my impressed face, you’ll leave disappointed.”
“I wasn’t trying to impress you… Gods, Sophia, is this how it’s going to be the entire time we work together?”
“Until we solve this murder apparently. How do you manage both running the Delaney empireandworking for Godmother anyway?”
“We have an arrangement,” he says vaguely. “A major part of my role at Lucky Enterprises is heading the security division. There’s a lot of overlap.”
“Busy man,” I say cynically. “With all that experience, I don’t see why you need my help.”
Seven’s smirk is back. He winks at me. “You underestimate yourself. I assure you, I have use for your many talents.” He manages to make it sound sexual.
I groan in displeasure and scrub my face with my hands. “Fine. The sooner we find this killer, the sooner I can pay my debt to Godmother and put all this the fuck behind me.”
“Do you kiss your grandmother with that mouth?”
“My grandmother is the one who taught me how to curse.”
He chuckles.
I turn to leave, eyeing the trees around me tentatively and wondering if he’ll allow me to go this time or if some lucky event will knock me back into his arms.
“Sophia,” he says gently before I get too far. The softness in his tone surprises me, and I turn to meet his gaze. “One day you’ll ask me to kiss you. I won’t need luck. And when that day comes, you’ll remember there’s a big difference between leprechauns and human men.”
“Not in this lifetime.” I take off toward the gate, a shaky feeling lingering in my gut.
* * *
My brain buzzesas I tromp into my parents’ house, desperate to escape the feelings that Seven dredged up on the beach. I wish I could say I didn’t want to kiss him, but I’d be lying to myself. No woman can be in Seven’s presence and not feel something. I’ve tasted that brand of honey before, and I know how sweet it is. Kissing a leprechaun is an experience.
And that’s enough of that! I shake my head, clearing it of unwanted thoughts. The punishment Godmother has doled out is one meant to open old wounds and make me feel vulnerable in ways I haven’t been in years. Whether it is worse than being strapped to the torture table, I can’t say. Would I rather have my wings ripped from my back or my heart ripped from my chest? The jury is still out on that one. The good news though is that this prison sentence has an end. All I have to do is solve a murder.
My mood lifts when I spot my grandmother sitting in my parents’ living room, knitting what might be a gigantic Christmas stocking. It’s shaped like a sock but much too big. And it’s April. Typical Grandma. Sometimes her knitting projects don’t make sense. One year she knitted me a pencil cozy—a tiny sweater for my pencil. It matched a sleeve for my stapler and a coat to hold a roll of tape. It’s a weird habit, but her projects are always made with love.
The moment she sees me, she lights up like a halogen lamp and pops out of the recliner, sending her needles and yarn flying.
“I heard you’d come home!” she squeals with delight. Her silver hair is wound around the back of her head, and her wings flutter with her excitement. She’s more than two hundred years old, but her hug is just as strong, accepting, and warm as it ever was.
“Grandma!” My heart swells at the sight of her. “I’ve missed you so much. But you didn’t have to come all the way out here. I would have come to see you in Sunnyville.” Sunnyville is a community outside the theme park in the suburbs of Devashire’s capital city of Elderflame. The development is designed for more mature fairies to spend their remaining years. To come here, she’s had to fit herself into a glittery blue gown. It doesn’t look comfortable.
