He said good-bye and disconnected the call before he turned around. As soon as he saw me, his eyes heated. “I’m sorry about earlier,” he said. “I didn’t mean to invade your privacy.”
I shrugged. “It’s okay. It was an accident.” I didn’t add that I hoped he would eventually be seeing a lot more of me than that anyway. “Who were you talking to?” I asked.
“A friend of mine in Dallas. Her name is Kerry.”
“How do you know her?”
“It’s a long story,” he replied. “And I’m hungry. Why don’t we go pick up some lunch and I’ll tell you about it while we eat?”
We took his car to pick up Thai food for lunch. When we returned to my house, I set the table in the breakfast nook and we sat down to eat.
“So how did you meet Kerry?” I asked as we put rice and curry on our plates.
Rhys’ expression darkened. “It has to do with my brother and how he died,” he answered.
I put my hand on his. “I’m sorry.” I almost suggested that we talk about it later, but he began speaking again, as though he wanted to get it off his chest.
“Kerry is a witch and the High Priestess of her coven. Cornelius was creating problems for her and her friends in Dallas. I offered to help them because there was no way either of us could defeat Cornelius on our own. After my brother was dead, I thought that it was over, but Kerry isn’t the type of woman to let things go. Everywhere I went she was able to find me.
“She stalked you?” I asked in confusion.
Rhys smiled. “No, not exactly. She extended her friendship.” He lifted his hand and hooked a finger in the chain around his neck, pulling an amulet from beneath his shirt. “Until she sent me this, I couldn’t drive a car or use a cell phone. Electronics and appliances don’t work properly when I’m around. It’s something about the way I’m made.” He considered the amulet for a moment. “I think she felt indebted to me.”
“Or maybe she just wanted to be your friend,” I replied.
He looked confused by my statement. “Why?”
Even though I forced my mouth to smile, my heart broke for him a little. “Because you’re a good man, Rhys. You helped them when they needed you.”
“But I also used them to help myself,” he argued.
Rhys was so determined to see himself in the worst possible light. “It’s okay to have relationships that are mutually beneficial, Rhys. The fact that Kerry still wanted to talk to you after it was over says a lot about her feelings toward you.”
He studied me for a moment. “I’ve never met a woman like you before,” he said, his gaze intense.
“I’m taking that as a compliment,” I replied.
Smiling, he shot back, “You should because that’s how I meant it.”
“So how is Kerry going to help us with the Rhiannon situation?”
“I was hoping she would know something about her or at least find someone who does,” Rhys answered. “But so far no one knows anything about her.”
“It’s only been three days,” I pointed out. “And she’s very good at hiding in plain sight. It will just take some time to find someone who knows her.”
“Maybe,” Rhys replied.
Ready to change the subject, I asked, “If you couldn’t drive a car before Kerry sent you the amulet, how did you learn to drive?”
“I watched,” he replied.
I stared at him in surprise. “So you really hadn’t driven before the test drive at the dealership?” I asked. We had discussed this before, but I hadn’t truly believed him.
Rhys grinned. “Not really.”
“That explains a lot,” I grumbled beneath my breath.
“What does that mean?”
