After the dream this morning, his proximity was enough to make my body go haywire. And it was clear he intended to take me up on the invitation I’d so carelessly thrown at him last night.
I turned back to the table in front of me and went back to rearranging the objects on top, only this time I did so without seeing them. My attention was focused entirely on the vampire who was currently ordering coffee from Harrison.
I was vaguely aware of Savannah emerging from behind the curtain that divided the reading room from the rest of the shop. I even heard the low murmur of her voice as she walked her client to the door and bid her good-bye.
Still, I jumped when her hand landed softly on my shoulder, my hip nudging the table just hard enough to make the crystals, jewelry, and bottles on top shimmy and clatter.
“Whoops,” she murmured. “I’m sorry I startled you.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “It’s fine, I was woolgathering.” I whispered my reply, hoping that Harrison and Macgrath wouldn’t hear my words yet understanding that hope was futile. They were both creatures with preternatural senses and they would be able to hear my heartbeat from twenty feet away. Shit. I was so flummoxed that I hadn’t even thought to cast a spell to hide my body’s reactions. There was no doubt that both males were very aware of exactly what was happening within me.
Still, I cast a spell anyway.
“So your distraction has nothing to do with—”
I pointed a finger at Savannah then pointed it again, only this time toward the reading room.
She grinned mischievously but didn’t finish her sentence. Instead she followed my silent direction and walked back toward the niche.
I herded Savannah into the reading area, sliding the curtain closed behind us. With the spells I’d cast on the room, no one would be able to hear us speak, even if they had the supernatural hearing of a vampire or a shifter.
Savannah’s grin was huge when I turned to face her.
“Why do you look so pleased with yourself?” I asked. Anytime Savannah smiled like that it meant she was up to no good.
She shrugged. “Because Iampleased with myself.”
I narrowed my eyes as I studied her face. “You meddled, didn’t you?”
Her shit-eating grin didn’t diminish in the least. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I shook my head. “That wasn’t necessary,” I stated.
“I disagree, the two of you need to stop dancing around each other. Even if I wasn’t an empath, I would still be able to feel the tension between you.”
“That’s not why it wasn’t necessary,” I replied. “I talked to him last night and told him that if he insisted on stalking me, he might as well come into the shop and buy some coffee or something. If he’s going to lurk, I might as well profit from it.”
Savannah gawked at me. “You what?”
It was my turn to shrug.
Suddenly, a laugh burst from her. “So I shouldn’t have bothered, huh?”
I sighed, no longer amused. “I don’t know what in the hell is wrong with me. I shouldn’t want him anywhere near me. Not after what he did to you.”
Savannah’s smile faded. “Macgrath may have done a few bad things—”
“A few?” I asked, interrupting her.
She gave me an impatient look. “He’s made mistakes. We all do. When he realized that what he was doing was wrong, he stopped. And don’t forget that I can see into a person’s heart. He’s not evil. He’s lonely and desperate.”
I scowled at her. “There are two things wrong with that. First, he’s as old as I am, he should fucking know better. Secondly, lonely and desperate? I don’t think so.”
“He may be a vampire, but vampires have emotions too,” she argued. “Haven’t you ever done something you regretted because you felt like you didn’t matter?”
I couldn’t argue with that statement. There was so much that Savannah didn’t know about me. Though she was right. I was in no position to judge Macgrath. Centuries ago, I had done things that haunted me now, my heart as cold and hard as stone.
“You’re right,” I relented. “I’ll give him a chance.”
