The look he gave her was one of utter confusion. “You saw me eat breakfast already.”
She stared at him, remembering the raw eggs. “You are disgusting.”
His eyes danced with amusement. “I am many things, but disgusting is not one of them.” Brushing past her, he opened the fridge to grab ingredients. “Do you like omelets?”
“Everyone likes omelets,” she replied, and after making a cup of coffee, slid onto a stool at the kitchen island. He cooked quietly as she observed him. TheAngelwas a big softie, even if he would die before admitting it.
The plate clanked against the counter when he set it down. “Eat.” Staring at the plate, the feeling of déjà vu returned.
Her eyes were fixated on the food. “Is it not to your liking?” he asked, interrupting her spiraling.
Lifting her eyes to his, she tried to work out what she was feeling. “You’ve given me food before.”
His face neither confirmed nor denied her guess. “Eat,” he repeated and walked out of the kitchen.
First, the hand grab, now the food. Were they friends?
Eating quickly, she took out her phone and texted Sera to help her brainstorm ways to restore her memories. Her other friends would try to stop her—maybe not Keith, but he would tell Kordie, and she wouldn’t agree and would tell Dume.
Something told her Sera would agree without hesitation.
Sera metSam and Rory outside of a tiny boutique in the city with a wide smile on her face. “Here,” she said, handing Rory an iced coffee. “No shopping trip is complete without iced energy.”
Rory took a sip and moaned. “You are a blessing from theSeraphim.”
Sera turned to Sam. “You don’t seem like the iced latte type. I got you a hot one instead.” She removed another drink from the cup holder and held it out.
Rory worried he would hurt Sera’s feelings with his blunt nature because he didn’t drink coffee. If he tried to refuse it, she was making good on her previous threat.
Accepting the drink, he lifted it to his nose and sniffed. “Thank you. You are a thoughtful person.” Rory relaxed but chuckled at his formality. “Let’s get this over with.”
Sera grabbed the door and shooed him away. “You stay out here. It’s girl time, not massive-bodyguard-scares-away-the-associates time.”
“Fine,” he resigned and sat on a nearby bench.
The girls hurried inside and started looking through the racks. “Do you really need a dress, or are we scheming?”
Rory laughed despite herself. “We could have schemed on the phone. I really need a dress, and I thought it’d be fun to have someone help,” she said honestly. The jealousy she once felt towardSera was gone, and in its place was a desire to get to know her better.
She realized her friends wouldn’t replace her, and it didn’t surprise her they welcomed Sera into the group.
Sera held up a dress to Rory’s front. “Is it for a special occasion?”
Rory shouldn’t be embarrassed, but she was. It sounded ridiculous to admit she was buying a dress because a man in her dreams told her to.
“You can tell me.” Sera lowered the dress. “I won’t laugh or judge.”
Rory sipped her coffee and considered her options. Worst-case scenario, her new friend thought she was delusional and told the others.Screw it. She grabbed a random dress and indicated for Sera to follow her into a dressing room.
“This is going to sound insane, and I know that,” she began.
Sera grinned deviously. “I love insane. Tell me everything.”
Rory lowered her voice to a whisper. “Since returning from Vincula, I keep getting these weird feelings when certain things happen like I’ve done it before. It happened when I met your dad.”
Sera stared, wide-eyed. “Do you think you’re remembering things from your time in prison?”
“That’s the thing.” Rory took another drink, giving her time to articulate her thoughts. “I’m not remembering, but it’s like the memory is just out of reach.”
