“No. Of course not.” He didn’t take his gaze from her, almost as if he feared she’d disappear in a puff of smoke if he blinked.
“Is this job of yours dangerous?”
“I don’t think so, but I do my best to be careful regardless.”
“Good for you.”
“What do you do, Max?”
He smiled and her heart flipped over.Stop it.“I work for Bubba’s Psychic Readings.”
“As a psychic?”
He nodded.
“Can you read my mind?”
“Not sure.” His eyes narrowed and his focused gaze intensified. “It’s very difficult.”
“Hmm.” She wasn’t really surprised. Her sister-in-law, Bianca, also worked for Bubba and had trouble reading Ruby. Apparently, witches were nearly impossible for Alpha aliens to mindread.
He leaned closer and said firmly, “You are searching for someone.”
Ruby sucked in a breath. “You can see that?” She closed her eyes and tried to think of anything but her case. She had an obligation to protect her client’s privacy. Of course, tryingnotto think about something almost guaranteed it would be the only thing onecouldthink of.
Max’s eyes widened more than the full moon in the sky. He cleared his throat, closed his eyes for the length of several heartbeats and seemed to regain his composure with effort.
Had he seen something in her mind? Had he learned what she was doing here tonight? Ruby cast about for a gambit to throw him off guard. “Why did you tell me you loved me? Why did you say you wanted to marry me?”
He blinked and said, “Because I fell in love with you the second we met. And also, I must tell you the truth no matter what, apparently.” He slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes filled with…what? Fear? Excitement? Both?
She stepped closer. He retreated a step. “Do you think my butt looks too big in this Little Red Riding Hood costume?”
His fingers lowered from his lips. “No. You are absolutely perfect, most especially your butt in that intriguing black skirt. Also, I love your costume. But you probably look amazing even without it.”
His fingers all pressed into his lips as if he needed both hands to keep from spilling whatever words were in his head. So, he wanted to see her naked? Not a shocker. He was a man, after all. And a very fine-looking man at that…
“I should go,” he mumbled through his digits. He moved back, staring at her like he didn’t want to leave.
“No. Wait.” She grabbed his bare forearm to keep him from escaping. He went still as a statue, apparently shocked she’d put a hand on him, and sighed like a love-struck swain. She pulled her hand away slowly as he watched.
Max shook his head as if trying to clear his mind. He then gave her an intense head-to-toe onceover before stumbling backward, turning clumsily toward the balcony doors and fast-walking back into the loud, busy party.
Ruby let him go. Why was he always running away after confessing his love for her? The more enduring question might be why she wanted to follow him and discover what she suspected was a perfect body under his huntsman costume. Mentally shaking her head for letting him distract her, Ruby made her way back inside to the party.
She searched the entire place and found nothing but frustration. There was no sign of her quarry, a single man with a tattoo on his ring finger. The few partygoers who wore gloves, she quickly identified as longtime residents. Not one of them was a recent transplant to Nocturne Falls.
Maybe that should be her next attempt. How could she get a list of new folks in town? Ruby hadn’t been told much regarding her quarry’s paranormal ability. Just that there was a good chance he would be in Nocturne Falls and he had a tattoo on his right ring finger. That was the extent of the information given.
However, the accompanying payment for simply looking around for this man had been too much to pass up and the equally generous payment if she actually made contact and delivered the message was very hard to let go of. She’d spent the bonus amount five different ways in her head, playing thewhat ifgame.
The party seemed at its height as she made another circle of the room, searching endlessly for her prey. More than once, her mind wandered to Max and the wide band on his ring finger. Surely he wasn’t the person she was looking for, was he?
A sneaky little kernel of doubt planted itself deep in her brain. After what she’d decided would be her final round, Ruby did another quick search, looking specifically for Max.
She would ask him to take the wide gold band off and show her his ring finger. If he refused, well then, she was stuck. Maybe she’d try to throw him off-balance again, and ask about his love for her. The memory of him telling her he loved her and that he had to tell her the truth flashed in her mind, but she didn’t see him anywhere. Had he left the party after their private meeting on the balcony? If she met up with him later, would he still confess his love for her and be forced to tell her the truth? Interesting. She looked forward to seeing him again.
Ruby saw Bubba and Astrid in their flashy silver alien costumes, silver-gloved hands clasped, and headed in their direction.
