Sighing, I slid my dress off and pulled the caftan over my head, the cool silk fabric brushing softly against my skin. Turning, I checked myself out in the mirror.
Okay, so maybe there’s something to this whole caftan thing. It was breezy, it flowed around my body, and I’d be able to run in it if needed. I moved my arms and the coins gently tinkled, a charming sound if I was forced to admit it.
“Fine, caftan it is. But I’m not wearing a crown,” I muttered as I moved to my jewelry stand and pulled a necklace – chunky amethyst stones with a Celtic protection knot in the middle – from a hook.
One could never be too careful.
Pulling the necklace over my head, I fluffed out mycurls and made my way downstairs, the tinkling of my caftan signaling my approach.
“Much better,” Luna said, nodding her approval. “I fed Hank. Are we ready to go?”
“What arewegoing to do about food?”
“They’ll have food there.”
“Great. It better not be something weird like pig’s ear,” I complained, as I pulled out a fresh toy for Hank and tossed it to him.
What? A girl’s gotta eat.
Chapter Sixteen
“Talk to Tracelately?”Luna asked on the way to pick up Miss Elva.
“Who’s Trace?” Rafe asked from the back seat. He’d shown up just as we were leaving, seriously miffed that Luna had sent him on a wild goose chase to see some naked ladies.
“Oh, you’re talking to me again?” Luna asked.
“Maybe,” Rafe sniffed, angling his head away from Luna.
“Trace is one of Thea’s best friends. And he has a crush on her. She kind of has a crush on him, too. But instead, she’s chosen the sexy, wealthy investor who also makes her blood boil. It’s tough being Althea,” Luna said dryly and I smacked her on the shoulder.
“Don’t make me rip this cloak of yours,” I grumbled.
“What is an investor?” Rafe asks.
I glanced at Luna before answering. “Well, basically an investor gives money to businesses and then when thebusinesses become profitable, they return the money with interest. More or less.”
Rafe nodded seriously. “And what does this Trace do?”
“He runs a scuba diving boat.”
“A captain of his own boat? Why, you must choose him,” Rafe said excitedly.
Of course the pirate would tell me to go with the sea-faring man.
“It’s not that simple,” I said, rolling my eyes at Rafe.
“In my day, I just took who I wanted. It wasquitesimple,” Rafe said, leering down the V-neck of my caftan.
“Guess we’re lucky it isn’t your day anymore,” I said, tugging my dress higher up.
“Those were good times. Plundering, pillaging, taking captives. People are so polite here,” Rafe observed.
“You mean they’re decent humans?” Luna asked.
“Who says I’m not decent?” Rafe demanded.
“Well, you pretty much try to sexually harass Althea and I every chance you get,” Luna pointed out.
