“I picked a great day to walk,” she grumbles.
“I can drive you,” I offer. “You can’t be far, right?”
“No, which is bad for my waistline,” she jokes. “I come here every time I work a nightshift. They’re the only place open past midnight.”
I zip my leather jacket and open the door. We dash across the street and get into the car. I have to shove my bag into the back, and the paper inviting me to the Memorial Day party falls out onto the floor.
“What’s this?” Gemma unfolds the paper. She was right about being nosey. It doesn’t bother me, though, not yet at least.
“Nothing I’m going to,” I say, and start the car, unsure if I need the heat or the air. It’s humid again, but a little chilly. May is so fun in Pennsylvania.
“There’s all-you-can-eat BBQandan open bar.” She grins. “I’ll go if you don’t want to. Unless it’s like an ex’s party or something.”
“Not an ex, just a neighbor.”
“You don’t like them?”
I pull out onto the street. “I don’t know them. I moved recently but honestly have no intention of getting to know my neighbors. I’m so social, I know.”
Gemma laughs. “You recently moved?” She scans the paper. “Onto this street?”
That bad feeling comes back in my stomach, and my muscles twitch as I resist the urge to jerk the wheel and send Gemma flying against the window.
What the fuck?
“Near there.”
“Interesting. I, uh, had a friend nearby when I was a kid.”
“I thought you said you grew up in Amish Country?”
“Yeah, I did. In Lancaster. But we came into the city every now and then. My parents’ graves are here.” She’s talking quickly and looks down. She’s lying and I have no idea why.
“Oh. Okay.” Silence falls between us the rest of the way to Silver Living.
“Thanks again, Ace.” Gemma unbuckles. “Did you give any more thought to going to Lyra’s tarot card reading next week?”
I make a face. “We’ll see.”
“You don’t believe yet, do you?”
“Not yet. Hey,” I say quickly before she gets out. “The herbs at Lyra’s…are they real?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is the Devil’s Shoestring really that? It looked like someone picked up twigs off the sidewalk and bagged them up.”
She chuckles. “Yeah, Lyra’s legit. Not every place is, though. Even though Lyra’s overbearing and a cheapskate, I go back to her place for that reason.”
“Thanks. And if I can get away from work, the tarot thing might be entertaining.”
She smiles. “Don’t you want to see if there’s a tall, dark, and handsome man in your future?”
“I can dream,” I laugh. There’s not just one tall, dark, and handsome man in my life.
There are four.
* * *
