“I’m really sorry. I have plans for both nights.” I even batted my eyelashes.
I almost felt sorry when I noticed the dejection on his face. Was he about to cry?
“Oh. I was really hoping.” Maybe he figured out I was eager for him to leave. He snatched the tickets and jerked up from the table, disappearing from the lounge less than five seconds later.
“Maybe he finally got the hint,” Tawny said and finally took a bite of her sandwich.
Meanwhile, I yanked the plastic top from my salad, glaring at the limp lettuce with the same look of disdain Mark had just experienced. “I hope so.”
“Why didn’t you just tell him you were working?”
“You know why. He’d never allow me to live it down. Plus, you heard him. He’s a hockey freak. He’d use coming there as an excuse.”
“You don’t need to be embarrassed. We all need a little extra help from time to time. I know for a fact Mark pulls a few shifts at the local Burger King.”
After eyeing her suspiciously, she threw up her hands as if then I’d believe her. “Working for the arena allows me my private time.”
“I get it.” She munched on her sandwich and I could swear she was picking me apart. She was damn good at doing that. When her eyes twinkled, I figured she was up to something. “How was your practice yesterday? Did you meet anyone special while skating around and around on the ice?”
Sweet Jesus. She didn’t need to mention Danny’s name and I was hot and wet all over. I’d tried to blame the heat of the day for my ridiculous condition, but it was getting more difficult while spending hours inside an air-conditioned building. “No. I just skated.”
“Oh. Really. Why do you have bags under your eyes? More important, why is your skin glowing?”
I’d already taken a bite of salad, so I had time to glare at her, while figuring out an answer. Unable to stop my reaction to the question, I touched my cheek. “Bad dreams and a new moisturizer.”
“One I buy, the other I don’t in the least. What are these nightmares about?”
“Stuff. Monsters.”
“Werewolves? Sexy, alpha werewolves with two big cocks?”
“Very funny. No, not werewolves. They don’t exist. And even if they did, they certainly wouldn’t have two cocks.”
“According to the morning paper they exist. You’ll have to tell me later about their private parts.”
“You’re incorrigible. What does that mean according to the paper?” The woman was obsessed with wolves. There were also other shifters who’d come out of the closet. Why didn’t she care about lions, tigers, and bears? I bit back a laugh from the half-assed joke.
“It means some guy was ranting about being accosted by a werewolf frothing at the mouth inside some bar last night. And it wasn’t even a wolf bar.”
“Wait. There’s such a thing as a wolf bar?”
She nodded while chewing. “Of course there is. Granted, it’s new in the city. According to the latest statistics, we don’t have a huge shifter population in Florida. Maybe they don’t like heat. Or sun. Or maybe the surf.”
Very slowly, I dropped my fork. “You do realize that if what they’re saying is true and shifters do exist, they spend about ninety percent of their time in human form. Right?”
“Ninety-four-point-two percent to be exact and I thought you didn’t believe.”
“In werewolves. That’s a creation of Hollywood and talented authors. Wow, you’re beginning to worry me. You’re so into the idea of shifters.”
She chuckled. “You have to admit the realization regarding their existence is fascinating.”
“Not according to my father. To him they are cockroaches that need to be extinguished.”
“I forgot how much your father hated them.”
I laughed bitterly. “Not just hate. He’s made it his mission to send them to hell, his words.”
“I already can’t stand your father.”
