I started to tell her that she needed to watch out for who she trusted, but Malene spoke first.
“Why’re you wearing that?”
“What? A T-shirt? Is something wrong with my loungewear?”
Since when did Malene become the judge of what I wore to hang around my house in?
“You wearing that to the anti-social party?”
I groaned. “Oh no. I forgot all about it.”
“Well, get yourself dressed and come on. I’ll walk you over.”
As much as I wanted to protest, I knew it wouldn’t work. Malene wouldn’t leave until I was dressed and heading over to the party.
So I slipped on a silk shirt but kept the jeans, adding a pair of strappy low-heeled sandals to the outfit. I left Lady at home and headed down the street to the anti-social headquarters—which was only a few blocks over.
Lights danced across Peach Pit Avenue. They lassoed the trees and dangled from one side of the street to the other. Insects buzzed around my head, and I waved them away.
“Ah, there he is,” Malene said, pointing to Rufus.
He stood beside the punch bowl wearing a tight, thin cotton sweater and jeans.
Rufus handed Malene a cup of punch. “Malene,” he said in greeting.
She smiled at him. “I’m gonna tell everyone I know that you’re the town’s new spell hunter. Folks’ll be so excited to hear that. You’ll have more business than you can hope for.”
Before he could argue, Malene took her punch and strode off.
“So you’re going to be the new spell hunter for the town?” I asked.
He smirked. “If Malene has her way, yes.”
He handed me a glass, and I took it. “And you?” Rufus’s gaze leveled on me. “What do you think? Should I stay here?”
“I’m not the person you should be asking. Only you can answer that.”
His gaze drifted around the party. “So what’s this all about—the anti-social party?”
I laughed. “Oh, I think the town thought it would be fun and gimmicky to call it that.”
“I’m sure you don’t want to be here, with your friend’s death and everything.”
“I’ll be okay.”
We stared out at the crowd. Rufus shifted his weight, and his shoulder brushed mine. A flash of heat snaked all the way to my belly.
“So, it’s none of my business, but…” he started.
I sighed, knowing what he was asking. “It’s not any of your business, but I’ll tell you. A long time ago I met a very charming man. We hit it off and became friends, great friends. More than friends.”
I shivered as I relived the memory of how much chemistry had existed between Rufus and me the first time we met. Nothing had changed, apparently.
“We became very close, and he asked if I wanted to play a magical game.” I snickered bitterly. “I said, sure, I was up for it. The next thing I knew, I woke up strapped down and he was trying to suck all the magic from my body.”
Blazing white-hot anger churned in my veins. Rufus cast his gaze to the ground as I stared out into the crowd of folks.
“I barely escaped with my life. I tricked him into touching me and blasted him across the room. The explosion set me free. After that, I didn’t know who I could trust, so I decided not to talk about magic and not to use my power unless it was absolutely necessary.” I exhaled a sharp breath. “So there you have it. The story of why I’m a bitter woman.”
