“Very mysterious beings, from what I understand. They can be quite vicious and violent.”
“That’s what I’ve heard, too.”
He leans in conspiratorially. “I believe they’ve moved into Castleview. Isn’t that the town you’re from?”
“It is, but I haven’t been back in a while.”
Which is quite true. I grab my purse off the back of a chair and smile. “Is there anything else I can help you find?”
He inhales sharply, breaking off his thoughts about the fae. “No, my dear. That’s all. Have a great night.”
“Thank you.”
I flip my hair out from the collar of my coat, tell mycoworkers good night and march through the door into the cool autumnal afternoon that’s quickly slipping into evening. With the arrival of fall, Nashville’s humidity is receding, and fiery red leaves are beginning to shyly dot the trees.
My phone rings as soon as I’m on the street. I pull it from my purse, my heart quickening. I hope it’s not Edward calling to cancel. Ridiculous. Why would he cancel when he’s about to propose?
To my relief, it’s not him.
“Hello?” The downtown streets are bustling. Commuters are beelining for their cars to return to the suburbs. Others are tourists heading for the bars on Honky Tonk Row. I wind my way quickly around a group of men gaping at all the neon signs.
“Hello?” I repeat.
“Addie?”
“Blair,” I say with a soft exhale. “I didn’t recognize the number.”
“Nana just got a new phone,” my sister tells me. “And she wanted me to call so that you’d have the number.”
I chuckle. “Why didn’t she call me herself?”
“Because she doesn’t understand silly human things like phones.”
“And you do?”
“Better than her,” my sister snips. Blair is, how shall I put it, prickly. She’s not mean, just simply my younger sister with a big bold head on her shoulders. “Here. She wants to talk to you.”
Soft muffling occurs as the phone is handed over. The next voice I hear is my grandmother’s. “Addie?”
“Nana, how are you?”
“Just fine, child,” she replies in a frail, elderly voice that’s drenched in all things Southern. “How are you?”
“I’ve got so much to tell you. Edward’s asked me out to dinner tonight to a fancy restaurant, and I think?—”
“He’s going to propose?”
“Yes,” I say so loudly that people turn to look. I hunch back over the phone and stage-whisper, “Yes. All signs point to yes! He’s perfect, Nana. From a good magical family—the Blackwoods.”
She pauses. “Addie, you know it’s getting to be time.”
My stomach twists tightly. “I know. I know.” I’m not trying to blow her off, but I’ve heard all this before. “Things look promising. He’s got something important to talk to me about.” Goose bumps wash down my arms at the thought of Edward on one knee, his sandy hair pushed to the side, that adorable lopsided grin on his face and his teeth glinting in that magical way.Literally. He uses magic to make his teeth glint, though he swears it’s natural. But I know the truth. I wasn’t born yesterday. “So if he proposes?—”
“We’ll be on the right path,” she confirms quietly—too quietly.“We miss you, child.”
A knot in my chest that I didn’t know existed, loosens. “I miss you, too.”
And I do. The one thing I loved as a child was climbing onto Nana’s lap and pressing my head to her soft bosom as she told me stories of sprites and faeries. But those days are long past.
