The customer I was helping cleared his throat, his brow furrowed.“Excuse me.”
“S-sorry,” I stuttered as I rubbed the back of my neck.“I—uh—I thought I saw somebody I knew.”
As I continued helping my customer with his tonic, I stole glances at the other man out of the corner of my eye.What in all the hells was he doing here?
When I finally finished, I turned to face him.He was staring directly at me with his emerald-green eyes, a crooked smile tugging at his mouth.Our eyes locked for longer than any two strangers might consider normal.
Elena looked back and forth between us with a crinkled brow.“Do you two know each other?”
I said, “No,” just as he said, “Yes.”
“We met at the Bleeding Oak yesterday,” he added.
Metwas a bit of an overstatement, since all we’d done was exchange a look from a distance, yet he remembered the moment as clearly as I did.That made my pulse quicken, despite all my attempts to suppress my emotions.
“Are you following me?”I asked, perhaps a bit more pointedly than I intended.
“No,” he said.“I mean, maybe a little?When I saw you here, I remembered you from yesterday.I needed some herbs anyway, so I…um…just came over.”He was beaming as he spoke, his rosy cheeks reddening further.I couldn’t remember the last time a beautiful man had seemed so enamored with me.It was unsettling.I didn’t have time for this.
And yet I couldn’t help feeling the tiniest bit flattered.
“And so you stood in my sister’s line?”I quipped.
“Well…I mean…you looked busy.”
Elena gawked at us like we were a circus act.“I’ll let you finish helping him,” she said, handing me a parchment list of no fewer than twenty items, a few of which had check marks next to them.
“This is pretty extensive,” I said, running my finger down the list.“What are you making?”
“I really can’t say.”
“Of course, sorry.I shouldn’t have asked,” I said.“I’m Cassian, by the way.But people call me Cas.”
His face lit up.“Pleasure to meet you, Cas.I’m Darion.No one calls me Dar.”
We both laughed, continuing to stare at each other until a light breeze ruffled the parchment I was holding, snapping me back to the matter at hand.I glanced down at the list and tried to focus on anything other than Darion’s handsome face.
“We have most of this,” I said, “but we just sold out of goldvein root.”
“That’s too bad,” Darion said, looking crestfallen.“I need all this today.Guess I can try another vendor.”
“Cas is going foraging today,” Elena cut in.“Isn’t that right, Cas?”
I glared at her, and she looked back at me with the most innocent smile.Sure, I had planned to go foragingsoon, but not necessarily today.What was she doing?
Elena continued, “I bet we could have it for you by half past third bell.”
Darion looked between Elena and me.“That’s a very kind offer, but I’d hate to impose on you like that.”
“Honestly, it’s fine,” Elena said, still wearing the smile of an angel.
Darion looked directly at me.“Areyousure it’s okay?”
Elena had backed me into a corner.If I said no, I’d look like a tremendous lout.But a walk wouldn’t kill me.Isupposedit wouldn’t be the worst thing to see Darion again later today.But I was still going to kill Elena.
“It’s fine,” I said, although I should have said no.“I know a spot where I can get some goldvein root.I can go during my midday meal.”Darion still looked a bit skeptical, so I finished with, “I insist.”
“Well, if you insist,” he said.“Thank you.”
