A knock sounded on her door, and she froze.
Luc would’ve come to the slider, and no one else knew where she lived.
She debated the merits of ignoring the summons when Katie’s voice called out.
“Nadia! Open up, you rattled old tart! I’ve got supplies, and the bottles are heavy.”
She swung the door wide and relieved her friend of her burden. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, that’s a helluva greeting for your best friend,” Katie replied dryly as she unloaded a canvas bag full of wine onto the counter. “I thought a housewarming party was in order. I—” She froze. “Wait. Do you have a guy here?”
Nadia couldn’t stop the rising heat in her cheeks. “No!”
Katie’s eyes flared wide as she surveyed the room. With a gloating grin, she crowed, “You did!”
“Luc and I shared a pizza, but he left right after.”
And didn’t it suck?
Nadia had wanted so badly for him to stay.
“Well, that’s a bummer.”
“Leave it to you to sum it all up with a one-liner,” Nadia said with a laugh. “Did you bring a corkscrew for the wine? I haven’t got the basics yet.”
“No, but that’s why I purchased bottles with screw tops.”
“If I’ve never told you before, you’re brilliant. I love how you think of everything, and I miss living with you for that reason alone,” Nadia called as she went to find clean glasses.
They’d been roommates in New York for the last few years, until she couldn’t take the bustle anymore. When she’d discovered Grimwich held the largest cache of occult, religious books, and papers outside of the Vatican, she’d felt a compulsion to move here, despite the dark connotation of the town’s name.
If she could find The Liber Inchoatus, it would be her holy grail. Loosely translated, it meant The Book of the Unfinished. And it gave her chills to think about it. In New York, she’d stumbled upon a torn-out page, burned around the edges. Even through the white gloves, she’d felt the zing, putting it down to the excitement of discovery. But she’d been searching for the rest ever since.
If she could just piece togeth?—
“Did you get a cat?” Katie asked with her glass halted halfway to her lips.
“Just today. We saved it from an alley.”
Although Katie raised a brow at what Nadia suspected was the “we” part, she didn’t comment other than to say, “Please tell me you gave it a flea bath.”
Nadia snorted and grabbed a slice of room-temperature pizza from the box. “What is it with everyone’s obsession with a flea bath and cleanliness?”
“You know what they say. ‘Cleanliness is next to godliness.’” Katie inspected a slice with pepperoni.
“You and I are as far from religious as two people can get, ho. When it’s time for us to approach the Pearly Gates, they’re going to chain them shut to prevent entry.”
Ariel hacked so hard, Nadia feared the appearance of a furball.
Katie squinted at the cat in consternation. “Okay, Tart, don’t take this the wrong way, but that beast is way too attentive.”
“Ya think so?” She pretended to consider it, but secretly agreed.
“It’s like it understands our conversation.”
“Maybe she does.” Nadia shrugged, unconcerned either way.
“Whatever. Are you going to give me the grand tour?”
