“You’re meeting Charlie for lunch today, right?” Tilly asks as we pass Second Street.
“Yes.” Charlie is one of the newest residents to have made his way to Starry Hill, and even though he’s only been here a short time, I’m sure even he has an Arran story.
I can’t wait to see Arran’s face at the festival when I hand him the book of stories I’ve collected as a tangible token of his Starry Hill legacy. The book documents all the good Arran’s done in this community, and I hope to add more stories to it over the years.
Pausing next to The Flowering Teapot’s front window, we look at Charlie sitting at a corner table, his back against the wall as he monitors the rest of the patrons.
“Good,” Tilly says. “It’s about time that werewolf socialized a little.”
“Yeah,” I sigh out. “I’m trying to figure out his connection to Arran. Besides knowing he lived in the castle very briefly, I know next to nothing about the guy.”
Nori places a hand on my arm. “Be gentle with him. I think he’s a little freaked out by all the friendliness in town.”
“Of course,” I say, flipping my hair off my shoulder. “You know me, gentle is my middle name.”
Tilly laughs. “I thought it was horny.”
Yeah, that seems slightly more accurate.
Chapter 19
Arran
Ipace up and down the parlor, then the foyer, stomp through the kitchen before starting the same loop again, all while waiting for Audrey to come home.
There’s this feeling coursing through me, this intense burning eating me up from the inside out and I don’t know what to do with it.
My heart thunders in my chest, confusion and hurt warring with my brain and my heart as I imagine a thousand scenarios that will explain what I saw.
Why does it bother me so much that Audrey spent time with someone else? Why do I feel like I want to rip everything and everyone apart who dares to stand between Audrey and me?
I don’t deserve her, of this, I am absolutely certain. We’ve never made any real promises to each other, never declared our feelings in as many words, so I shouldn’t feel entitled to her sole affection. Yet… she owns my heart.
Sagging into a chair, I clutch at my head and curl my fingers into my hair, the strands longer than I’m used to. I’ve not shorn it in quite some time, enjoying the way it feels when Audrey runs her fingers through my hair when she’s falling asleep.
I don’t want to go back to living the way I did before I met her. I don’t want the darkness or the loneliness I was confined to. I don’t want even one night without her in my arms.
Just as I’m about to lose the last semblance of sanity, I scent Audrey. A gust of wind brings her velvety rose fragrance over the hill and straight through the open kitchen windows.
I breathe in the familiar scent, letting it calm my racing heart, only to register the hint of low blood sugar.
Shuffling to the ice box, I take out one of Audrey’s favorite fruit juices and wait by the kitchen doorway.
“Hi, handsome,” Audrey greets with a warm smile, which quickly dims when she reads my expression.
I hold out the juice for her. “Drink. You’re low.”
Audrey gingerly reaches for the drink and lowers herself into her seat. “Thanks.” She puts down a thick tome I’ve never seen before, and slowly opens the juice. “Are you going to tell me about this dark cloud storming above your head or should I come back later when you feel like speaking in full sentences?”
Still unable to word the questions burning inside of me, I take up pacing again. A thick silence strangles the room but still Audrey doesn’t speak, waiting for me to say something while she sips on her drink.
In my mind, I see the image from earlier today, of her and Charlie cozied up together in the corner of The Flowering Teapot, his head thrown back in laughter at something shesaid. The werewolf looked more relaxed than I’d seen him since arriving in Starry Hill, and now I’m questioning everything about my relationship with Audrey.
A shudder works its way down my spine, disgust at myself for how I’m acting, of the doubt flooding my mind, yet, I need to ask her what that meeting was all about.
I need to know why Audrey lied to me before it burns through my heart and leaves me in ashes.
At the opposite end of the kitchen, I finally halt. Staring at my feet, I ask, “Where were you today?”
