“Hold on. I’m kind of busy right now. What’s this about?” Gillian demanded, catching a whiff of his masculine scent, a blend of sandalwood and clean laundry. She fought the urge to sigh and glared at him instead.
“You shouldn’t be here.” Mulroney glanced over at the couple’s tables scattered with rose petals, floating candles, bowls of heart-shaped chocolates, and the Lawrence Charity placards. He turned back to face her and scowled. “I want you to leave. Now.”
“Excuse me?” His words knocked Gillian off-center and before she could process them, an attractive female vampire with dark hair pulled in a tight ponytail walked up to Mulroney and placed a hand on his arm.
“It’s time. We need to go.” A surge of irrational jealousy coursed through Gillian’s veins like battery acid.
For a split second he hesitated, his gaze still fixed on Gillian, and she sensed some kind of inner battle raging inside him. Then he gave her a curt nod and walked away. Her heart sank.
Brooke approached and crossed her arms over her chest. “What was that all about?”
Not sure what to make of their twisted interaction, or of Mulroney’s ominous words for that matter, Gillian sucked in a quivering breath and let it out. “No idea.”
Chapter 2
One creepy proposition and five readings later, Gillian was ready to call it a night when Brooke plopped down in the chair across from her. A rapturous expression spread across her pretty face the moment she slipped off her shoes. While Brooke hit on the finer points of the evening, Gillian’s gaze kept darting around the lobby in search of Mulroney, but there was no sign of him. His cryptic words still rang in her head and made her stomach clench.You shouldn’t be here.
“Gillian? Did you hear a word I said?”
Her cheeks heated. “What? I’m sorry. I got a little distracted. Please continue.”
“I was saying that overall, the night was a huge success.” Brooke flipped through the pile of score sheets before looking up. “Whatever you and Saje did must’ve worked because we had five out of seven matches.”
“I think your expertise may have helped.” Gillian smiled and pulled out her phone, posting pictures from the night all over her social media. She connected the event with the two charities, the shop, and her weekly podcast.#SpeedatingForCharity#LawrenceCancerSupportNetwork, #HopeClub, #Enchantments,#EatTarotLove.
From the beginning, she’d gained quite a following from her podcast. It had taken a few years and a tremendous amount of hard work, but now she had over a million followers. In a matter of seconds, her phone began to ping nonstop. She hoped tonight had helped her on the road to radio. Gillian stuck her phone in her purse and gave Brooke her full attention.
“Now I just have to build up my contacts again, but I suppose that’s a good problem to have.” Brooke glanced around the lobby. “No sign of Mulroney. What’s the deal between you two? There’s some major sexual tension going on, and trust me, from a matchmaker’s perspective, you know it when you see it. You get this look in your eyes when you talk about him.”
Gillian flushed. “What look?”
Brooke chuckled. “You’re doing it right now. Your pupils get big and dilated. It’s a signal of sexual attraction. Do you happen to know his birthday? I wonder if you two would be a match.”
“Don’t go there, Brooke,” Gillian warned.
“I get that he came to the coven to investigate those stolen antiques, but you can’t hate him for doing his job. Besides, don’t you think it’s funny that you two ran into each other again? Maybe it’s fate.”
“More like bad luck.” Gillian shot back. For some strange reason, the universe kept putting them in each other’s paths. This must be her karma for some past misdeeds, she reasoned. “Look, I promise I’ll explain why I don’t like him, even give you every sordid detail, but not tonight. I don’t want to kill my jam.”
“Fair enough. Where’s Saje?”
“She took off. She had a date with Nick.” When Nick Hastings, the demon special agent, had been attacked while protecting Willow, he landed in the hospital. Saje went to visit him and the two have been together ever since. Up until a few months ago, Gillian and Saje had been partners in collecting an impressive list of assholes. Now happily ever after was in the cards for Saje, and Gillian couldn’t be happier for her. Okay, so maybe she was a little jealous. “I thought we could share an Uber and head out. I’m exhausted.” She was just about to pack up her decks when Brooke stopped her by holding up her hand.
“Not so fast, cuz. Let’s see what the cards have to say. I’d love to know if there’s anything in there about you and Mulroney.”
Gillian hesitated with her hand on the deck. “Nice try, but I’d much rather focus on your love life. I’m sure it’s a lot more interesting.”
“Fair enough.” Brooke smiled. “I know deflection when I see it. Go ahead, I’m always game for a reading.”
Once she cut the deck, Gillian flipped a card and sucked in a breath. “The Vampire. I see him lurking in the background, but I can’t tell if he's a friend or foe.” As an intuitive, it was nearly impossible for Gillian to sugarcoat what she saw in the cards. Call it an uncanny ability to separate fact from fiction and get to the truth.
“Interesting.” Brooke sat up straighter in her chair, her blue eyes wide. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense.” “What else do you see?” Her gift was in the realm of the zodiac, using astrology in her matchmaking business to set couples up. The look on her cousin’s face made her want to keep going.
“One way to find out.” Gillian flipped over another one and her hand stilled. “The Fool. In most cases, it signifies a free spirit and innocence. That’s so you. But the reverse can mean getting taken advantage of.”
Before Brooke could respond, a tall, good-looking vampire with jet black hair slicked back off his face walked up to the table and flashed a wide smile, showing the slightest hint of fangs. “Brooke? Is that you? You look gorgeous as always.” His cultured voice held a hint of an English accent. Most vampires had some sort of accent since they migrated to the US from other parts of the world. She had yet to meet one that was born here. “It’s great to see you.”
“Hey, Kurt.” Brooke stood on her tiptoes to hug him, and he kissed both her cheeks. “I didn’t think you’d be here tonight. I want to introduce you to my cousin and the founder of Hope Club.” She turned toward Gillian and angled her head in the vampire’s direction. “Meet our corporate sponsor, Kurt Lawrence.”
