A Risky Proposition (11 page)

“That’s the plan!” I agreed.  Actually, we were going to stay home and get takeout, but I wasn’t going to disappoint Hannah with the boring version of our plans.

She tapped my arm and gave a delighted laugh.  “Oh, to be young again!” she sighed dramatically.

Sunny attempted to subdue another sneeze, and Hannah’s brows drew together as she gazed at her in concern.  “But your friend, she is maybe coming down with the cold, no?  Perhaps you should take it easy.  You do not wish to chase the handsome men away with a dripping nose.”

Hannah reached out to give Sunny a motherly pat, and she immediately sneezed again, retreating toward the door with a strangled, “I don’t want you to catch anything from me Hannah, but it was so nice to meet you, and you have a beautiful store!  I’ll just wait in the car, Syd.”  She exploded with a final sneeze as she fled.

“You should see that your friend gets the rest.  We are much susceptible to illness when we travel, yes?”  I swallowed my laughter and thanked her for her concern as I left with the files.

I dropped into the driver’s seat to the sound of Sunny purging her nose into a Kleenex.  “Holy hell, Syd!” she sniffed.  “What does that woman do—take a morning dip in a pool of perfume?  That was worse than sticking my head in a vat of faerie dust!  I’m going to have to change and wash my hair just to get the stench off.”

“Hannah likes her perfume like she likes her jewelry,” I shot her a grin as I pulled into traffic and turned down a side street toward the nearest bridge spanning the inter-coastal, “outrageously expensive and displayed in overwhelming force.”

“Well, she’s very sweet, but I’m surprised she doesn’t asphyxiate all of her customers.  You’ve got allergies—how do you stand it?”

“I seal off my nose and start breathing through my mouth as soon as I walk in the door.”

“Really?  Thanks for the forewarning,” Sunny intoned sarcastically.

I snickered.  “It’ll wear off soon, I promise.”

Sunny groaned.  “I guess it’s kind of fading already.”

“Enough that you’d come to a restaurant with me instead of bringing home takeout?” I coaxed.

“Sure,” Sunny replied with a shrug.

“City Place is close.”

“Sounds good.”  Sunny sniffled again and I hid a smile.

We parked in the garage and walked over to one of the more casual eating venues with dim lighting and big leather booths.  We shared a huge French fry appetizer dripping with cheese and bacon, and split a pitcher of their freshly brewed beer.  We justified the calories by having salads on the side.

Pleasantly sated, we decided to make a detour by Starbucks before going on to browse the bookstore.  Sunny ran to the bathroom while I waited to pay.  The store was abuzz with jonesing caffeine addicts, and a flustered cashier rang me up, noisily breaking open rolls of change into her drawer while I stood there with my credit card out.

“I’ve got it,” a voice said behind me, handing the cashier a ten over my shoulder before I could get a word in.

“Really?”  I smiled in confusion and turned to find Mickey standing there.  The cha-ching of the cash register sounded before I could refuse.

“Uh, thanks Mickey,” I said half-heartedly.  I was beginning to feel a little stalked.

“You’re welcome,” he said with a grin. He followed me to the other end of the counter, his face falling when he saw that my order contained not one cup, but two.

“Gimme, gimme,” Sunny demanded greedily as she returned to retrieve her coffee. 

She inhaled her undiluted brew and I took a sip of my Chai, closing my eyes in bliss at the spicy sweetness.  I wanted to ignore Mickey, hovering there behind us, but decided I was incapable of being that rude. 

I sighed.  Sometimes civility was such a burden. 

“Sunny, this is Cindy and Leslie’s son, Mickey,” I said with a false smile, shooting her a meaningful look as I turned to include him in the conversation. 

I’d mentioned seeing him at the hospital and the little crush he’d apparently developed on me.  She’d made some joke about the stamina of properly-trained seventeen year old males that I hadn’t dignified with a response.  This was Mickey we were talking about, fruit of ‘The Horrorwitz’s’ loins. 

“Mickey, this is my best friend, Sunny.  Mickey was nice enough to treat us to our coffees.” 

Sunny sent me an amused glance before saying, “Thanks!  That was so sweet.  I’ll bet the high school girls just love you.”

Mickey’s face flushed red as we navigated a swarm of bodies and exited back out into the heated dusk.

All the chairs were taken, so I led the way to a nearby fountain, where Sunny and I sat side by side on the wide, stone rim.  I didn’t want him following us to the bookstore.  Mickey perched himself beside me after a moment, looking uncomfortable. 

“So, we sure have been seeing a lot of each other lately,” I observed.

“I just stopped by to get a cup of coffee on my way out for the night,” he replied with a shrug.

Sunny elbowed me.  “Syd was telling me you used to go for the Goth look.  What brought about the change?” she asked.

A lost expression played over his face as he mumbled, “I dunno.  I guess I just wanted to do something different.”

He seemed suddenly vulnerable and I felt like a jerk for being callous about his interest in me.  “Well, it looks good, right Sunny?” I said brightly.

I didn’t want to encourage his attentions, but maybe he just needed someone to be nice to him.

“Very handsome,” she enthused.

My attention strayed toward the eye-candy that walked past us.  It was almost Angelica’s fantasy come to life—two tall, muscular, Latin men with smoldering dark eyes. 

Mmm.  Didn’t quite do it for me the way a certain Irish half-sidhe did, but not bad at all.

I glanced at Sunny, who sent a soft whistle of shared appreciation my way.  But what really surprised me was the look on Mickey’s face.  His eyes were also hungrily following The Latin Sexuality Twins.  Sunny noticed too and smirked at me. 

Apparently I’d been totally off base about him. 

Mickey reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change.  He rubbed a penny between his fingers and closed his eyes, murmuring something about how he wished his parents understood him as he tossed it over his shoulder into the fountain.

He smiled sadly as he placed pennies in each of our hands.  “Your turn, ladies.”

My heart went out to him as I pictured what it must be like to have Mr. H as a father.  I almost echoed his wish, when I caught myself.  I dropped the penny on the flagstone pavement and glanced at the thick crowd of people surrounding us. 

One of them could easily be a death djinn.  And I’d nearly slipped up and made a wish out loud.  I could have lost my immortal soul while hanging out at the equivalent of the mall. 

It was a horrifying thought.

I looked over to find Mickey staring at me with disappointment and hurt.

“Syd’s allergic to copper,” Sunny fabricated apologetically as she tossed her own coin into the fountain.  “Pennies give her a rash.”

“But I still hope your—you know—comes true,” I added lamely.

He rose, looking upset.  “Well, I guess I’d better get going.”

I stood and tried to thank him again for the coffee, but he was already striding away.

“Smooth, Syd,” Sunny intoned with a snicker.  “You still think he has a crush on you?”

Before I could come up with a suitably sarcastic reply, a hand grabbed my shoulder and I let out a muffled shriek.  I leapt forward and my knees met the stone lip of the fountain with a painful thud.  I overbalanced, my arms flailing as I teetered toward the shallow pool.

Just as I was about to go for an unwanted swim, a thick arm hooked around my waist and yanked me back against a wall of muscle.  Shaking, I squeezed my eyes shut and released the breath I’d been holding, both hands clinging to the solid, bare forearm that circled my mid-section.

“Easy there, little witch,” murmured Sparrow, his Irish brogue heavy with amusement.  His breath warmed my ear and the heat from his body curled through me, making my muscles turn to water.  

“Good goddess, Sparrow,” I mumbled unsteadily, “you scared the crap out of me!”

His arm tightened and his thumb brushed the underside of my breast.  Unintentionally, I was sure, but I shivered with awareness anyway.

“You’re trembling,” he said in concern.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to frighten you.”  He disentangled himself and urged me to sit on the fountain ledge. I used the moment to collect my brain, since his touch had apparently short-circuited it.

His deep blue eyes searched mine and I let out an unsteady laugh.  “It’s not your fault—I’m just a little on edge.  I guess I’m imagining death djinns around every corner.”

“That’s perfectly understandable, given the situation.”  He frowned and my fingers itched to smooth the crease between his brows.  “Maybe it’s not such a good idea for you to meet with Balthus after all.  He won’t hesitate to exploit any weakness he senses in you.  And if he can keep you off balance, you might trip up in front of him.”   

I stiffened and scowled at him, ignoring his lack of explanation for his unexpected presence.  “No way, Sparrow.  Talking to Balthus might be the only chance I get to make some sense out of this mess.  You promised you’d get me in to see him.”

“You are so stubborn.”  He shook his head at me.

“She’s our little Aries ram,” Sunny intoned.  “She’ll smack her head against the wall until she either gets what she wants, or she knocks herself out trying.”

“Ah, an Aries, well that explains it.”  He winked at Sunny.

I scowled at her.  “I’m serious, Sparrow.  I thought we already had this discussion.  It could help your investigation, and it’s definitely going to help me wrap my head around what I’m dealing with.”

“I’m only trying to do what’s best for you, Sydney,” he said quietly.

I softened at his words.  “And I appreciate that Sparrow, but I think what’s best for me is letting
me
decide what’s best for me.”

He chuckled.  “Why does that not surprise me?”

I leaned into him playfully.  “So does that mean I get my interview with a death djinn?” I asked, tilting my head back against his shoulder to bat my eyelashes at him.

His hooded gaze travelled slowly over my upturned face, and my breath grew shallow.  A smile twitched on his lips and I suddenly realized how much I wanted him to close the few inches that remained between us and put his mouth on mine.  He bent forward to place a light kiss on my forehead. 

“That’s what I came to tell you.  Your interview is on Saturday, little witch.”

I lifted my head from his chest, my heart racing.  His kiss was chaste, but his eyes were full of sensual promise.  I raised my gaze to his again, needing to make sure I hadn’t mistaken seeing it there. 

His smile widened and he fixed me with a look that was teasing, yet knowing.  Then he leaned forward and my eyes fluttered closed as his warm breath caressed my ear.  “You’re welcome,” he said softly.

“Thank you,” I murmured belatedly.

His lips lingered, brushing against the sensitive shell of my ear, and making me shudder with need.  Then he reached for my hand and gave my fingers a regretful squeeze as he rose.  

“I’ll be by on Saturday to pick you up.  I’ll get in touch with Lorien about the details.  I’m afraid it’s going to be a busy week and I won’t have much time to check in—but I’ll be there if you need me.”

I nodded.  “Thanks Sparrow.  I’ll be ready.”  I was aching with need for him now, but I didn’t say it.

He disappeared, and my eyes darted amongst the faces around us, but no one else seemed to notice.

I turned to Sunny.  “Wow.  Saturday.”  I couldn’t decide if it was too long to wait, or too close for comfort.  My face fell.  “Oh crap!  You fly out on Saturday!”

Sunny made a face.  “Yeah.  That sucks.  On the bright side though, I think the hot Irish guy really likes you.”

I grinned at her.

“Ready to go, little witch?” she asked mockingly.  She jumped up, dodging my elbow, and laughing as I chased her across the courtyard.

Chapter 8 – A Square Peg

“So, Syd, I’ve been thinking,” Sunny mused aloud.

I looked up, granting my full attention to her reflection in the mirror over the vanity sink.  “Gya?” I mumbled around my toothbrush. 

It was Saturday and I had been puttering around, lost in thought, all morning.  I was a little depressed that Sunny was leaving, and more than a little nervous about my impending meeting with Balthus—not to mention seeing Sparrow again. 

Sunny plunked herself onto the unmade bed behind me and pulled a pillow into her lap.  Her fingers fidgeted with the edge of the pillowcase as she watched me. 

“Well, I don’t have any classes to teach for another six weeks.  My bills are all on automatic withdrawal from my checking account, and my fish died last month and I haven’t had the heart to replace him.  I signed up to take that Latin course online over the summer, but I can do that from anywhere.  There’s really no reason I have to fly back home today.