Chapter 47 Clarice
CLARICE
Horatio greeted her with a howl about the bowl that was showing through the kibble that was left and lodged a complaint about the unsatisfactory water, and then purred and tolerated being picked up and petted.
He slept with her that night, a heavy weight near her knees, and in the morning, he twined around her ankles as he led her into the kitchen for breakfast.
Other than that, Tuesday felt remarkably…normal.
Clarice unlocked the realty office promptly at eight in the morning, plugged in the Christmas lights, sorted the mail, and started the coffee.
It was easy to think that the weekend past was just a bizarre fantasy, or something she’d watched as an action movie too late at night after too much cheese.
But her wrists still had rough, red stripes where she’d struggled against the zipties, and there were several confused messages from Monday when they’d been unexpectedly closed. She was on the phone responding to one of those when Veronica came in.
Clarice searched her face for any sign of what she’d gone through as she hung her coat on the rack next to the white one that Clarice had returned. Did her makeup look a little heavier? Were the lines on her face more drawn? Was she limping?
The person at the other end of the line had asked her a question.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Clarice said honestly. “Could you repeat the question?”
Veronica gave her usual careless wave as she left her coat on the hook and sauntered into her office like nothing had changed.
Clarice finished updating the record of sale and scheduling the inspector and cautiously followed Veronica through the open door.
She wanted to ask how Veronica was, whether she’d been hurt, what the raid in Anders Canyon had been like…
“The bank approved the Young sale,” Clarice said instead, handing over the files she’d put together.
“You’ve got a few emails that I flagged for you to answer. I can…draft replies if you want.”
Veronica took the folders across her desk and placed them neatly before her.
Too neatly? “Thank you, Clarice. I was thinking we’d close the office for two weeks around Christmas this year.
This isn’t the busiest house shopping season, and you’ve earned some time off.
Especially now that you have a boyfriend to spend it with! ”
Clarice blushed. Boyfriend! She had a boyfriend!
A magical, shapeshifting boyfriend who had embroiled her in danger and adventure.
“Thank you,” she squeaked. “Oh my gosh, I have to get him something for Christmas! I did my shopping weeks ago because I have to mail most of my gifts. And I’ll need something for Gil!
Do you have any idea what five-year-old boys like? ”
Veronica smiled indulgently. “Probably toys? Maybe a sled?”
“I’ll have to ask Bruno. I wouldn’t want to get him something he already has.” It was almost as thrilling to have Gil to shop for as it was to have a boyfriend. “Do you think he likes to color? Is he too old for stuffed animals?”
“I have some calls to return,” Veronica said pointedly, and Clarice recognized that she was babbling.
“Of course.” She paused at the door on her way out. “Veronica, are you…”
But when she turned back, Veronica was gone.
Clarice glanced around, as if there was some way that Veronica could be hiding somewhere in the office. She even looked to see if the woman had slipped down underneath her desk for some bizarre reason, but the room was utterly empty.
Veronica’s phone still lay on her desk, and she never went anywhere without it. Clarice wondered again what had happened at the raid.
Veronica was nowhere to be found. Clarice wandered back out into the office and frowned at the coat hanging on the rack next to hers. Should she…report it to someone? The police? Juliette? How long were you supposed to wait before you called someone in as missing. Probably more than a few minutes.
The phone rang, and Clarice went to answer it in a daze, taking dutiful notes and moving things around on the master calendar. When she was done with the call, she nervously went back to Veronica’s office and was startled to find the woman sitting at her desk, typing away at the keyboard.
“Veronica?”
“I’m just finishing with these emails,” she said casually.
“Could you call the insurance company about the French doors on the bluffs place? We’ll need an inspector out there to see if the plumbing froze up at all, and we should see if anyone can drain that pool at this late stage.
I’ll make the call to the contractor that was supposed to do it.
You’re entirely too nice, but listen in and learn how to put the fear of God in them so it doesn’t happen again.
That’s a skill you should cultivate. Also, do you remember what I taught you about makeup?
The bags under your eyes, honey! Did you sleep at all this weekend? ”
“I had a lot going on,” Clarice pointed out. “Are you…okay?”
Veronica gave her a camera-ready smile and a company laugh. “It was quite a weekend,” she said flippantly. “I’m not all here yet.”
Clarice knew a brushoff when she heard one. “Well, if you ever need to talk about it…”
“We’ll do lunch sometime,” Veronica said airily. “I’ve got calls to make now!”
Clarice went back to her desk in a daze. Had she imagined Veronica’s disappearance? Was there some other, perfectly logical explanation? Minds could play funny tricks. Probably, she couldn’t teleport.
Bruno’s texts were a pleasant distraction as they made dinner plans. My place, spaghetti, maybe Gil will go to bed early.
Gil didn’t, but when the boy’s last calls for attention finally stopped, Bruno and Clarice exchanged eager knowing looks and closed the distance between them on the couch. “I missed you,” Bruno said, kissing her.
“It was one night apart,” Clarice pointed out, kissing him back.
“It was eternity,” Bruno said.
“Eternity was waiting for Gil to go to sleep,” Clarice countered.
“He sleeps very deeply,” Bruno promised, taking her hand and drawing her to her feet. “You don’t have to be quiet.”
“What if it’s more fun if I do?” Clarice suggested playfully. She worried at once that she’d taken it too far, but Bruno’s eyes glittered happily at her.
“I’m sure I could come up with something to keep you from being too noisy,” Bruno said, dragging a finger suggestively over her lips.
“I might be bad at it,” Clarice warned him. “Being quiet, I mean.”
“I’m sure we can devise an appropriate punishment if you fail,” Bruno said.
Clarice grinned against his mouth. “Oo, a spanking?” She had to giggle. “I hope I’m not just proving that you should have given me a business card instead of taking me on a date because I’m a sexual deviant...”
Bruno drew away and cupped her face in both hands. “We are two consenting adults who might have a lot of fun trying new things, and I will do exactly what you let me. You can tell me no at any point you want.”
Clarice had no need for no, not when he led her back to his bedroom, not later when they showered together and started things all over, and not much later in the night when they woke up to go again.
“We should talk about things,” she said, sleep slurring her words as they lay together in the early hours of the morning. “Can I leave a toothbrush here? My place doesn’t have an extra room for Gil, so I can’t really return the favor. Does your lease allow cats?”
“My lease doesn’t include pets,” Bruno said, stroking her. “But I’ve had my eye on this great house. I bet if I had someone to cosign on the loan, I’d be able to get a better rate.”
“Cosigning on a loan is a big step,” Clarice said. It didn’t scare her though. It felt like a natural next step. “It would tie up our finances.”
“You’re right,” Bruno said, tracing a lazy pattern on her belly. “We should just get married and make it less complicated.”
Clarice turned to blink at him. She could just make out his profile in the light that was on in the attached bathroom. “You can’t be serious. We barely know each other.”
Bruno moved his hand to cup her jaw and kiss her again.
“I told you about instinct,” he reminded her.
“And every human and shifter instinct I have says you’re the one for me.
You’re smart and funny and sexy and brave.
You’re great with Gil and he likes you. I could never do better.
I was meant to find you and I’ll wait if you want, but I don’t see any real reason to. ”
Clarice felt like all the breath had gone out of her lungs…and at the same time, she felt like everything fell perfectly into place. “I come with a cat,” she warned him. “A very unfriendly cat with trust issues.”
“I’m a trust issue professional,” Bruno reminded her. “We’ll get along great.”
“Are you going to headshrink my cat?” Clarice had to giggle in delight.
“I’ll send you a bill for it, if it makes you feel better,” Bruno chuckled.
“Yes,” Clarice said.
“You want me to bill you?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you, if you mean it.” Clarice had no reason not to.
Bruno was everything she’d ever wanted in a man, and even if she didn’t have magical instinct to tell her, she knew that he was exactly what he was on the tin: noble, kind, and sexy as sin.
They’d already been through more adventure than most couples endured, and come out the other end of them more in love than ever.
“I mean it,” Bruno said, gathering her up into his arms. “I mean every word.”