Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
STASIE
To say my life was odd was an understatement.
Perhaps it would be better to call it a bit wild, far-fetched even.
But walking through a farmers’ market with a man I’d only ever dreamed about or saw when I risked my life felt insane.
The way he walked beside me never taking his eyes off me was unnerving.
I tucked my hair behind my ear and peeked up at him.
“What?”
“I love this side of you.” When he gave me a dazzling smile, it nearly took my breath away. No man should ever be this gorgeous. It wasn’t fair to the rest of the population.
“Side of me? As if you’ve known me for so long.” I gave a nervous chuckle.
He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I saw many sides of you last night.”
I gave him a playful shove. “Keep it up and it’ll never happen again.”
He strolled over to a small vendor stand and let his eyes roam over the fruit there. They were a vibrant rainbow of lush colors. He plucked up an orange and paid the vendor, then with the flick of his wrist, he tossed it to me. “Your favorite.”
I caught it easily. My smile faltered. “How’d you know oranges are my favorite?”
“Lucky guess.” He shrugged and took my hand in his.
His grasp was warm yet smooth against my skin.
I shoved the orange into the canvas bag that hung over my shoulder.
Usually, I was assailed with feelings of urgency, the need to get on to the next adventure, I always lived for what came next, but right now I was content to be in this moment with him.
Just two people getting to know each other.
“Okay, mind reader, give me another favorite of mine.”
We wove through the crowd to another stand where they had baked goods all stacked in shining glass containers.
The scent of cinnamon and sugar wafted toward me, and I leaned closer to the glass, peeking down at the cookies, muffins, and more delicious goodies.
I motioned toward the case. “Have a guess?”
“I like this game,” He paused, studying the case. “We’ll take two of the apple turnovers please.”
My jaw dropped as he handed money over to the girl working behind the counter. She placed them in a white paper bag, then handed them over to Thanatos. He took the bag, smirked down at me, and handed it to me. “Did I pass?”
I loved anything apple flavored but not many people knew that. I hesitated. This was getting a little too weird. How could he possibly know so much about me from only one night? “Yes. Yes, you did.”
He lifted his chin and his chest puffed out a little.
We moved across the street to another vendor.
This time it was a table of handmade jewelry.
They had necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and even rings on display.
They were lined up in white, cushioned trays and glinted in the sun.
They were all so beautiful with their fantasy feel of twisted metal, sharp points, and delicate flowers.
One ring in particular caught my eye. It was simple in design yet elegant.
The silver was a darker, almost gothic look.
The band twisted around itself in Celtic knots going all the way around.
At the center of it sat a single round onyx stone.
The four prongs held it above the twisting band, and it glinted in the sunlight.
The woman behind the table stopped before us.
She was older with wild grey hair and aged skin.
When she smiled, the lines fanned out all over her face. “See anything you like?”
I looked up at Thanatos. “I don’t know. Do we?”
“I think we do.” He leaned over a tray of rings.
My insides tightened with nerves. If he guessed right, then more was at play here than a mind-blowing one-night stand. He ran his fingers over the rings, testing each one. He stopped at the ring that caught my eye and plucked it up, holding it out to her. “This is the one, I think.”
He handed it over to me. “It’s the right size too.”
I slid the ring into place and fell silent as he paid the vendor. When he turned back to me, his face fell. “You don’t like it?”
“No, I do.” I loved it more than anything I’d ever gotten. But this was too weird, too much of a coincidence. I moved away from the vendor, out of earshot from anyone else, and pulled him up against the wall of a small store. “Why do you know so much about me?”
“Like I said, another lifeti—”
I held my hand up, cutting him off. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s romantic and all but it’s not logical. Have you been spying on me?”
“No!” His eyebrows shot up. “I mean . . . technically no. I don’t spy. I just like to make sure you’re okay.”
“That sounds an awful lot like stalking.” I turned on my heels and started walking away.
Great. Just great. I’d gotten infatuated with my personal stalker.
What if I’d seen him watching me and my subconscious just took his looks and ran with it, giving me visions of him all this time?
That would, in fact, mean that I was batshit crazy.
Who in their right mind became obsessed with their own stalker?
Thanatos easily caught up and fell into step beside me.
“I am not stalking you.” His voice was gentle but firm. “I bet you can do it to me too.”
I whirled around on him. “Do what?”
He held his hands up in a surrender motion. “I bet you know what my favorite things are too.”
“How can I believe you? Whatever I pick you’ll say it’s your favorite too. I know that game. I’ve played that game. Not interested.”
When I started to turn away, he reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me. “I’ll write it down and hand it to you, then you can check my answers.”
“Fine.” I crossed my arms.
He walked over to a vendor and asked for a small piece of paper and pen. He grabbed it and started to scribble across it. He folded the paper and handed it to me so I couldn’t see it. A wide smile spread across his face and he crossed his arms. “What’s my favorite fruit?”
“Apples,” I said right away.
“And my favorite color?”
“Green.” Again, no hesitation.
“The same intense green of your eyes.” He chuckled. “Favorite dessert?”
“Brownies.” Why did I feel so confident in this?
“Favorite destination?” he continued.
“Grand Canyon . . . No, Bora Bora . . . No, definitely the Canyon.” I shook my head. “This is stupid. I’m just throwing out random answers.
He motioned to the paper folded in my pocket. “Check them.”
I opened the paper and the warmth drained from my face.
There they were in perfect script: Apples, Green, Brownies.
Even Grand Canyon was crossed out and then rewritten again.
I groaned and crumpled up the paper. “Are you some kind of magician? No, a mentalist. You know, one of those people who reads body language and gets all the answers.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not a magician or whatever the other thing you said I was.”
“Then how?” Annoyance ate at me. I didn’t like this. All the alarm bells were going off in my mind.
“We’ve always known each other,” he spoke so simply.
“That’s stupid.” I turned on my heels and marched away from him.
I knew he would follow me. Though he was silent, I knew.
I wove my way through the street crowd, quickly moving past all the booths and heading back down the street toward my hotel room.
For most of my life, all I wanted was him.
All I dreamt about was him. But that wasn’t real.
This wasn’t real. He knew too much for only knowing me for a few hours.
This felt like the worst kind of setup. Perhaps someone set me up to fail.
But it was hard to know who when I never told another living soul about him or the visions.
The hotel came into view, and I quickened my pace, making it into the lobby in mere moments.
He was still behind me, silent like a ghost at my side.
Even in the elevator he didn’t speak. He just stood there.
I should’ve been afraid. I should’ve been more on-guard, but try as I might, I couldn’t muster up an ounce of fear.
When I got to the hotel room door, I paused.
“Thank you for walking me back. You can go now.”
“No.”
“No?” My brow furrowed.
“We need to talk.” He gave a heavy sigh.
“Fine.” I turned back to the door and swiped my key. The door clicked open, and I pushed inside. When I was far enough into the room, I whirled around toward him. “Talk.”
He folded his hands in front of him, holding deathly still. “Do you believe in the supernatural?”
That was not the direction I thought he’d go. “I suppose.”
“The world is too curious of a place for there not to be something more.” I agreed with him, but I wasn’t going to say that now. Not when things were so odd with us. He walked farther into the room. “There are so many things that people believe in that they can’t see.”
“And?” I shrugged.
“I believe in those things. Vampires, witches, demons, even mythology. I believe in it all. . . don’t you?” He stared down at me with those intense pale eyes, and I found myself wanting to agree with him, wanting to ease the tension around his eyes.
“I mean . . . in theory, yeah. I think there’s more to this world. I’ve seen too much not to believe that there was.” I shook my head. “But I can’t see how that would apply to us. None of this makes sense. It’s too much too fast.”
“I agree, but can’t we just . . . I don’t know.” He paused. “Can’t we just let this be and see where it goes? Do we have to figure everything out now?”
“See where this goes?” I spoke slowly. His words sounded like something I would say to someone I just started dating. But we hadn’t even started, and I wanted all the answers. Was it unreasonable?
“Yes, spend time with me. Get to know me and see if you like me.” He took a slow step toward me. “So what if I know your favorite fruit and you know mine? There is much more to learn and do together. Can’t we have that? Can’t we try and build from here?”
What he was asking for wasn’t out of place or too much. It was the natural way that things went with couples. But deep down I felt like he was hiding something more. The question was, how long would I fight that feeling and stay? “I think it’s a place to start.”
“That’s all I’m asking for . . . a starting point.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest.
I went to him so easily, trusting. When I laid my head on his chest, the sound of his beating heart filled my ears. “Then I guess this is our beginning.”