Chapter 15
Nigel raced up the steps to his apartment, euphoria buoying his heart to the topmost waves of his storm-tossed soul.
He could not have imagined, when he awaked this morning and remembered with stomach-crunching horror his ill-fated attempt to kiss his employee—while on the job, of all things!
—that only a few short hours later, he would be fairly floating.
It should not have gone like this. She had made her feelings about that near-kiss very clear.
When she’d refused to get into the van with him again, he’d known then that he’d messed up.
Big time. Part of him wanted to think she’d not noticed what it was he was trying to do, but .
. . Luna wasn’t stupid. She knew. And she’d firmly reestablished boundaries between them, boundaries he’d been determined to respect.
Why else had he fled to Garden before she even arrived at the shop this morning?
He’d been of half a mind not to return for the entire day.
To give her space. To prove to her that he wasn’t the sort of man to place his employee in an impossibly uncomfortable position.
But then . . . when he’d heard her voice on the other side of the door, calling for him . . .
That impulsive move to scoop her up and twirl her in his arms easily could have meant disaster.
By rights, she should be deeply offended that he’d taken such a liberty.
But she wasn’t. She was so far from offended that she’d taken him up on that equally impulsive luncheon invitation with .
. . dared he think enthusiasm? Did she actually want to spend time with him?
Even after that near-miss under the banquet table?
“You haven’t blown it,” he whispered to himself as he stripped off his sweaty garments and turned on the shower taps. “You haven’t ruined everything.”
And now he had a chance to prove to her all over again just how respectful he could be. What a good and trustworthy friend.
It was going to be all right. They were going to be all right.
And soon he would be enjoying the great pleasure of sitting across from her through lunch.
Of getting to pay for her meal and watch her enjoy it and listen to her conversation and glory in the mere presence of her being.
By the end of the day, he would have reestablished their friendship the way she wanted it to be, with himself in that damnable Elder Brother role.
Which, sure, made his heart knot up just to think about.
But if that’s the only way Luna Talbot wanted him, so be it!
Just so long as they didn’t have to keep going on like they’d been these last four weeks.
Because if yesterday had proven anything, it was how desperately he missed her.
Missed her laugh, missed her frown. Missed her perspective on the customers and her opinions on his floral arranging skills.
Missed the way her carefully-curled hair slowly lost its bounce throughout the day until it hung limp against her shoulders by closing time.
Missed the way her lips rounded in that delightful little moue as she blew away the hot steam just before taking a sip of her tea. Missed her.
Nigel rinsed off swiftly in the shower then sped through a toilette routine, applying cologne and pomade with not quite his usual care.
His fingers trembled as he did up the buttons of first his shirt, then his waistcoat, and fought three times with his tie before he managed to get a passable knot.
This feat accomplished at last, he shrugged into his jacket and paused a moment to meet his own gaze in the mirror.
“Right,” he spoke sternly to his reflection. “Be the friend she needs. You’ve got this.”
Stuffing a fresh handkerchief into his trouser pocket, he turned and exited the apartment. He descended the stairwell two steps at a time, his heart thudding in his throat, leapt the last three steps, stepped out into the shop—
And came face-to-face with the sight of Wardsman John Ward. His arms wrapped around Luna. Kissing her face off.
Nigel choked.
Staggering back into the stairwell, his heels hit the bottom tread, and he sat down heavily.
His heart seemed to have stopped completely, a solid weight plunged straight to his stomach.
He sat there for what felt like a short eternity, listening to nothing but the sound of his pulse thudding dully in his ears.
Then he heard Luna gasp, “Ward!”
“Did you miss me?” The wardsman’s voice sounded in those deep, reverberating tones which Nigel had come to loathe so thoroughly.
“I . . . I mean, I . . . I didn’t know you were back yet!” Luna sounded very breathless. Which, why wouldn’t she be? After a kiss like that.
“Just got in last night. Couldn’t wait to come down and see you.”
This statement was followed by a series of quick footsteps, then the creak of the hinged part of the counter opening, followed by the slam of it coming back down again.
Had Luna just taken the wardsman back behind the counter?
Into the nook? Nigel’s skin crawled at the mere idea.
That was their space. Luna’s and his. Ward didn’t belong back there.
“And,” he heard Luna saying, her voice bright but a little strained, “your assignment? Did it go well?”
“Still ongoing, I’m afraid.”
“What do you mean, ongoing?”
“We’ve been hunting this one enclave of rebel sorcerers for months now. Group of fellows who call themselves the Brotherhood. Real cultish types, not your average warm-and-fuzzy sorcerer, you know?”
“I . . . wouldn’t know.” Luna’s voice dropped an octave. “I don’t know anything about sorcery, despite, um . . . things.”
She was referring to the sorcerer’s mark on her wrist. Which, apparently, Ward knew about already.
“Yeah, I get it,” Ward answered easily. “Well, these guys have had a smuggling ring going on for a while now. You remember those enchanted facial creams I was tracking a few months back?”
“Yes?”
“Turns out, that was only one small part of a much larger operation. Do you know what Dire Matter is?”
“I may have heard of it in passing.”
“Basically, it’s the magic stuff sorcerers use to shape their spells. Nasty, but they can’t do anything without it. They’ll distill it down into concentrated forms, and it goes for millions on the black market these days.”
“Goodness.”
“Not the word I’d use!” Ward chuckled warmly. “Anyway, turns out, there’s supposed to be some sort of a big shipment coming in to Bally Harbor sometime in the next few nights. I wouldn’t venture down to the warehouse district if I were you, Luna Talbot.”
“I don’t make a habit of walking around the warehouse district late at night, Officer Ward.”
He snorted. “I didn’t think you did. But since you insist on not telling me where exactly you live, I figure it’s best to cover my bases.
So, in case your bunk happens to be situated somewhere near the warehouse district, stay in, keep your doors and windows locked and your head down.
Better yet, find a friend to stay with and keep well away. ”
“Noted,” Luna answered. Then added, “Thank you for the warning.”
There was a momentary pause, followed by Ward speaking in an altogether different tone, “So, are you going to come back out from behind that counter now?”
Wait. Nigel frowned. Had Luna fled behind the counter .
. . on her own? The desire to peek out from his hiding place and check was strong, but not as strong as the equally powerful desire not to see the two of them together ever again.
The resulting conflict kept him rooted in place.
This was ungentlemanly behavior, he knew, eavesdropping on a private conversation.
But he simply couldn’t summon the will to move.
“I don’t know,” Luna replied in a playful tone, but Nigel recognized a slight edge of tension. “Are you to be trusted?”
“Not even a little bit!” Ward answered, his voice betraying his grin. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot, you know.”
“Have you?”
“Yup. Can’t seem to get you out of my mind. Funny how that works.”
“I’m so sorry to have caused any, um, disturbance to your mental equilibrium.”
“Oh, don’t be sorry. You can disturb my mental equilibrium anytime you like.” There was a pause, followed by a: “And did you miss me?”
“Well, of course I did.”
“Miss me enough to come back out here and kiss me again?”
Luna cleared her throat. “Ward, I’m at work.”
“I noticed. So what? Is the boss lurking around somewhere? Old Grimm won’t make trouble over one little kiss, right?”
“I don’t know that you are capable of one kiss, Officer Ward. As for little . . . well!”
Ward chuckled again. “I’ve never been a man to do things by halves.”
“So I’ve noticed!”
“Is that a no on the kiss then?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“In that case, you get a lunch break, don’t you?”
“Yes, but—”
“Perfect. I’ll take you out. My treat.”
Nigel felt as though his stomach had opened up and all his innards simply poured out, right there, on the step.
He leaned his head against the wall of the stairwell.
Maybe he could use a little of his own carefully-horded distilled Dire Matter to step outside of time and slip back to about twenty minutes earlier, when he’d held Luna in his arms and whirled her around?
That moment had been so brief, but with the right spellwork, he could probably make it last a whole lot longer.
He’d like to go back and simply exist there for a little while.
Then he heard Luna answer, “I’m sorry, Ward, but I already have plans.”
Suddenly, Nigel’s soul was rising up from the pit, soaring once more. Did he hear that right? Did she just turn down Ward the Wardsman? No. No, he must be mistaken. Surely it was just his own delusion trying to convince him.
But he distinctly heard Ward’s heavy sigh. “Luna Talbot,” the wardsman said, “you are the most impossible woman.”
She was silent for few heartbeats before answering. “I can’t just drop everything the moment you turn back up again.”