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I considered the documents on the table between us. “It’s not mean; it’s the truth. Our situation is complicated. How long have you been sitting on those?”
“A few weeks.”
I winced. “You could have come to me sooner, you know.”
“I figured I owed it to myself to try this ‘alone’ thing first.”
“But you’re not alone. You have Hannah.” I snatched the papers again and scanned the adoption decree; something wasn’t adding up. “And me, for what that’s worth—which isn’t much.”
Kian snorted. “More than you think.”
“Can I take these?” I asked. “I want to do some digging.”
“They’re all yours.” Kian took another bite of his sandwich. “I’m sick of looking at them.”
Thankfully, Kian finished off his plate before checking his phone and announcing he had a late shift to catch. I made him promise to call if he needed anything else and I spent the next hour at the diner, bouncing between the papers and my phone. Google wasn’t bringing up much, but I wasn’t the most tech-savvy person either. I needed help, and I couldn’t get it through my usual channels. Given the supernatural involvement, I didn’t want to ask the police.
With a defeated sigh, I made the call. One of the hardest things to accept about being in a partnership was that I wasn’t alone anymore. After twenty years of it, I’d growntooused to doing things on my own.
“What a pleasant surprise,” James hummed, voice pumping through my veins like a drug.
“Hi,” I whispered, already feeling more relaxed.
“Is everything okay? I thought I was going to see you later.”
I paid for the meal, then shrugged into my jacket. If I sat at the diner any longer, they’d charge me for lodging. “If the bar isn’t too busy, I’d like to see you sooner rather than later.”
“Can’t get enough of me, huh?”
I groaned, and lowered my voice. “You already know the answer to that, vampire.” Then, in a normal tone. “Something strange happened, and I need some help trying to figure it out.”
“Uh oh.”
“It’s notbad,” I told him, leaning against the door of my car. “I don’t think. But it’s… weird. I don’t know what to make of it.”
“I’ll be there shortly.”
“No,” I said quickly, “don’t do that to Shi. I can come to you.”
“I’ll see you soon then.”
I sat in my car for a moment, wondering why I felt so unsettled. Throwing Kian’s papers into the passenger seat, I hissed at a sudden sting in my finger—a papercut. I glared at the pages that silently mocked me with their mystery. Something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t figure out what. When the chill in the air started to seep into my bones, I finally started the car and drove to Liz’s.
Rushing toward the warmth of the bar, I paused when someone called my name. It was a busy Saturday afternoon with everyone flocking to the fall festival in the town square, but I still found Ben when he popped into view. I tucked Kian’s papers under my arm. “You out here getting into trouble?”
He came to a stop in front of me, his salt-and-pepper hair blowing in the wind. His eyes shone in the afternoon light, his face pink from the cold. “Would it make me seem cooler if I said yes?”
Damn, I loved the bashful ones. I flashed him my signature grin. “I’m flattered, but you’re married to my ex.”
“That’s actually why I’m here. Erin came day-drinking with a co-worker, and a glass of wine turned into being ‘white-girl wasted.’ Her words, not mine. I’m here to pick her up.”
Shaking my head, I opened the door and gestured for him to enter. “My condolences.”
Erin made herself known immediately. She shouted out Ben’s name and threw herself into his arms. He blushed under the attention. With her glossy eyes and slurred words, Erin hadn’t been exaggerating—I felt bad for Ben, the poor guy.
I left them to it and sought out who I truly wanted. The adoption papers under my arm felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. James pretended not to notice me until I approached the bar, then he gave me a show-stopping smile that made my heart skip a beat. “Hey,” he said.
I kept a smile on my face—totally of my own volition, and not because the sight of James had me grinning like a fool. “Mind if I hang out in your office? Unless you want me back there with you?” There were quite a few people in the bar, but nothing he and Shi couldn’t handle.
