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FENELLA

F enella stretched an arm across the empty space beside her, and the lazy smile she'd woken up with wilted into a frown.

Din's absence felt surprisingly wrong.

Exhausted after her shift, she'd opted to return to Shira's place alone and just collapse into bed after a quick shower, but now she regretted that decision. She missed having Din's arm draped across her waist, his breath warm against her neck, and hearing the soft murmurs he made while dreaming.

A week ago, she would have scoffed at anyone even suggesting that she could get used to a male's presence in her life so quickly.

Somehow, Din had gotten under her skin, and it hadn't been just because of his impromptu declaration of love on the way home last night.

It was about him rolling up his sleeves and helping clean up after closing so she could finish things earlier, it was the stroll down the row of displayed artifacts in the pavilion and the fascinating stories he'd told her, and it was a hundred and one little things she couldn't think of right now that had felt so right when they'd happened.

I'm in love with you, Fenella .

The words reverberated in her head, exhilarating, terrifying. She wanted to be loved, but at the same time, she didn't want to be tied down by the bonds it implied.

It wasn't that she was afraid of commitment or that she wanted the freedom to pursue other men. It was much more fundamental than that.

She was scared of losing Din.

It wasn't about him walking away and leaving her or anything else as mundane as that.

She might have harbored those kinds of fears when she was young and naive and hadn't witnessed the random cruelty of the world.

Now she was afraid of losing him permanently to an act of terror or even a fatal accident, and that wasn't theoretical given the landing gear malfunction during his flight from Edinburgh to New York.

A miracle had saved him and the other passengers. According to the news commentator, water landings rarely ended well.

With a sigh, Fenella reached for her phone on the nightstand, squinting at the screen. Noon already?

The birthday celebration for Kian and his daughter was starting in two hours, which didn't leave much time to prepare.

When a text notification from Din caught her eye, she rushed to open the messaging application.

Good morning, my love. Call me when you wake up? I'll come to pick you up for the party .

My love.

The endearment still tasted new. It wasn't the same as, 'how are you, love?' Or 'what can I get you, love?' My love sounded different, and it sent a surge of warmth through her, followed immediately by a flutter of fear.

Fenella pushed herself upright, her sore muscles protesting, but not as badly as she'd expected them to. Immortality had many perks, chief among them being rapid recovery. Once she had a cup or two of coffee in her, she would be as good as new.

Padding barefoot into the kitchen, she expected to find Shira there, or at least a half-full coffee carafe and the lingering scents of breakfast, but the kitchen was empty and smelled faintly of cleaning solution.

A twinge of concern flickered through her.

"Shira?" Fenella called out as she walked toward her roommate's door.

Finding it closed, she knocked gently, then with more force when no answer came. "Shira? Are you in there?"

Given how well the houses in the village were soundproofed, Shira might not have heard her. Fenella hesitated only for a split second before pushing the door slightly open.

The bedroom was empty, the bed neatly made as if it hadn't been slept in.

A spike of anxiety followed.

Yesterday, Shira had promised to come to the bar provided that nothing materialized from the hookup she'd been planning, but since she hadn't shown up, perhaps she'd decided to spend the night with the guy.

It shouldn't be a cause for worry.

After all, she was an immortal, stronger and faster than any human female and many human males and possessing the ability to thrall. She was in no danger from some human dude, even if he was up to no good.

But what if he'd slipped her a roofie?

Were immortals immune to those?

Thankfully, it had never happened to Fenella, but that was because she was always super careful with her drinks. She never let them out of her sight and held on to them until she was done drinking.

Returning to her bedroom, she retrieved her phone and dialed her roommate's number.

After several rings, the call went to voicemail.

"Hey, it's me," Fenella said after the beep. "Just checking to see if you're okay since you didn't come home last night. Call me when you get this."

She terminated the call and tried to tamp down her worry.

Shira is fine, and I'm overreacting .

After a moment's hesitation, Fenella called Din.

"Good morning, love," he answered almost immediately, sounding amused. "Or should I say good afternoon?"

"Good morning to you, too," Fenella said. "What's the point of working late if you can't sleep in?"

"Fair point. How are you feeling?"

"I missed you this morning. Any chance you want to come over and have breakfast with me? Shira's not home, and I don't want to eat alone."

She rolled her eyes at the words that had just left her mouth. Since when did she have a problem with doing anything without company?

"I'll be there in twenty minutes with coffee and pastries."

"You're my hero." She made a loud kissing sound. "See you soon."

Twenty minutes was just enough time to figure out what to wear for an outdoor party and get herself dolled up.

Would a pair of leggings and a button-down blouse work?

Or should she put on a dress?

She still had the one she'd borrowed from Jasmine, although given that Jasmine didn't want the dress back, it wasn't really borrowed.

Fenella had worn it to meet Din at the café when he'd first arrived at the village, but she still didn't have the right shoes to wear with it other than the flip-flops Jasmine had given her.

Oh well, Din had seemed impressed then, so it couldn't be too bad. Besides, it wasn't as if she had a lot of options.

Fenella was just finishing her updo when the doorbell rang, and she opened it to find Din balancing a cardboard tray containing two large coffee cups and a paper bag that emitted the heavenly scent of fresh pastries.

"Caffeine delivery," he announced with a bright smile that had his left cheek dimple.

Fenella relieved him of the tray. "You're officially my favorite person."

"I aim to please." He leaned to plant a soft kiss on her cheek. "You look lovely."

"Thank you." She cast him a smile. "You look good yourself, Professor."

"Oh, this old thing?" He waved a hand over his outfit of black jeans and a gray button-down shirt, then followed her inside and closed the door behind him.

Fenella laughed. "That sounds like something Max would have said."

When Din didn't laugh back, she realized her mistake. "Didn't mean to imply that it was a lame joke."

He took a seat at the counter. "So, where is Shira off to this morning?"

Talk about a change of subject.

Fenella set the coffee on the counter. "I don't think she came home last night. Yesterday, she said something about a possible hookup after work, so I assume that she spent the night with the guy. I'm trying not to worry."

"She'll probably return in time for the party," Din said. "She wouldn't want to miss that."

"I'll keep a lookout for her." Fenella pulled the cups out of the cardboard tray and handed one to Din. "What do we do if she doesn't show up?"

He frowned. "I don't know what the procedure here is, but the Guardians probably have a protocol they follow when a village resident goes missing. We can just tell Max and let him handle the rest." He removed the pastries from the bag—chocolate croissants by the look and smell of them.

Fenella snatched one out of his hand and took a bite. It was warm, and the chocolate melted on her tongue. "This is heavenly."

The intensity with which he looked at her mouth and the glow in his eyes made her breath hitch.

She licked her lips. "Hungry?"

"Very."

"Eggs?" she teased.

Din leaned closer to her, their lips almost touching. "No, not for eggs."

"Toast?" she breathed.

"I love you," he said, his chocolate-scented breath fanning over her face.

If she let him kiss her now, they would never get to the party or they would get there after everyone else had left. Normally, Fenella wouldn't have minded, but it was the boss's birthday, and she would have to be an idiot to do anything to antagonize her very generous host.

She placed a finger over his lips. "I'm not saying those three words back to you. Not yet. But I'm willing to say that I'm glad you're here."

Din kissed her fingertips before moving her hand away. "That's more than enough for me. For now."

The guy was just too good to be true.

Oh, to hell with it.

She closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his. The kiss was gentle at first, a sweet hello, a reconnection, but it quickly deepened into something more urgent. Din's hands came to rest at her waist, pulling her closer to him.

When they finally separated, they were both breathless.

"So, what would you like for breakfast?" she said, trying to sound casual. "I offered eggs and toast, and you said no to both."

Din laughed, the sound sending a pleasant shiver down her spine. "Let's stick to the pastries. There will be enough food at the party."

"I have to admit that I prefer this delicious croissant to anything else. It is worth waking up for." Fenella licked a smudge of chocolate from her thumb.

After a moment, she checked her phone to see if Shira had returned her message, but there were no new notifications on the screen.

"Maybe I should call the library?" She wiped her hands on a napkin. "Is it open on Saturday?"

She didn't know which library Shira worked in, and in a city the size of Los Angeles, there were probably hundreds of them. Ingrid should know, though. The woman knew everything about everyone.

"I'm sure it's open," Din said. "But I doubt anyone would know where Shira is. Unless the hookup was someone she works with?"

Fenella shrugged. "She didn't say who it was. I think she would have mentioned it if he were a coworker."