Page 7

Chapter

Seven

brIDGETTE

A fter a sleepless night spent tossing and turning, I stumbled down the stairs to the back room of the shop, nearly breaking an ankle in the process. I’d decided it was going to be a casual day, going with a pair of jeans that did something miraculous to my ass and a simple blouse. It was my heels that nearly murdered me walking down the stairs. But they were undeniably beautiful, covered with tiny plum colored rhinestones that matched my blouse, turning a simple outfit into something glamorous. I suppose even my casual days were a little on the fancy side, but it made me happy.

After covering the dark circles from lack of sleep under my eyes with some concealer, I kept my makeup light, only swiping on a bit of mascara and finishing up with some lip gloss. My mother would be horrified at my lack of face paint, but I just couldn’t dredge up the energy for anything more.

I blew on my hot coffee before taking a small sip as I walked through the doorway and into the store that was brightly lit from the morning sun. At first glance, I didn’t see anything too out of place. The fairies all seemed to be arranged mostly in their usual positions. There were a couple of dragons resting on the rocks, but that was all I could see amiss.

“Good morning everyone!” I called out as cheerfully as I could manage, which, sadly, wasn’t a lot.

Mortimer jumped onto the counter, startling me and making me jerk back. Luckily, when my coffee splashed, it ended up hitting the floor and missed my clothing entirely.

“What the heck! Good morning to you, too, fluff ball,” I muttered as I double checked myself for coffee stains. His meow was louder than normal. “Are you mad I went out last night?” I shook my head. “Get over it, buddy. I’m allowed to have a social life, too. I’m not old yet. Though your owner has always had a much more lively social life than I’ve ever had.”

I went into the back for a few paper towels to clean up the small spill, the whole time listening to Mortimer meow almost urgently. When I came back into the front of the shop, it was to see him pacing back and forth, almost in agitation.

“What’s into you this morning, Mortimer?” I squatted down and started wiping up the spilled coffee. “You’re acting stranger than normal this morning. Are you missing Grandmother?”

I stood back up, ready to toss the used paper towels into the trash, when something caught my eye. I’d just wiped up coffee, but there was something else on the paper towel I hadn’t expected. A small bit of dark brown, almost like rust, was on the paper. I didn’t remember dropping anything recently.

I bent back down to look for any more of the mysterious substance, but the area was clean. I shrugged. Whatever it was, there was only a tiny bit. I dropped the dirty paper towels in the wastebasket and grabbed my apron off the hook, pulling it over my head and tying it behind my back. I picked up my cup of coffee and sipped it as I walked toward the door.

“Good morning, Mildred. You look lovely today.” I noticed a smudge of what looked like lipstick on one bony cheek. “Well, that’s new,” I muttered as I used my thumb to wipe it off. “You know what, Mildred? I don’t even want to know.”

I turned and flipped the sign over to OPEN and unlocked the door before taking a longer stroll around the shop. Not much seemed out of place, and my earlier assessment looked correct. I moved the dragons back onto their shelves, but after a brief hesitation, I placed a few stones around them. I liked the way it looked and hummed in satisfaction. The dragons shimmied in delight, making me smile.

I glanced up at Frank, the crow, to see he had an eagle-eyed watch on the whole place. There was something different about his positioning, though I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Maybe he just decided to move? I gave a mental shrug, and after offering him a wave, I headed back to the register. I needed to brew up a few of my most popular potions. One would think the luck or prosperity potions would be the most popular, but they weren’t. The ones that I sold out of most often were the success and mental clarity potions, often purchased by college students. It made my heart happy to know that I was providing a tool for helping others succeed.

I was almost back to the register when I heard the bell over the door ring. I turned, expecting Shayla since she usually stopped in either after a run or before heading to school. The grin I had for her faltered when I saw a tall, sexy detective striding towards me instead.

“Detective Storm. What can I do for you this morning?” I lifted my chin and turned, walking the rest of the way to the counter. I needed the extra moment to fortify my defenses after seeing him. Just that quickly, the fluttering began in my belly, and my heart rate picked up speed. I didn’t know if I would easily forget the man, but I was determined to keep a professional distance. I absolutely didn’t want to involve myself with someone who was already involved in another relationship, mate or not.

When I stepped around the corner and finally looked up, it was to see him already across from me, his gray eyes a darker shade than the last time I’d seen him. He had a look of determination, and his square jaw was set. I swallowed, knowing that I would have to stand my ground against him. I had a feeling that when the man became determined about anything, he didn’t back down easily.

“I’m sorry you were accosted by my ex-wife’s best friend last night. She shouldn’t have done that. I warned her to stay away from you in the future. Knowing Marlene, she probably won’t listen, so I want you to tell me if it happens again.”

I blinked up at Logan as I took in his words. “Uh, that’s a lot of information to unpack. You were married?” I didn’t know why, but the thought of him being in a serious relationship with someone else, one that led to marriage, living together, sleeping in the same bed every night, had my heart clenching. Without realizing it, I had lifted my hand and rubbed my chest to ease the pain there. Logan glanced down and watched me, his eyes going soft at what he saw. I quickly dropped my hand.

“It’s fine. She didn’t really say anything to me.”

“Liar.” His tone was soft as he took me in, his eyes traveling over my face, likely taking in the signs of my sleepless night. “You have nothing to worry about. Things have been over between Kristy and me for a long time. Longer than even the amount of time we’ve been divorced.”

I cleared my throat, but the tightness there made it hard to swallow. My tone was husky from the emotions raging through me. “Really, it’s no big deal.” I shrugged one shoulder and turned to tidy the pens in the cup holder by the register, just to have something else to focus on. “I’m sorry your marriage didn’t work out.”

“Do you lie a lot when you’re nervous?”

I gasped and jerked my head up. “I’m not nervous,” I declared and narrowed my eyes. “That was a very rude thing to say.”

Logan tilted his head, a slight grin tugging at his lips. “Was it?”

I gave a sharp nod. “It was. You don’t accuse a lady of such things.”

His grin widened. “I’ll keep that in mind. Go out with me again. Tomorrow night. I want to take you on a real date.”

I was already shaking my head before he’d even finished speaking and began stepping back. “That’s not a good idea, Detective?—”

Logan reached out his hand and placed it over the top of mine before I could pull away. My gasp was loud and immediate. The electricity that lit up my entire nervous system was like being hit with a bolt of lightning. I jerked away from his hand and stumbled backward, my back hitting the wall as I took in deep lungfuls of air.

Before I could come to terms with Logan Storm, who was indeed my fated mate, he was around the counter and running his hands over me. He tilted up my chin and took in my shocked expression.

“What is it? Are you hurt? What happened?”

I shook my head, my denial weak at best. “It’s nothing. I’m fine, just a bit of static electricity.”

“That wasn’t static. It felt like a thousand volts of electricity went through every cell in my body. Tell me you didn’t get hurt.”

“I—I promise, I’m not hurt.” I took in his features, the same as he was taking in mine. “Did you really feel it, too?”

He just tightened his jaw while scanning me again, looking for any visible signs of damage. I could have told him he’d find none. Outwardly, I was perfectly fine, though I was sure I probably looked shaken from the shock of it all, but inside, it was a different story.

This exact thing, this confirmed fated match, was precisely why I was so careful not to touch Logan. I had never been too concerned in the past if I randomly brushed against a man since I had been assured by my grandmother that I would have a gut feeling when I first met the man who was destined for me. The confirmation would come when we touched, and the mate bond would solidify when we repeated the binding words to each other. Grandmother had never gotten that far before her mate got scared and ran away; otherwise, it would have been excruciating to live without the person the fates had made specifically for you.

I made a distressed sound in my throat before quickly covering it with a cough. I turned away, nervously adjusting the pens again.

“You’re hiding something from me. Something that scares you.”

I took in his soft words, said in a tone so patient and understanding that I nearly lost the struggle against the tight hold I had on my emotions at that moment. I had to squeeze my eyes closed so tight that bright flashes of light danced behind my eyelids just to keep from crying.

“It’s okay, Bridgette. You can keep your secrets. For now. I just want to know if you will give me—us—a chance. Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night? A complete do-over, one that has nothing to do with witchcraft, murder, or any cases I may be working on. Just you and me, good conversation and food. What do you say?”

I slowly relaxed my muscles, letting the tension ease out. It was too late to go back at this point. I already knew he was my mate. The cat was well and truly out of the bag. I had the option to kick him out of my life before he hurt me, destroying my heart forever. Or, I could take a chance. I thought of what Shayla had said about the Goddess and accepting her gift. I let a slow breath out through my lips before turning to face Logan Storm.

“Yes.”

Logan looked at me, his expression completely unreadable as he took me in. Finally, he gave a firm nod of his chin and backed away. “Good. Tomorrow. I will pick you up here at seven. Is that enough time for you to lock up and be ready to go?”

I agreed, reluctance and trepidation still running rampant through my system, but there was a new emotion that was starting to make itself known—excitement. Logan turned to walk away but paused at the door to my shop.

“Bridgette?”

I couldn’t help the strange, breathy sound that came out of me as I jerked my head up from where I had been pretending I wasn’t watching him leave. “Yes?”

“No take

backs.” His wink before turning and walking out the door nearly turned me into a puddle of melted Bridgette. The man was lethal with his confident swagger, and his looks were just the cherry on top. He was the kind of man that other men subconsciously moved over for when they saw him coming. His presence was just so commanding without trying. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what I was supposed to do with a man like that.

The chiming of the bell had me jerking my head back toward the door. I realized that I had been staring blankly at nothing for so long I had lost track of time. When I recognized it was actually Shayla, I let out a relieved breath of air. I knew my smile was forced, but when she saw it, hers immediately shifted into a fierce scowl.

“What the fuck is wrong?”

I shook my head, then promptly burst into tears. Before I could do more than cover my face with my hands, she had me in her arms and was smoothing my hair down while speaking quiet nonsense to me. It felt so much like the way my mother would do it when I was upset; I just cried harder. So many emotions were bombarding me all at once I didn’t even know which way was up. I had missed my mother and grandmother since they left, but never as much as I did in that moment.

“Girl, if you don’t tell me who fucked with you, I swear to the Gods…”

I hiccuped and laughed at her words. Leave it to Shayla to soothe and threaten all in the same breath. I pulled back and gave her a wobbly smile as I swiped the tears away from my cheeks. “No one fucked with me, I swear. Not really. Not unless you count Fate.”

Shayla stood back and stared at me with her brows drawn. “Fate? Do you mean your mate? Is this about the detective? After what you told me last night, I don’t know where to go with this, Bridge. You’re going to have to help me out here. Do I go beat him up, or do I give him pointers on how to get past your walls?”

I blinked up at her. “Uh, neither?”

“Well, is he your fated mate? Is he seeing someone else? What is it?” Her hands went to her hips, and she started tapping the toe of her running shoe as she waited impatiently for me to elaborate.

“He touched me,” was all I could manage through my tight throat as I thought about everything that had happened in the last half hour.

“That motherfucker. Did you tell him to stop? Did you break his hands?” She started shaking her head and flexing her fists as if preparing for a fight. “Doesn’t matter. I’m gonna go find his ass and break his pretty face.”

I quickly grabbed her fists and held her still before she could storm out of the shop and hunt Logan down. “Calm down, killer. I didn’t mean he touched me inappropriately. Do you remember what we told you about fated mates and how we know for sure?”

Shayla looked only fractionally calmed down as she took in my words. “Yeah. You have to touch, and then you… ohhh.”

“Yeah, oh. Logan touched my hand after asking me on a date. A real one. Everything took me by surprise so fast that I almost had a panic attack. Logan calmed me down. He also knew I was lying about it when I told him that my reaction was just due to static electricity.”

Shayla’s grin grew as I spoke until she was practically vibrating where she stood. “Oh my goodness! It’s finally happening! You have a mate, and he wants to go on a date with you? Like a real one?”

I nodded ruefully, unable to get excited the way she was. “Yes, a real date. He told me that his ex is nothing but an ex, and he doesn’t even talk to her.”

Shayla sobered as she took in my expression, and then she pulled me back into another fierce hug. “I know you’re scared, Bridge. But we talked about this before we knew he was your mate for real. You need to trust the Fates, and you need to give your heart a chance. And always remember that I will have your back. Sisters before misters and all that shit. I will be here for you. But, sweety, don’t throw away happiness before you even feel it.”

I blinked back fresh tears as I stared up at my best friend. She was right. I had her. I also had my mother and grandmother, even if they were practically a world away.

“I’m scared,” I whispered as I thought about what the future could be like. It could be dark and lonely after having my heart broken. But it could also be beautiful and full of light, happiness, and a family that we create. “But I think,” I drew in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “I think I’m excited, too.”