Page 9 of Paper and Passion (Ghostlight Falls #2)

Tillie

B y the time I flip the closed sign, the store is swept clean, the storage room is organized, and Adrian and Alex are still here. They’ve both been unnervingly helpful.

“So, can we take you to dinner, pretty girl?” Alex asks, wrapping her arms around me.

“There’s something we’d like to discuss,” Adrian adds.

There’s a note of unease to his tone that sets me on edge.

My mind runs through a thousand horrible scenarios that make little sense.

I already know they’re not human. So what could make him sound so nervous?

Is he gonna tell me they need me for some ritual sacrifice?

That’s a thing with some creatures, right?

Before I can answer, Sheet-y is moving again. Fuck me. What the hell’s wrong with this place today? It’s been moving more in general since my grandma’s death, but today has been especially bad.

I nearly lose my balance again, but Alex presses me into the window to hold me in place with her body. The store lifts a few feet, and I watch as it strolls down the street. A few people look up at us, but most continue about their business. This is Ghostlight Falls, after all.

A basket of pens slides off the counter, sending them rolling everywhere.

Great, I just cleaned those up. The shelf of greeting cards by the door hits the ground just next to us with a crash .

Adrian throws himself over Alex and me, shielding us even though the shelf already fell and nothing else is nearby. It’s incredibly sweet.

When Sheet-y stops, the waterfall the town is named for makes a picture-perfect view from the window, but the shop is a mess. I’ll need to spend most of the night cleaning up.

“Well, thanks for the dinner invite, but it looks like I’ll need to stay a bit longer.” I rest my forehead against the cool glass .

Alex and Adrian don’t move back. Her weight presses into me, and his hands wrap around my middle, spanning my belly in a way that’s oddly comforting.

“Will the store move again during the night?” Alex asks.

“With my luck? Yeah.”

“Then come to dinner with us.” Adrian presses more firmly on my stomach, pulling me back into Alex. “You need to eat something. And what good will cleaning the store do if it’ll just be a mess again by morning?”

“Is that the logic you use with making your bed or doing dishes?” I ask, turning my head to see him. His face is so close, we’re breathing the same air.

Alex chuckles. “No. He’s a total neat freak.”

“I could use one of those in my life.” There’s no humor in my laugh because of how true it is. The little house my grandma left me is as much of a disaster as this shop, my purse, and my love life.

“We’ve got you, sweetheart.” Adrian brushes his nose against mine. “But right now, you need to eat. And we need to talk before this goes any further.”

“Well, that’s not ominous at all.”

He steps back, releasing both Alex and me, but she doesn’t move as quickly. She kisses my neck, soft and sweet. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing you don’t already want.”

While I’m still wondering how she knows what I want, she steps away, grabs my hand, and pulls me toward the front door.

“Where are your keys?” Adrian asks. “I’ll lock up.”

“Can’t find them.” I sigh, staring up at the ceiling. “Listen to me for once and lock up, okay, Sheet-y?”

I went and got my purse from the visitor center earlier this afternoon. Mappy had gathered everything up and found my car keys, but not the keys to the shop.

Adrian pats the counter. “You heard the woman.”

Sheet-y parked right across the street from the one nice restaurant in town, Ratcliff’s, so Adrian leads us there. He holds open the door like a gentleman, and Alex holds my hand as we walk inside.

“Three?” the hostess asks.

Something about that one word question has a chill skating over my skin. Three. Not one, like I normally would be if I ever ate out anymore. Not two, like a date. Not four, like a double date.

Three .

An odd number with a high probability of someone being left out.

“Yes,” Adrian says confidently.

The hostess gives me a once over with a smirk that says she knows my town nickname before leading us to a table in the back. At least she’s professional enough not to call me by it.

The table is the same table I sat at the night Chad told me I wasn’t enough. Quiet, dark, secluded, and perfect for heartbreak.

I slide into the booth with a heavy feeling in my stomach. Alex moves in next to me, and Adrian takes the chair across from us. As if she can sense my hesitance, Alex leans her head on my shoulder and gives my hand a squeeze.

“Your waiter will be by in a few minutes.” The hostess drops a few menus on the table, then retreats to the front of the restaurant.

“Well, this is quite the place.” Alex picks up a menu, and I try to imagine what she must think of our one nice restaurant.

“So what’s good here?” Adrian asks.

“Well, it’s not exactly a five-star restaurant, but the ratatouille is good. And they’ve got a wide selection for… um, well, people of various types.” I give them a look, feeling my cheeks heat.

What are they anyway? Do they have unique eating habits like vampires? Is it rude to ask?

“We have a similar diet to humans, although we do love seafood more than the average person probably does,” Adrian says, answering my unasked question.

My mouth falls open. “Did you just read my mind?”

He chuckles, and Alex smiles.

“Your curiosity was pretty easy to read,” she says.

Adrian folds the menu and sets it next to him. “Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

“W-what are you?”

“Ah, yes.” He unwraps the napkin from around his silverware and places it in his lap.

“Well, we’re not sure. We think we’re related to Kraken in some way, but we aren’t Kraken.

Whatever we are, there aren’t a lot of us.

We both only knew of our own families. I was an only child, and Alex has a sister she hasn’t seen in half a century. ”

I choke on a breath. “Half a century? How old are you?”

Alex shrugs her shoulder against mine. “Not sure exactly. You lose track after a while.” She adjusts her body to face me. “Is that a problem, sweet girl? ”

I look at her youthful face, then Adrian’s. They don’t seem old. Maybe a little older than me, but not by much if I was just making a guess based on appearance. “I guess not.”

The waiter brings out our drinks. His movements are a bit jerky, and he almost spills my water before Adrian takes it from him and sets it smoothly on the table.

Once he’s gone, I turn my attention to the beautiful couple sitting with me. My fingers twist my napkin, wringing it out like a wet rag. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Why are you so nervous, pretty girl?” Alex asks, covering my hand with hers.

I sigh. May as well tell them. In a small town like this, they’re bound to find out eventually.

“I haven’t really dated anyone in a long time, and… well, I’ve tried the throuple thing before. It didn’t go well.”

“What happened?” Adrian places his hand over my other hand, so they’re both touching me now. It makes me feel a little braver.

But I still might need some wine in order to get through this. I stop the waiter as he walks past and order a glass of chardonnay.

Once I have it in hand, I take a deep breath and start in on the most devastating—and embarrassing—story of my life.

“So, I was dating this guy, Chad. He works at the fire station. We were really serious, and I thought we were happy. But then, he told me he had feelings for my best friend, Samantha. The idea of a polyamorous relationship intrigued me. I wasn’t against it as a concept, and there were things I liked about the idea.

Being able to get different things from different people, no one person having to be everything to you, the sense of communal care for each other and any children you might eventually have.

I liked that. Samantha was a teacher at the elementary school, and I liked how good she was with kids. ”

Adrian and Alex share a look I can’t interpret.

“Anyway, I always thought she was gorgeous, but hadn’t really thought of her that way before. But once he told me he was interested in her, I saw her differently. I was attracted to her.”

Alex’s hand tightens on mine at the same time as Adrian’s, and it almost makes me smile.

I gulp down a large swallow of wine. This is the part that gets hard to tell. Alex and Adrian don’t say anything, they just wait patiently.

“So, I told Chad I was willing to try. The three of us hooked up one night, and it was horrible. I felt like a third wheel the whole time. At first, watching was kind of hot, but then it was like they both totally forgot about me.”

Alex wraps her arms around my shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m not done.” I take another fortifying sip.

“Chad told me that it was my fault. If I wanted to be involved, I had to participate. Jump in and join them. So we tried again. But that time was even worse. Samantha kept subtly blocking me out. She liked when I did things like suck on her nipples, but she showed no interest in me at all.”

“I hate thinking of your mouth on someone else’s nipples,” Alex grumbles. “Skip that, please.”

Adrian gives her an amused smile that’s so full of love it makes my heart hurt.

“So I talked to Chad again and told him it wasn’t going to work.

He agreed we’d stop seeing her, told me he only wanted me, and proposed.

I said yes, and we started planning a wedding.

Then, on our wedding day, I caught him with Samantha in the back of the sanctuary.

I ran out so fast, I tripped over my dress and both my breasts popped out right as I reached the already full sanctuary.

I kept trying to pull the dress up, but it was caught on my heels and wouldn’t budge, so I just ran down the aisle sobbing.

For most of the last year, I was called Boob Bride by half the people in town. ”