Page 7 of Shift of Morals (Shifter Lords #2)

“Please,” Moira said as she stood and held her hand out to help me. “You haven’t had a real date in years. That thing might be a dried-up old prune if it’s still there.”

“It’s my prune,” I said primly as I got to my feet. “They last way longer than fresh plums, anyway.”

“Because prunes are for old people,” Moira retorted, her snickering laugh following her out of the walk-in.

“Jerk,” I muttered.

Once I’d put the evil bouquet back into the bag, I locked the walk-in and headed back to the front, going straight to the sink to scrub my hands.

“What did you get?” Ash called from his bonsai table.

The dryad was hunched over a small red maple. He held a pair of tiny scissors in one hand and used the other to slowly turn the lazy Susan that held the ceramic pot holding the tree. His bonsais were revered and rare, each taking months, sometimes years, before they were ready to go to a new home.

I’d begged him for one for years, and all he would say was that he had one for me, but it wasn’t ready yet. Knowing Ash was set in his ways, I never asked again. If he said he had one, I believed him.

Patience was a virtue, especially when it came to dealing with a living, breathing, talking tree.

I repeated the story, telling him we would go see Caroline once the shop closed unless someone wanted to stay behind. Tess raised her hand.

“I’ll stay. Investigating doesn’t appeal to me.”

Moira snorted and ruffled the banshee’s hair. “I love how uncurious you are. It’s refreshing.”

Tess lifted a shoulder, her orange cardigan sliding to reveal pale skin. “Human motives have never been something I’m curious about. Only the immortal world piques my curiosity.”

Everyone fell silent before Moira let out a dry, “Good to know, ghostie.”

Ash chuckled.

“Banshee,” Tess insisted. “We are far more evolved than our ghost counterparts.”

“Regardless,” I interrupted before their banter could turn into bickering, “we may not be back before closing time. Can you handle it on your own?”

Tess looked offended. “I’ve been with you for years. Of course I can handle things on my own. Closing is a simplistic act. I merely must remember to clean up and lock the doors.”

That wasn’t quite everything, but if she managed to do both of those things, it was good enough.

“Alright. Let’s eat lunch and head out. Any preferences?”

And so began the inevitable lunch argument. A smile tugged at my lips. Sometimes things that never changed were a comfort.

We were just about to head out the door to visit Caroline’s office when the bell jingled and Simone breezed in, looking smart in a pair of black trousers and a patterned blouse. She held a large black box in one hand and her trusty tablet in the other.

“Oh!” She stopped abruptly. “Going somewhere?”

No one said a word. “Team building exercise,” I blurted when the silence got awkward.

Simone’s eyes went to Tess who was hunched on the stool behind the register. She offered the shifter a lazy hand gesture. “I do not care for team building since everyone will die soon enough.”

I put my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.

Simone’s jaw dropped and her brow furrowed. I watched as a dozen thoughts crossed her face, before shaking her head and letting out a small, frustrated sigh. Everyone felt like that around Tess at one time or another.

“Do you have time to finalize the details for tomorrow?” she asked.

“Details? Don’t we just show up prepared to take notes?” I asked.

Simone’s eyes flickered. “Not quite.” She juggled the things in her hands before leaning the box against the wall by the door and fished in her purse. A moment later, she produced a scroll and handed it over.

“A scroll?” Moira said. “For real?”

Simone rolled her eyes. “He’s the Shifter Lord. Appearance is everything.”

“If you’re in a video game,” Moira said. “An email usually suffices in the twenty-first century.”

Simone gave her a flat look.

I loosened Caelan’s formal seal and unrolled the scroll, skimming the contents.

It was an agenda of sorts written in a scrawling, feminine hand. Most of it was normal except for one note:

Bride: TBD

My eyebrows lifted. “I thought the wedding already had a bride. Isn’t that the usual order of things?”

Simone’s nostrils flared. “Someone’s idea of a joke.”

“But not yours?” Moira asked.

The shifter ignored her, stooping to pick up the box. “Evie, this is for you.”

I didn’t take the box. “What is it?”

“From the Shifter Lord. The occasion is formal.”

I sighed. “Seriously. No one wears ballgowns to meetings. Is that what this is? Another gown?”

Simone let out a pained sigh. “I’m only the messenger. Can you please just take the box and address it with Caelan at another time?”

“Fine,” I growled, taking the box from her outstretched hands. “But he’ll hear about this later.”

Her lips twitched. “Of that, I have no doubt.”

“Dammit,” Moira said. “How come I never get a dress?”

Everyone ignored her. Getting a dress from the Shifter Lord could only bring trouble, and Moira was refreshingly free of that.

Simone turned to go but paused at the door. “Evie.”

I hitched my purse higher on my shoulder and moved the sack holding the bouquet to the other hand. “I know. Please don’t antagonize the Shifter Lord tomorrow.”

Sadness flashed across her face. “No. That wasn’t what I was going to say at all.”

Surprised, I blinked and fell silent.

A small smile played over the shifter’s lips. “I was going to say be yourself. Caelan needs that right now.”

Moira’s delighted chuckle sent my hackles up.

“I’m not sure how to take that.”

Ash snorted as Simone sailed through the door without answering.

“I think she’s implying our beloved Shifter Lord might be going through it and some normalcy would be nice.”

I glared at the dryad. “Trust me when I say there is nothing normal about our dynamic.”

“Maybe not, but it’s normal to him. Caelan seems like the kind of shifter who likes a little violence with his romance.” Moira winked and held the door open.

“There is no romance,” I growled under my breath. “He’s getting married.”

“Mm-hmm,” Moira said, winking at me as I passed.

I let out a huff of annoyance which sent Ash into a fit of laughter.

I didn’t say anything else until we were situated in the car and on the road.

“Can we please try to behave ourselves at Caroline’s?”

Moira grinned, her bright white teeth shining in the sunlight. No fangs present. She wasn’t like a lot of vamps who chose to flash them all the time, a fact I appreciated about her. “No promises, but we’ll try.”

That was about the best I could hope for with this motley crew of friends.