Page 62 of Solar Shadows

“Have a good meeting, sir.”

I gave her a wave and she closed the door.

I dipped my head. Soon this would be over. Thedecision to text Tony might have been a stupid move, but now I was also excited.

An excited prick, more like!

Ollie got the car moving, not looking at me.

I hadn’t squared this Tony business with anyone else yet. It wasn’t part of the plan, and a ridiculously irresponsible idea.

Coming to my senses,I pulled out my phone and typed out a message to Tony to tell him not to bother.

Since when did flirting with ex boyfriends lead to sunny meadows? By Hecate, I knew better. I’d seen messiness for myself firsthand. Case in point, my brother David’s endless relationships and his six marriages collapsing in his thirty-one years of life. Because of games, because of needless drama.

I sent the text and blocked his number.

But the rabbit was already out of the hat. I just knew it in my gut.

I’ve fucked up…

“Nice suit,” I told Ollie, keeping eyes down.

“Likewise,” he answered. “Well, nice outfit.”

I snorted. “Do I look okay?”

“You look good.” Not cold, but more friendly. Good. This was good.

We traveled the rest of the way talking in small bursts about the fae woman and about work stuff.

“Thanks for doing this,” I said. “This is probably the last place you want to be.”

I glanced up and met his gaze in the rearviewmirror. His piercing scrutiny forced a gasp from the depths of my lungs.

Whoa. He looked ten times yummier all of a sudden.

“I’ve never been inside The Coral,” he replied. “This could be fun.”

I had to lower my eyes, unable take any more of his sexy smoldering.

“Maybe. Get ready for Hurricane Helen.”

“Is she that bad?” He stopped the car at a crossroads on a red light, Rainbow Mile shining up ahead like a beacon of entrainment in the night.

“Yes,” I answered, looking right at the darkness beyond the window. Somewhere out there was the beach and the sea.

“And she’s a bit much, is she?” he asked.

“She is. But she also put me on the map, so I can’t moan. You’ll see what I mean.”

The light turned green and off we went, moving from the darkness of the road and into the vibrant colors of Rainbow Mile.

Chapter 18

ISAAC

Ollie made a right at the first turning on the wonderfully colorful Rainbow Mile, driving up an incline past a row of candy shops on the left and bakeries on the right.