Chapter Fourteen

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Warrick called during Bianca’s lunch break to confirm their dinner plans and ask if there was anything he could bring.

“Just yourself.”

“I can’t wait to see you.” The anxious tone in his voice matched her own feelings on the matter.

“Same here.”

“I need to tell you something.”

“What?”

Warrick cleared his throat as if very uncomfortable. “Earlier today when I made the delivery of that cheval mirror I told you about, the female client wanted more from me than just the delivery, if you get my drift. She wanted me to go back to her house tonight so she could commission another project, but I think I was the new project.”

Bianca’s heart fell to her stomach. “Oh? What did you tell her?”

“I told her I couldn’t because my girlfriend was cooking me dinner.”

Her heart rallied and soared. “Really?”

“I swear.”

“What did she say?”

“Well, she was surprised that I had a girlfriend. If I were a more sensitive soul, I’d have been offended. Meanwhile, I was so grateful that you are in my life that I wanted you to know what happened.”

“Thank you. That’s so sweet. Was she mad that you were unavailable tonight?”

Warrick chuckled. “I don’t care, but yeah, she seemed rather put out.”

Bianca was secretly thrilled. “Is it bad of me to not care about her happiness?”

“No.”

“Good, because I don’t.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

“I can’t wait to see you.”

“Bring your appetite.”

He laughed. “No problem there.”

The rest of her day passed quickly because she was so busy. The psychic reading business never seemed to slow here in Nocturne Falls.

Her last client was a young woman named Ruby, who’d recently come to Nocturne Falls. She had to be over eighteen, as all Bubba’s Psychic Reading clients had to be, but she didn’t look much beyond that. She’d also been very difficult to read. Bianca couldn’t discern her last name, but gleaned a tidbit of information after some effort.

“I see that you are looking for someone.”

“You can see that?” Ruby asked.

Bianca nodded, keeping her eyes shut and her palms flat on the table. The velvet beneath her fingertips tickled. “You are searching for a lost family member, right?” Her eyes opened to see Ruby gazing at her with seeming awe.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“I sense that you are a very strong person, Ruby. I genuinely hope you find what you’re looking for here.” The only other thing she saw in Ruby’s head was a photograph of a shield, but she couldn’t see it clearly and didn’t understand the significance.

“I hope so, too. Thanks.” Ruby stood up abruptly.

“Nocturne Falls is a truly wonderful place. Even if you don’t find what you’re looking for.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ruby said as she walked out of the curtained room.

Later that night, Bianca made up a big batch of barbecued ribs for dinner along with coleslaw and potato salad. Before leaving the apartment in the morning, she had put the baby back pork ribs in the Crock-Pot on low. When she got home from work, she took them out, cut them into nice-sized pieces, basted them with homemade barbecue sauce and baked them in the oven until they were fall-off-the-bone pieces of sticky wonderful goodness.

Warrick arrived early and helped her get the table set. She pulled the ribs out of the oven and he sighed with pleasure. He proceeded to eat every single bite of what she made, licking his fingers when he was done. “I can honestly say those were the best ribs I’ve ever eaten in my life.”

“Really? Or are you just saying that.”

“Seriously, the best!” He started licking his fingers again while she cleared the table. “As a favor, don’t even tell me how many pounds of pork ribs I just ate.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll burn it off in no time,” she said with a smile.

“What does that mean?”

“It means you have an amazing body and I have no doubt you have great genes and you can probably burn off a meal with one quick flight around town in your dragon form. Right?”

Warrick grinned. “Do you want to see me change into a dragon and fly around town?”

“Not tonight.” She looked around her small apartment. “I suspect you get quite a bit larger than my apartment can accommodate.”

He also looked around her apartment and nodded. “I could change into my half-dragon form.”

“What’s that?”

“I have the ability to take on some of my dragon qualities, but I stay more man-sized.”

“Okay. Should I sit down?”

“Whatever you’d like.”

Bianca gave him some room, not quite sure what to expect. He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and, poof! Suddenly he had changed into something different. She backed up abruptly until her butt hit the kitchen counter. He looked mostly like himself, but was maybe six or eight inches taller, and definitely bulkier. His skin took on a dark, ashy gray hue as a few light scales popped up on his arms. His eyes went from dark brown to black rimmed in bright green.

She stared at him. He stared back and waved. She waved back. And then, poof! He was himself again.

In her surprise, she must have put her hand to her chest in a very girly move, because she felt her heart racing under her palm. Oddly, she wasn’t terrified, just startled. It was Warrick, no matter what he looked like. “Interesting. You don’t really look like a dragon. But you definitely look different.”

“Different in a good way?”

“Oh, yes, definitely in a good way.”

Bianca walked over, ready to blister his lips with a kiss and perhaps drag him to her bedroom. He saw her coming. He let her wrap herself around him. He even let her kiss him quite passionately. But then he pulled away and said, “I have to work tomorrow. I need my dragon beauty sleep.”

“You sure need a lot of dragon beauty sleep.”

“It’s true. And I know you’re afraid of bopping me on the head and dragging me to your bedroom. I’m trying to give you an out.”

“What if I told you I’m not so afraid of that anymore?”

“I can see it’s going to be a challenge this week.”

“This week? I have to wait a whole week?”

Warrick hugged her and gave her one more blazing kiss. “I haven’t told my mother that I know about the matchmaking contract yet. Perhaps I’m not ready to give her the satisfaction of knowing she made a perfect choice for me. I was hoping we could go together to meet my mother so she can start gloating about how she found the perfect girl for me.”

“What you’re saying is you need a week to get used to the idea of your mother being right.”

“That is correct.” A glint in his eye suggested maybe there was more to it, but she let it go. Likely having to tell his mother she was right was enough.

Bianca laughed. “Okay, deal. In one week, we meet your mother, and from then on, we don’t have to stop at just kissing.”

“Sure. Go with that.” Despite his teasing tone, something in his eyes made her again wonder what he wasn’t telling her. She gave him a few heartbeats, but when it didn’t look like he had anything else to say, she let it go. She’d let him keep his secrets. For now.

For some reason, she thought about Ruby, out there searching for her lost family. Bianca was grateful she had a good family back in Arkansas she could visit whenever she wanted. She had a great work family with Bubba and Astrid at Bubba’s Psychic Readings. Now she had Warrick, and the real potential for a new family as they embarked on this dating path where he called her his girlfriend and talked about a future together.

She hoped Ruby found what she was looking for as well.