ARDEN LEFT THE bank convinced Paddy had set up the prank with the lights just to cover his tardiness to work again. Arden was beginning to think Quinn was right, and they never should have hired the cluricaun, even if he was family. Arden grabbed his green derby on the way out, but hadn’t put it on yet, thoughts of Kerry’s reaction earlier making him pause. He wasn’t sure why her opinion mattered to him, but it did. Quinn would think he was being ridiculous, but it didn’t matter. There was something about Kerry Underwood that pulled him, and he had to find out what it was.
Quinn invited him out for a pint, but Arden turned his friend down. Instead, he grabbed a bottle of wine as well as a small bag of chocolate, just in case Kerry didn’t take Sandie’s warning of the brownies seriously, and headed to Daydreamer Inn where he knew Kerry stayed. He wasn’t sure if she was there or not, but he couldn’t think of where else to look for her. They were no closer to discovering who had her sister, but he hoped Kerry would at least let him spend some more time with her. She had consumed his thoughts since she first stumbled upon them at Hell’s Brew, so much so that he couldn’t even concentrate on who would try to sneak into his vault.
Entering Daydreamer Inn, Arden realized he didn’t know what room Kerry occupied. Walking up to the front desk, he noticed Sandie slumped over the counter lost in a book of nighttime stories, dressed in pajamas as always. “Sandie, I’m here to see Kerry Underwood,” he said as he approached the sleepy-looking man. “I forgot to get her room number, however. Help a man out?”
Sandie ran a hand through his short, sandy hair as he blinked at Arden for a moment as if chasing the sleep from his eyes. Glancing at the bottle of wine in Arden’s hands, his lips curled up in a slow smile as he nodded. “You’re in luck,” the man said with a slow drawl. “She just returned a few moments ago. She’s in room,” he glanced down at a ledger on his desk, “two-twelve.”
“Thanks,” Arden said with a smile and headed for the stairs. A few minutes later, he stood outside the heavy wooden door and knocked, his nerves suddenly twisting a knot in his stomach. Am I being silly?
Kerry opened the door, still dressed as she had been earlier, a confused look on her face. “Has something happened?” she asked, hope in her eyes. “Have you found Brandie?”
“Not yet,” he admitted. “I just wanted to check on you. See if you discovered anything in your own search.” He held the bottle of wine up. “I thought we could compare notes over a glass of wine.”
Kerry smiled, and Arden could have sworn he saw a blush creep up her cheeks. She stepped back, allowing him into her room. “Sounds nice,” she said as he passed her, entering her hotel room.
As he turned, he held up the bag of chocolates. “I also brought some chocolate in case you didn’t have any. Sandie wasn’t joking when he told you that the brownies were pranksters if not appeased nightly. They’ve been known to totally destroy a person’s room because they didn’t take them seriously.”
“Why am I not surprised,” she said as she took the bag from him, thanking him. She gestured to some plastic cups on her dresser. “I don’t have any glassware, sorry. Or a corkscrew.”
“No worries,” he assured her. “Leprechauns have some magic at our disposal for just such occasions.” He grinned at her as he wiggled his fingers over the bottle. Her eyes went wide as the cork started to slowly slide from its spot until it popped loose. “See?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this place. There seems to be magic around every corner.” She waved her hand next to her ear. “As well as bugs I can never see.”
“Bugs?” He shrugged. “I guess Black Hollow has them just like any other town, but I’ve never heard anyone complain about them before.”
“Great. I’m special,” she deadpanned.
He just laughed as he poured the wine into two cups, handing her the first as soon as he had it poured. “So, how did your meeting with Seraphine go? Find out what you wanted to know?” He noticed her blush deepen at his question, and wondered if Seraphine had been her typical self. The woman seemed to insinuate herself into people’s romantic lives as much as she did the problems they brought to her.
Kerry walked over and sat on the edge of the bed while he took the chair, the bed definitely turning the visit into a more intimate nature than he had thought it would. Perhaps he should have asked her out, instead of visiting her room. If the situation made Kerry feel awkward, however, she didn’t show it. Instead, she filled him in on her visit with Seraphine, which hadn’t really revealed much other than the fact that the woman had her thumb on things, and not just in Black Hollow.
“She said the weirdest thing, though,” Kerry continued. “She said Brandie was there. That I just had to open my eyes to see her. What the hell does that mean?”
Arden shrugged. “I have no idea, but we’ll find her. I just can’t imagine someone in Black Hollow bringing harm to someone else.”
“Really?” Kerry shot him a look of disbelief. “There’s a dragon in the basement of this place we can’t disturb, brownies who will wreck your room if you don’t feed them, and banshees who will torment you if you open your window. Tell me again how the residents of this town won’t hurt others.”
Arden sipped his wine, spinning his derby in his other hand. He nodded. “Okay, I see your point. Those are just a bit of mischievous pranks, though. I’m sure that’s all this is, some sort of prank.”
“You don’t think that someone stealing your gold is a prank,” she pointed out. “So why wouldn’t they harm my sister if she found out about their plan?”
Arden couldn’t argue with her. Someone desired to steal the town’s gold. That would bring a lot of harm to a lot of people. He chose to say nothing, sipping his wine, instead.
Kerry sat there, bent over, her elbows on her knees as she held her cup with both hands, staring at the burgundy liquid inside. “I’m not sure what I’ll do if anything happens to her,” she whispered. She glanced up at Arden, her expression lost.
Arden was out of his chair before he realized it, kneeling in front of her, his hands wrapped around hers. “We’ll find her. I promise.” His heart ached for her, for the anguish reflected in her face.
“You can’t know that,” Kerry said. “We don’t even have a clue as to where she is or who took her.”
He cupped her cheek with the palm of his hand, his heart pounding in his chest. “Kerry, I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back. We will find her.”
“I hope so,” Kerry said, and he heard the desperation in her voice.
“I know so,” Arden promised, and then, without even realizing he did it, he leaned forward and kissed her, her lips warm, soft, the kiss gentle.
He felt her hand in his chest as she pushed him back. “What are you doing?” she said, her voice as soft as the kiss.
Arden smiled at her, feeling the blush warming his own cheeks now. “Sorry. I just… I’m sorry.” He moved to scoot back away from her, but Kerry reached out and gripped his arm, an imploring look on her face. He hesitated only a second before sliding back where he was and kissing her again, this time with more desire and hunger.
He felt her slide an arm around his neck, heard the wine sloshing a little in the cup she held with her other hand. He parted her lips with his tongue, tasting her, relishing her as their tongues danced around each other. He could have knelt there forever, kissing her, holding onto her as she held onto him, the warmth of her breath on his cheek.
When they broke the kiss again, Kerry was smiling at him. All he could do was smile back at her. For the first time that he could remember, he was out of words.