Page 81 of The Laughing Game

It was a joke. Kind of. I love it when you’re with us.

My heart fucking melted again. What were these two men doing to me? I was turning into a marshmallow.

Same, same. Smiley face.

Vihaal’s antique store was near Main Street, on a little side avenue. He parked in the lot behind the historic Victorian house withTarnishin bold brass letters over the door.

“This is it?” I asked.

“This is it,” Vihaal said, as we rounded the corner to the front façade. “What do you think?”

“It’s pretty.”

“Yes. I was lucky to secure the space for the price I did. Of course, rent’s gone up over the years, but it’s still reasonable.”

I followed Vihaal up the steps and inside, as the clanging of a bell on the door announced our arrival.

A young woman with shoulder-length blue hair looked up. “Vihaal! Hey!”

“Alice,” Vihaal said. “How are you?”

“Ah, can’t complain. And who is this?” she asked, gazing at me with curious and twinkling eyes. She had a silver ring in the center of her lower lip that sparkled under the fluorescent lights.

“This is Angel Barnett,” he said, putting his arm around me. He leaned in to speak softly to Alice. “He’s a new acquisition.”

Both Alice and I gaped at Vihaal.

“For the…store?” Alice asked, assuming I was a new staff member.

Vihaal smiled. “No, no. For me. And Gideon. A new romantic partner.”

Alice blinked slowly. “Oh, my. Well, that’s fantastic. Ever the overachiever.”

“Well.” He shrugged.

She came out from behind the desk and offered me her hand. “Mr. Barnett. I’m Alice Henderson, Assistant Manager.”

“Wonderful to meet you. So, this is Tarnish,” I said, looking around.

“How are things going, Alice?”

“Great! I mean, I think? Dominic doesn’t tell me anything. We’ve been busy lately, though. Of course, it’s dead when you come for a visit.” She laughed. “But I swear, we’ve been hopping.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it. Is Dominic in today?”

“Yeah, he’s in the back,” Alice said, her expression somewhat less exuberant.

The bell jangled and two customers came in, talking together and laughing.

“I’ll let you deal with them,” Vihaal said, “we won’t be long. Come on, Angel. I want you to meet my manager.”

Chapter Seventeen

The store was packed with antique and retro items, most of them seeming to be high value and unique. From what I’d seen in the accounting books, Tarnish specialized in pieces that couldn’t be found just anywhere.

Vihaal led me along a narrow hallway and through a room with larger pieces of furniture, then knocked on a door with a sign on it that read Staff Only.

“What is it, Alice?” an irritated-sounding voice said from within.

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