Page 41 of When the Woods Go Silent

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

RUBY

“This is an incredible space. You should bring people up here to eat,” I marvel, turning a full circle and taking in the possibilities of the rooftop garden.

Torrence is behind me, bringing the outdoor couch cushions from a little storage shed and shaking out a blanket to guard us against the growing chill. A waist-high wall around the edges of the flat roof makes us invisible from street level, and it feels like we’re all alone in the whole world.

The garden is three straight rows of raised wooden planting beds, each covered now with a neat plastic tunnel to trap the heat from the sun and coax tiny seedlings to grow. But beyond that, we’re eye level with the canopy of the forest. With the right decor, it would feel like a treehouse up here.

“I prefer it just for the restaurant staff,” Torrence says shortly as he turns the gas on in a small fire pit. Flames dance to life, and I warm my fingers over them before settling onto the couch. There’s plenty of room for both of us to snuggle up on the thick cushions, and I sigh into the warm, chunky blanket, loving the contrast of chill night air and body heat as he sits down next to me, our thighs pressed together.

“I bet it’s for all your dates,” I tease, thinking that this really is the ultimate date night location. Private but somehow deliciously exposed, and even though it’s mostly bare now, Ican imagine it full of bright flowers and exotic fruits for the restaurant below us. If it were only for growing produce, he wouldn’t have the fire pit and the couch.

“I told you, I don’t have time for dating.” His voice is harder than I expected, and I deflate a little, wondering why he even agreed to tonight in the first place, if he’s so freaking busy. Maybe Arlo convinced him to come, just like I had to with Rose. I hope that’s not true, and the idea sours my mood instantly.

“Just you and the food and the woods, then,” I say, trying to keep things light as I gaze into the trees beyond. “The magical, beautiful woods.”

“You’re a little obsessed with magic, aren’t you?” he asks, real curiosity in his voice. I can’t quite tell if he thinks this is a bad thing, or if he just thinks I’m weird for it.

Still, I refuse to hide this part of myself any longer - not from anyone. “I know it sounds silly. I just can’t help but believe there’s something else out there, something beyond what we can see and hear. It’s my version of religion, I guess. Don’t you feel it, when you’re in the woods? When you find a fairy circle?” I add, grinning up at him as I snitch a bite of raspberry brownie from the plate I carried up here. Holy hell, that’s good.

“Fairy circles are just biology. Humans love to dream about magic, but it’s just not for them.”

I giggle, even though the comment bothers me, and not just because it’s so different from what he said when I met him next to one. “You talk like there’s someone out there whodoesget to have magic. Doesn’t that prove your own statement wrong?”

Torrence hands me an empty glass and uncorks the bottle of pomegranate liqueur, giving each of us a generous pour. “Humans have always looked at things they don’t understand and called it magic. Then a decade or a hundred years later, they figure out the science.” He shakes his head, not exactlyaddressing what I said. He sounds impatient, and I sort of regret bringing it up.

He’s a prickly one, all hot and cold and mysterious. I shouldn’t like the puzzle so much, but figuring people out is a challenge I’ve learned to love.

“These stars are amazing.” I lean my head back onto the pillows, changing the topic to something neutral. “Thank you for dinner. I’m glad you had time for it.”

It’s a tiny jab wrapped in a request for reassurance, but he doesn’t take the bait.

“Goblin Marketis the reason I’m here, Ruby. I’ve worked too hard for...”

He trails away, even though I wait a long moment. “I get it. The bookstore is everything to me. Except for Rose, nothing is more important.”

“And you trust her?”

My eyes snap to his, and I feel instantly defensive. “What kind of question is that? Rose and I have known each other since middle school. Of course I trust her. She’s family.”

Torrence holds up his hands in a silent apology, and I wonder again what the hell is his problem with her.

“Family isn’t always easy to trust in my world. But I won’t try to get between you,” he says, as though he’s skimming my thoughts.

“Good. You’d lose, buddy. Even as hot as you are, you’d lose.” I offer him a sly grin with my honest answer, and his eyes focus on my lips.

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