Page 17 of Hot & Bothered

“Is the Pope Catholic?”

“I think so.”

She winked at him and opened up her freezer, bringing out a tub of Tahitian vanilla ice cream.

He stood up and cleared their dinner dishes, putting them in the dishwasher while she dished up their dessert. He loved this domestic simplicity. He’d never been one who liked to date around and play the field. Just like she said, he was a monogamist. He liked to be in a relationship. He liked having that special person who he could share his day and his life with. Not an endless string of sort-of-special people who he barely got to know.

He topped up their wine and followed her back out to her small two-seater table, where she set down his bowl with crumble and ice cream. The steam rising off the crumble brought with it the scent of berries and sugar. He knew it was going to be good.

Barely waiting long enough for the crumble to cool down and not burn his tongue, he dove in. The ice cream did its job and was a balm for the burn.

“Damn, that’s good,” he said.

She smiled and sipped her wine. “Did you even taste it?”

“It’s still a little hot, but I’m impatient when it comes to food.”

Reaching behind her to a small side table, she grabbed an over-sized deck of cards. “Still want me to do a tarot reading for you?”

He shrugged. “Sure. Maybe it’ll explain what’s going on with the guy in the hoodie.”

She brought the deck out of the box and handed it to him. “Shuffle it well.”

He was no black jack dealer on the Vegas strip, but he knew how to shuffle cards. Nodding once it was done, he took another bite of his crumble, which had cooled off a bit. “Okay. Now what?”

She held out her hand, and he handed back the deck. “We’re going to do ten cards. I’m going to lay six out in the Celtic Cross here.” She did a cross on the table between them with her finger. “Then four down the side here. These represent advice, external influences, hopes and/or fears, and outcome. I’ll explain more as we go along.” She laid out six cards in a cross like formation, placing the second one perpendicular over the first card in the center, then laying the rest out around it.

Last, she did the four down the side. They were all face down.

He took another bite of his crumble, gauging her warily.

Her expression gave nothing away. Now he wasn’t so sure he wanted this reading. He was never big into the paranormal or spiritual stuff. Not that he begrudged those who were. But he was more of a realist. However, after all their talk about Libras and Geminis the other night and how much he really was like his ruling astrological sign—even it’s ruling planet: Venus, and the seventh house—he’d been thinking a lot more about all this stuff.

Over the course of his career, Mercury being in retrograde, or the full moon, always came up from various people to help explain strange behaviors of people and suspects. Or when there was a string of weird happenings in the city. He usually just chalked it up to a new kind of opioid hitting the streets. But maybe the planets had more impact than he gave them credit.

“Just out of curiosity,” he started, “is Mercury in retrograde?”

Her smile was playful and knowing. “It is, actually. Started on the thirteenth and will be in retrograde until January first.”

He huffed out a sigh. “What does that actually mean?”

She smiled again. “It happens four times a year. And it’s when Mercury appears to be moving backward across the sky. It’s not really moving backward, it just looks that way based on Earth’s position in relation to the sun. So it’s called apparent retrograde.” Jace nodded. “Traditionally, people associate this time of the year with confusion, delay and frustration.

He frowned. “I’m none of those things.”

She shrugged. “Maybe you’re immune.”

He snorted. “Highly doubt it. I mean, earlier this month work was nuts, so maybe with retrograde coming to an end, things are getting better?”

She nodded. “Could be.”

Reaching for a small book, she took another bite of her crumble. “All right. Let’s start with the one in the center here. This is the present. This one on top of it is what is challenging you. An immediate opposing force.”

“Okay. So, what are the cards?” He took a sip of his wine.

She flipped them both over, then huffed an amused laugh. “Believe it or not, but your present card isJustice.You are all about fairness and equality. Balance. Your ruling attribute is Libra.”

“But that’s me.”

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