Page 20 of Demo

Kelly nodded. “Demo offered but I said I’d take it to see if you had an appointment available.”

The dead silence of the clinic should have told her that Paige hadnoappointments at the moment—or for the rest of the day.

“Um, yeah. Let me…” Paige glanced over her shoulder at the therapy room she’d been in with Demo. Since her clientele numbers were so low, she rarely used the second room and hadn’t cleaned it in a very long time. “I was just wiping down from my last appointment. Let me finish and I’ll be right with you.”

“Thanks!” Kelly said appreciatively.

She turned and headed towards the door. After a glance at the waiting room chairs, Kelly pulled a rag from her apron and wiped the dust from the faux-leather cushion. Paige’s cheeks flamed at the amount of dust on the chairs. How could she have forgotten to wipe those down too?

Quickly, so Kelly didn’t see her blush, Paige headed back into the first therapy room. It took her just over five minutes to finish up and get her embarrassment under control. Taking her cleaning caddy out of the room with her, Paige walked it to the lockable storage cabinet across the hall between the two therapy rooms. Then she walked down the hallway to the waiting area.

Kelly still sat there patiently. “This place is adorable,” she commented when she saw Paige enter. “I can’t believe it’s taken me over a year to come here.”

Paige walkedKelly back out to the lobby following her treatment. “Let me find you that company for the shoes you need to help with your knee pain,” she was saying. Not paying attention, she didn’t realize her lobby had another person in it.

Paige nearly skidded to a halt before she recognized Steel. The VDMC President stood with his back to them, hands clasped behind him, as he stared out the lobby window onto snowy Main Street. He turned upon hearing them enter the waiting area.

“Steel,” Paige smiled. “It’s good to see you. Give me a minute to check Kelly out.”

Kelly walked around the reception desk and did a full three-sixty spin. “Did you put the food away when you left me to relax earlier?”

Paige shook her head. She’d been so perplexed by having a second patient that day she’d optimistically gone into the other therapy room and started cleaning it up while trying to hold back tears of excitement thatmaybeshe could get some more clients. Kelly worked at the diner and was a gossip. Ifsherecommended Paige’s clinic, there was no doubt in Paige’s mind that she would have more clients soon.

“I saw it sitting on the counter and put it in your fridge in the back,” Steel offered. “I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t want the food to spoil.”

Had it been anyone else, Paigewouldhave minded. If she had employees, she would call the back room a break room, but since it was just her, it was the junk room. The fridge had come with the lease and housed some of her cups for cold therapy. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much else in it most of the time. Paige had stopped packing lunches for herself and didn’t have enough clientele to warrant the expense of the water machine she’d wanted to have when she first opened the clinic.

She hoped it didn’t smell, she thought offhandedly. Out loud, she said, “Thank you, Steel.”

“Yes, thank you,” Kelly echoed. She turned back to Paige behind the counter. “So, as I was saying, my mom makes scented candles and soaps. She sells them onEtsybut not enough to have her own brick and mortar store. If you don’t mind, I’m going to send her over here to talk to you. I think it would be beneficial to both of you if you could sell her products in your store. Plus, it would keep her from having to lug orders to church every Sunday.”

Paige’s heartbeat picked up with her excitement. “I would love that! Thank you, Kelly.” Paige picked up her phone to open the Point of Sale app to ring Kelly up. The waitress had already told her that Mrs. Groveton had given her cash to pay for the treatment, but Paige wondered uncomfortably if Mrs. Groveton knew how much the standard acupuncture treatment was. What if Kelly didn’t have enough cash on her or claimed the treatment was too expensive and told others in town not to come?

Paige nervously glanced at her price chart to her right on the wall. It clearly stated what an individual treatment was as well as what it would be if they bought a multi-treatment package. Should she offer Kelly a discount?

Glancing up, she caught Steel’s eye over Kelly’s shoulder. It was like the man radiated enough strength to transfer some to her. Paige straightened and squared her shoulders. She stood behind her treatment and her prices. Some of the chain clinics could offer sixty-five, seventy-five dollar treatments because they had the backing of a corporation. She had the backing of her years of experience and the small-town hospitality. Her rates might be more expensive, but she was worth that cost.

As if Steel knew the thoughts running through her head, he tipped his head slightly in approval.

Paige unlocked her phone and paused when she saw she had multiple text messages from an unknown number.

Unknown number: A salad is not lunch, Doc.

Unknown number: I still think you’re a witch. What the fuck did you do to my shoulder? I haven’t had this much range of motion in MONTHS!

Unknown number: Just in case it wasn’t obvious, this is Demo.

Unknown number: My headache is gone too. Did you dance naked in the moonlight to get your powers?

Unknown number: If you did, can I be there the next time you have to get naked?

Unknown number: Under the moonlight, of course. Don’t worry; I’ll join you so we can say we’re just naked friends worshiping the universe for our witchy powers.

Paige nearly laughed. She had to stifle it with a hand over her mouth. Shaking her head, she exited out of the messages app and pulled up her POS app.

“I know that look,” Kelly said with a sassy voice. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

Paige’s eyes flew to Steel and then back again. She couldn’t admit it was Demo because that would be extremely inappropriate. Kelly knew that Demo had just had a session with her. What would Steel say if he knew how flirty that session had gotten?

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