Page 24 of Hopelessly Teavoted
He bit his lip.
“If you don’t mind, and if it’s not too much to ask, when you look around, see if you can find the shakers.” His voice was all gentle apology rubbing against her, and the traitorous veins in her wrists pulsed for him, achy with memory. She swallowed.
“Sure,” she said, uncertain about whether she’d cleaned up the banner of hanging underwear that wasn’t supposed to go into the dryer.
She could make sure he didn’t go into the bedroom. How hard could that be, really?
He looked at his watch. “I don’t want to take up any moreof your time. Maybe text me if you can find them, and that will give me some time to think about what I want to say to my parents.”
Her heart dropped. Azrael Hart didn’t want to go upstairs. There was too much between them. They had too much history and too much baggage, but they could be friends. She could pretend the flame was extinguished, that he didn’t make her want to cradle his head in her hands, run her fingers through his messy hair.
“Sure, Az. I’ll look for them.”
“Thank you,” he said. “It means a lot. What did you need to tell me about ghosts?”
“It’s no big deal. Your sister has Evelyn looking into it, but one of them mentioned that new megachurch.”
He frowned. “If Evelyn’s already on it…” He trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. “Let’s see what happens before we interfere with Council affairs.” She nodded, and he went on. “Thanks again for looking for the shakers.”
She avoided his eyes. “It’s what friends do, Azrael.”
“Friends. Right.” A muscle in his jaw twitched, and for a moment she thought he was going to say something else. “Good night, Vickie. Enjoy that last week of twenty-five.”
Vickie swallowed. Of course he remembered her birthday. Of course.
She spent the better part of the next hour scouring her apartment for the salt and pepper shakers, and by the time she found them, wrapped carefully in a box in the closet of the spare bedroom, it was late enough that she thought twice about texting him.
Before she could think better of it, she snapped a picture, careful not to touch them, and sent it to him.
Vickie:These have to be the ones. Think they’ll work?
Bubbles popped up right away, and she smiled, awaiting his response.
The bubbles disappeared. She waited a moment before tossing the phone on the couch and scowling.
Purple smoke drifted from under her kitchen counter, rising upward until Lex appeared.
“Is this all really necessary?” She gestured to the smoke.
“Not at all, but it’s just so pretty, don’t you think?”
He wasn’t wrong, but he was awfully dramatic. Dramatic and arrogant and the opposite of Azrael. Which piqued her curiosity, if she was honest.
She smiled, and stepped toward him, watching his violet eyes dance with amusement. Lex towered over her, wearing a fitted suit that looked like it cost more than the entirety of her new apartment.
“It is pretty,” she said, poking a finger through a remaining wisp of it. “But it doesn’t feel like anything.”
“Would you like it to feel like something?” His smile was crooked, and he stepped toward her.
What she wouldlikeis for Azrael to have come up to the apartment himself. Or not to have left her on read. But what she had was a handsome devil. Who was she to be choosy?
“Maybe.” Vickie crossed over to the countertop, casually closing the box with the salt and pepper shakers. She wasn’t entirely sure that Lex was trustworthy, and Azrael might be just her friend, but that didn’t mean she wanted Lex or anything else to get in the way of what Az needed.
“Aren’t you supposed to be doing the opposite of that?” He chuckled and gestured to her repacked box.
“Don’t worry about it.” She shoved the box to the back of her countertop. “What brings you here with no notice?”
“Just a list, pet. A list of souls.” Lex flicked a finger lazily, sending more of that purple smoke into the air.
