Page 50 of Hooked on a Witch
“Merck, how ya doing, sweetie? It’s been a while.” The hostess’s eyes narrowed with promised payback for not calling or texting afterward.
“We’re two for lunch, Mariah.” He slung his arm around Shannon’s waist and pulled her against him. Her head collided with his chest.
Shannon glanced up with wide eyes. He didn’t know if her look was in reaction to Mariah’s behavior or his. She rose onto tiptoe and pressed her soft lips against his. This was taking it farther than he expected, but it worked for him. Oh, Lord, it worked.
Curtail it or you’ll end up getting kicked out for indecent exposure.
Shannon pulled away with a wicked smile that insinuated all kinds of badness.
He was hooked on Shannon. How he hated being a predictable part of the gods’ plans. If everything continued to be as mind-boggling as it’d been so far every time they touched, then what the hell. He’d stay on the bus and see how far it went.
When he glanced back to Mariah, she’d turned several shades of scarlet. Guess she’d received the message he’d moved on.
“This way.” Mariah led through the busy restaurant to a four-seater with a window view of the ocean. He moved around to get Shannon’s chair for her.
As Mariah set a menu in front of Shannon, she whispered, “He might be pretty good in the sack, but he’s not a stayer.” Mariah cast Merck a saccharine sweet smile and left.
Shannon nibbled on her lower lip, but the twitch of a smile creased the corners of her mouth. She glanced up at him. His face heated.
“I never knew you were such a gentleman. Car doors and chairs. Of course, you are a ladies’ man sometimes, aren’t you?”
“My mamma would box my ears if I didn’t hold a chair for a lady.” The Southern charm came easily. The bitch who’d raised him might’ve resented him, but she’d instilled manners from the moment he could talk.
“You and Mariah, huh?”
He glanced toward the hostess station. Stepping into this conversation with Shannon was a bad idea.
He busied himself with the menu. They placed their orders.
“So, what do you think Lola’s answer meant?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I’m sorry I suggested her. Total waste of time.”
“It’s okay. Had to try something. Any other suggestions?”
As the waitress returned with their drinks she glanced up at the TV screen overhead. “That girl kind of looks like you. Bless her heart, I can’t believe she was attacked onExtreme Survivor. I mean, she was just doing her job, and then someone on the staff went nuts on her with a knife. Weird that the couple who was also attacked on the show disappeared too.” Her tone left the sentence open-ended, waiting for Shannon to comment.
He didn’t miss the dread in Shannon’s gaze when she glanced up at the flash of her image across the screen with the headline:Mystery camerawoman disappears.New lead.
“Maybe the show paid them to all disappear,” Shannon offered.
“She was stabbed while working on the show.” The waitress gazed at Shannon again. “You do really look like her. Are you…?”
“Do I look like someone who got stabbed on a reality show in the jungle?”
“Nah. I guess not. That poor woman.” The waitress shook her head and wandered off.
He sipped tea and stared at the TV, which had now changed to a different news topic. “How exactly did you get hired to work on the show? Did they seek you out?”
“It was last minute. Jen got into her head she had to be on the show. We later found out she’d been hexed to do it, but we weren’t sure who cast it. The producer, Rick, seemed focused on killing my mother and me as a way to wipe out our bloodline. He might’ve been involved with my brothers’ deaths last year. He’s the one who got me with the sword, which must’ve somehow transmitted the Trident’s essence to me.”
“What about Owen? Other than hosting the show how exactly was he involved?”
“Owen convinced Jen he would only date her if she went on the show. She was convinced he was her soul mate. Again, ridiculous, but when we have a chance to find our once-in-a-lifetime guy, we’ve gotta do whatever needs to be done. Jen was convinced. Later we realized it was because Owen gave her a hexed necklace. The good news is Jen’s now husband agreed to be her fake boyfriend for the show and turned out to be the right guy for her. I don’t know how Owen or Rick knew if they got Jen on the show that I’d try to get on as a cameraperson. In the end it seems Jen wasn’t their primary target. It was my mother and me.”
“They could’ve consulted with a fortune teller to find out how to get you on the show. I’m sure Owen knows a few.”
“You mean someone with precognition?”
