Page 14 of The World She Never Knew Existed

“You’ve been checking him out?” Clara asked.

“Girl, every woman in this town has checked him out. He ignores them. You are the only person who he has shown any interest in. There are going to be a lot of hearts broken and jealous ladies in Ivy Springs when word gets out,” Jamie said.

“We just went hiking, for heaven’s sake,” Clara said. “Nothing romantic. I think that you are exaggerating just a wee bit.”

Jamie just grinned at her.

“You’re a turkey, you know that,” Clara said, grinning back.

“We’ll see. But I tell you, I see a budding romance going on,” Jamie said.

“Get back to work.” Clara laughed.

A couple of hours later, the bell on the door jingled, indicating that they had a customer. Jamie looked up and saw who it was. She headed straight for the back room. Confused by Jamie’s response, Clara went to the register to take the woman’s order.

The woman smiled brightly at Clara, held out her hand, and said, “Hello. My name is Alexis Faison.”

“Nice to meet you, Alexis. I’m Clara Montgomery. I just recently bought the café.”

“I know who you are,” the woman said. “I make it my business to keep track of everything that happens in this city.”

It took Clara a couple of minutes to place the name. Then, she remembered the story that Jamie had told her about the dragon king and the billionaire. Alexis Faison was a descendant of the billionaire. Clara longed to ask her whether she believed the story and whether she really did hate shifters, but decided that was not a conversation to have with someone that she had just met.

“So, what brings you to our fair city?” Alexis asked.

Clara was surprised that Alexis didn’t already know.

“My son, Zeke, and I just needed a change after my divorce. This place was for sale, since the couple who owned it wanted to retire to Florida,” Clara said.

“This is a terrific city, and the people are fabulous,” Alexis said.

The way she talks, it sounds like she thinks that she is the mayor of Ivy Springs,Clara thought.

Then, she chastised herself, and thought,She is just proud of the city. There is nothing wrong with that.

“My brothers and I own Forest Resort,” she said. “We have a fabulous restaurant inside the resort. The food is top notch. I would love for you to come to dinner Saturday.”

“Thanks, Alexis, I would love to. Unfortunately, I’ve already made other plans. I would love a raincheck.”

“Absolutely,” Alexis said.

Clara made the cappuccino for Alexis, who took it and left with a smile. Once she had left, Jamie came from the back room.

“She seemed nice,” Clara said.

“Alexis is nice as long as it suits her. However, she has a mean, vindictive side, especially to shifters,” Jamie said. “All of the shifters in the town make sure that they hide their true identity from Alexis and her brothers.”

Clara still wasn’t sure whether she believed that shifters were real. It seemed to be a little too far-fetched. How could a human actually change their form and become a different animal?

She thought about how Jamie reacted when Alexis came into the café. She immediately disappeared. What if shifters really did exist and Jamie was a shifter? That would explain a lot. However, as much as she wanted to know, Clara didn’t ask Jamie if she was a shifter. If Jamie wanted her to know then she would tell her. The question was at the back of Clara’s mind, though, for the rest of the day.

6

Dillon

Mondays were generally busy at the store and today was no exception. It seemed like every tourist in Colorado found their way into his place, not to mention the locals. That was just fine with him, though, because it would keep him up and running during the winter months when business slowed down significantly. Plus, being busy helped keep his mind off of Clara and Zeke.

He had no idea what it was about the brown-haired beauty who had captured his attention. She was no more attractive than some of the other women who had hit on him and left him feeling nothing. There was a spark between the two of them that he would like to explore further.

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