The Gargoyle Gets His Girl

by Kristen Painter

  “Have coffee with me.”

  She started to open the drawer. “Sure, I can give—what?” She shut the drawer, slightly aflutter. That was not what she’d been expecting.

  Now only a couple yards away, Ramona’s eyes widened. She sprayed glass cleaner on the case she’d just wiped and started cleaning it again.

  Willa shook her head, reeling a bit that this man had just asked her out. “That’s very sweet of you, but I can’t. I have the store to run and—”

  “I can handle it for an hour or two,” Ramona piped up.

  “Thank you.” He nodded at Ramona, who grinned furiously.

  Wretched brownie. Willa swallowed. He was very nice to look at and had enough of that valiant protector thing going on that any red-blooded woman would have been intrigued. Plus, she had just been wishing fate would get to work sending her someone. Not to mention her hormones clearly thought he was something special. “I don’t know…”

  “You could go for lunch,” Ramona said as she cleaned the same case for the third time. “You have to eat sometime.”

  Ramona really needed to learn to shut up.

  He smiled, like that idea was infinitely better. “I’d be happy to take you to lunch.”

  Willa gripped the edge of the counter. “I don’t even know your name.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “You don’t know your name?”

  “I don’t know yours.”

  His hotness was making her dumb. “Oh, right, of course. I’m Willa Iscove, owner of this shop.”

  He stuck his hand out. “And I’m Nick Hardwin.” A curious light filtered through his gaze. “At your service.”

  Fae or not, Willa was beautiful. She had the typical fae build, tall and slim, with soft waves of honey-blond hair that barely covered her delicately pointed ears. Her brilliant aqua eyes made her gaze almost impossible to look away from. But Nick hadn’t asked her to lunch because of her looks. His only reason was to find out more about her and if her actions last night had been deliberate.

  Her hotness was just a side benny.

  Regardless of what she looked like, his instincts told him to stay on guard in case this was part of some elaborate plan to trap him. Considering her people’s history, it wouldn’t be unheard of. But he was already bound to protect her. What else could she want from him? Maybe the wild and wanton use of his body.

  He wouldn’t put up a fight if that was the case.

  “I’ll have the double cheeseburger loaded, cheese fries and a chocolate milkshake.” Willa smiled up at the waitress at Mummy’s, the kitschy fifties diner on Main.

  “Very good.” The girl turned to him. “And for you?”

  He held up his menu. “Same.”

  “I’ll get that right in.” The waitress took the menus and walked away.

  Nick’s brows lifted, and he looked at Willa, seated across from him in the red vinyl booth. “Quite an order. You going to eat all that?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  There was something unspeakably sexy about a woman who ate like a long-haul trucker. “Then I have serious respect for you.”

  She squinted. “Why’s that?”

  “It’s a rare woman who looks like you and doesn’t live on rabbit food alone.”

  Amusement danced in her eyes. “You mean salad?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I like salad too.” She studied him for a moment. What was going on behind those piercing eyes of hers? “Especially if it has bacon and cheese on it.”

  He laughed. “That’s one thing we’ve got in common.”

  “Only one thing?” Willa tipped her head. “Why’d you ask me out then?”

  The question was good-natured, but he couldn’t tell her the truth. Fortunately, the waitress returned with two glasses of water, buying him some time to think. He waited until she left to answer. “You’re very pretty. And I’m sort of new to town. How else am I going to get to know people?”

  She laughed. “Do you plan on dating the whole town then?” Her smile slipped away, and she bit her lip. “I mean, unless this isn’t a date. Which is fine. Probably silly of me to think—”

  “No.” He grinned. “It’s a date.” It was becoming harder and harder to imagine this woman had any nefarious intentions against him. He considered himself a good judge of character, and she seemed pretty straight up. “So long as that’s all right with you.”

  She peeled the paper off her straw and nodded, a shy smile bending her mouth. “It’s all right with me. It was just kind of…sudden.”

  “I’ve seen you around town. Walked past your shop.” He lifted his hands. “Not that I’m a stalker or anything.”

  At the word stalker, her eyes rounded slightly.

  He leaned in. “Did I upset you? I guess that joke wouldn’t be very funny if you’d actually had someone stalk you.”

  He hadn’t really planned that segue, but it was as good as any. He waited to see if she’d say something about the man she’d talked about at the fountain, the one she wanted to stop bothering her. If she was really in trouble, now would be the time for her to speak up.

  “No.” She shook her head and lifted her glass to drink. “It’s nothing. So what do you do, Nick? You said you’re new to town. Does that mean you’re job hunting?”

  So much for his theory about her wanting his help. He wasn’t ready to tell her he was the gargoyle at the fountain. “I work security a few nights at Insomnia.”

  She frowned. “That’s the”—she lowered her voice to a whisper—“supernatural night club, right?”

  He nodded. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you there.”

  She pushed her straw to the other side of the glass. “I’ve never been. It’s not my thing. I work a lot at night anyway.”

  “How late is your shop open?”

  “It’s not that. We close at nine, but I do a lot of…custom work. And I like to do that in my home studio.”

  He nodded. Time for a little more interrogation. “You’re fae, right?”

  “Mm-hmm. Lapidus fae, which is how I came to be a jeweler.”

  “Makes sense.” Not a word about why she’d come to see him, though. He doubted now that her wish at the fountain had had anything to do with enlisting his help. But even if she hadn’t intended it for him, she’d made a plea and sealed it with the offering of stone.

  He was bound by magic and honor to protect her. Except maybe there wasn’t anything to protect her from now.

  Their lunch came, and they talked some more while they ate, but nothing she said made him think she was in any kind of trouble. Not a mention of the name Martin, the man she’d referred to in her wish. Maybe Nick should ask around, see if there were any locals with that name. Hank would know. If not, Nick would chalk the whole thing up to coincidence.

  Of course, he couldn’t really consider it a done deal until she released him. What were the technicalities of that when the one he was bound to didn’t know she’d done the binding?

  Now he was thinking it might be time to talk to one of the other gargoyles in town, see what they knew about such things.

  She swallowed the last of her French fries. “Considering where you work, I know you’re a supernatural like me, but I can’t figure out what kind.”

  He stilled. If she already knew he was a gargoyle, what was she playing at? And if she didn’t know, there was no way she made that wish on purpose. So…that meant he was free. Didn’t it? Either way, he decided to play things close to the vest. Until he knew more about her, maybe it was best she knew less about him. “I’m a shifter.”

  She nodded, seemingly pleased with that answer. “What kind of—”

  “Did y’all save room for dessert?” The waitress reappeared to save him a second time. “We’ve got the best pie in town. Apple, lemon meringue and of course, peach, plus today we have Better-Than-Sex pie.”

  In unison, he and Willa answered, “I doubt that.”

  They both laughed. Nick smiled a
t the waitress. “I guess we’ll have to see for ourselves now. Bring us two pieces.”

  She grinned. “Coffee?”

  “Sure. Willa?”

  “That would be great, thanks.”

  Before Willa could ask him again about what kind of shifter he was, he changed the subject. “Is it true most fae have a sweet tooth?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, and chocolate is definitely a weakness of mine.”

  “Have you been down to that new shop, Delaney’s Delectables? That place would probably be right up your alley. Candy, cookies, cakes…it’s a sugar overload.”

  “I have been. Her chocolate truffles are crazy good.”

  “Do you know the Ellinghams well, then?”

  “I wouldn’t say well, although I did make her engagement ring. Also, the Ellinghams are the reason I’m in Nocturne Falls. They wanted someone to set up a jewelry store, and I came along at the right time. It’s hard to say no to them.”

  “Sheriff Merrow is the same way. He and I were in the same Army Ranger division, and it’s because of him that I ended up here after I got out.”

  She smiled. “I made Ivy’s engagement ring too. He’s a really nice guy. Straight shooter.”

  “The straightest.” They didn’t get any blunter and more up front than Sheriff Merrow.

  The waitress returned with their coffee and pie. She set the cups and plates in front of them, then left them alone again with a simple, “Enjoy.”

  Willa picked up her fork, her gaze firmly on the deep, dark chocolaty triangle before her. A fat dollop of whipped cream sat on top. “This looks awful.”

  “Agreed. Maybe you should give me yours.”

  She scowled playfully at him and wielded her fork like a weapon. “I’d hate to have to stab you on our first date.”

  Our first date. Like she expected there to be more. And then he realized he wouldn’t mind that. At all. And then he said the next thing that came into his head without even thinking about it. “That would make a great story to tell the grandkids, though.”

  She froze and her cheeks went bright pink.

  He shook his head. “Forget I said that.” What the hell? What had he been thinking?

  She stabbed the fork into her dessert and stuffed a piece into her mouth.

  He studied his pie, concentrating on it with the kind of focus normally reserved for spotting insurgents and giving them both a moment to recover from his grandkids remark.

  Then a soft, plaintive moan brought his head up.

  Willa’s eyes were closed and her head tipped back, the look on her face one of sheer unbridled pleasure. The kind of look a man didn’t usually see on a woman’s face until he’d known her a lot longer. And a lot more intimately.

  She moaned again and the sound shot straight through him, resonating in the deep places that were so rarely touched by anyone. It was impossible not to imagine her in bed.

  His bed.

  And judging from the looks of the male patrons around them, he wasn’t the only one. His natural instincts kicked in, and he snarled at the closest one.

  The man snapped back around to focus on his meatloaf.

  “Wow,” Willa said softly as she returned to earth. “I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted anything that good before.”

  Nick bit his tongue. Wasn’t like anything he said right now was going to make sense anyway.

  She looked at his plate. “You haven’t even touched yours.”

  He just nodded, cut the point of the pie off with his fork and ate it. The creamy, crunchy, salty sweetness melted over his tongue in a way that explained Willa’s moan. The pie was damn good. Not better than sex, but pretty epic.

  Of course, if Willa thought it was better than sex, that meant she either hadn’t been with a lot of guys or hadn’t been with anyone who knew how to please her.

  Either way, Nick decided right then and there he was up for the challenge.

  Willa let Nick walk her back to the shop, but said goodbye to him outside. No reason to give Ramona any more ammunition. She’d promised to call him when his watch strap came in and they’d exchanged numbers but left it at that. No plans for another date, which left her a little disappointed, but at the same time, taking it slow was good.

  She pushed the door open and went inside, unable to keep from smiling. Two older women perused the front case where she kept the charms and bracelet beads. The special edition Nocturne Falls charm that she’d designed sat above the rest on its own little pedestal.

  “Someone had a good lunch.” Ramona leaned her elbows on the counter. “Spill.”

  “There’s nothing to tell. We had lunch. We talked.”

  “Are you seeing him again?”

  “Yes.” Ramona perked up. “As soon as his watch band comes in.”

  The brownie huffed out a breath. “That’s not a date.”

  It also wasn’t Ramona’s business. “Any messages?”

  “Oh, yeah, a Mr. Burnside called. He said you’d know who he is. Anyway, he wants you to know he’ll be in town and would like to meet up.”

  A cold shiver crawled down Willa’s spine. “What? When is he coming?”

  “I don’t know. He didn’t say.”

  Willa swore softly. “Take care of those customers. I need to check my email.” She ran to her laptop and pulled up her mail. Three emails from Martin Burnside.

  Number one: I was a fool to think I was over you.

  No, she was a fool to think this had all come to a close. She opened the next one.

  Willa, answer me. I need to know you feel the same way I do.

  With her anger growing, she tapped number three.

  I can’t take this silence. I’m coming to Nocturne Falls so we can work this out face to face.

  She sat hard on her desk chair and stared at the screen, her heart pounding in her veins like a warning. What on earth was she going to do? She’d thought the fountain had done its thing and that her problem was solved. Now this?

  There was no denying the town had magic. She just hadn’t imagined it would be so temporary. She took a few breaths to calm down. There was nothing to freak out about. If Burnside showed up at the store, she’d hit the panic button tucked away under the counter near the register. All high-end jewelry stores had one. Hers alerted both the sheriff and the Ellingham brothers.

  And if she ran into Burnside outside of the shop… Her pulse kicked up again. Then her anger returned. If he showed up, she’d demand the ring back and she’d melt it down. That would put an end, once and for all, to whatever corrupted magic she’d accidentally done.

  She skimmed through the email conversation between her and Burnside, looking for a clue that might tell her how to keep him from coming. No such luck, but a line from one of her replies caught her eye. An unexpected smile curved her mouth. How about that? She’d given herself an out and forgotten all about it.

  She’d told Burnside she was seeing someone. And now, thanks to Nick, that wasn’t entirely untrue.

  Her head bobbed as the plan unfolded in her mind. If Burnside came to town, she’d get the handsome and oh-so-intimidating Mr. Hardwin to play the part of the protective boyfriend.

  If anyone could scare away a troll, it was Nick. His size alone would send most men packing. With a little well-directed jealousy, something she was sure the former Army Ranger could muster, he’d be the perfect unwanted-suitor deterrent.

  And outside of getting him a new watch band, it was the best excuse that she could think of to see him again.

  For that stroke of luck, she might actually send Burnside a thank-you card.

  With a new sense of calm, she went back to work. The day flew by with customers, a special order engraving, and inventorying the watch bands so she could get the order in. By the time she got home, she hadn’t given Burnside much more thought.

  Nick, on the other hand, had managed to stay on her mind in some shape or form throughout the day. Actually, both his shape and form had stayed there. She giggled as she fed Jasper
and drank a glass of wine. Holy stars, the man might be a little intimidating at first, but after getting to know him a little, she’d found he was fun and as easy to talk to as he was easy on the eyes.

  She couldn’t remember what kind of shifter he’d said he was. By his size, she’d guess bear maybe. Dragon could be another possibility. Really, it didn’t matter. Shifters and fae got along well as far as she knew. Now to see how things went between them in real life. Maybe she’d invite him over for dinner some night.

  She opened the fridge. Dinner might not be such a hot idea. She could handle basic stuff, but she wasn’t the kind of cook who could woo a man with food. Most nights she ate takeout in the office of the store. Hard to develop any real cooking skills when she worked until nine every night. Not that she’d change that. She loved her shop and loved her life. But if things with Burnside got out of hand, forcing her to leave Nocturne Falls…the thought of abandoning the life she’d built here made her instantly sad.

  She couldn’t let that happen. She wouldn’t. She had a plan. And a potentially pretend, and maybe not-so-pretend, boyfriend. It was all going to work out. She refilled her glass of wine and headed for the couch to veg and watch one of the many shows piling up on her DVR.

  One show and another glass of wine later, and Nick returned front and center to her thoughts. She scrolled aimlessly through the list of recorded shows, looking for the next thing to watch, but Nick was all she could think about.

  Maybe she could invite him over to watch a movie, and they could get dinner delivered. Pizza wasn’t exactly romantic, though. Or was it? All that gooey cheese sure seemed romantic to her. And really, if Nick didn’t like pizza, he probably wasn’t the man for her anyway.

  Huh. She was already thinking about him as a possibility, but she barely knew the man. Maybe that was just her desire to be involved with someone. Or maybe it was because Nick was not just nice and funny and built like he’d been carved out of really sexy stone, but he seemed genuinely interested in her. He’d spent most of lunch asking her questions and listening intently.

  Even when she’d asked him a question in return, he’d turned it around to focus on her.