The Gargoyle Gets His Girl

by Kristen Painter

  He made a curious face. “Why’s that?”

  “We’re going to eat red sauce and you’re wearing a white shirt. Just saying.”

  He groaned. “I didn’t think about that. I guess I’ll wear a bib.”

  She snorted, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Yeah, bibs are super sexy.”

  He laughed. “Now is probably the right time to tell you I don’t date much. I might be a little rusty at this.”

  As if she couldn’t like him more. “Don’t worry about it. With all the working I do, I’m sure you can guess what my social life looks like.”

  He shook his head. “We’re a sad pair.”

  “Really. We should start a support group.”

  “Sounds like a good idea.”

  “We could talk about how pathetic we are.”

  He shot her a sly, sideways glance. “I’d rather talk about how sexy the other members are.”

  “How what? Sexy?” What was he talking about? Her? A shiver of pleasure danced through her as he directed them down a side street.

  “Mm-hmm. Sexy.” A rather self-satisfied spark shot through his eyes. “Also, I think we should limit enrollment to just the charter members.”

  He was smooth, she’d give him that. “So just you and me then.”

  He nodded and stared ahead, but the subtle grin on his face was telling. “Yep.”

  “And how often should we meet?”

  “At least twice a week.” He glanced at her. “Maybe more.” She grinned, but before she could reply, he said, “We’re here.”

  Guillermo’s was a quaint little place with red awnings and a few sidewalk tables behind a wrought-iron fence. It sat about two blocks off Main, which meant it was protected from some of the noise usually surrounding the main drag.

  He opened the door for her and they went inside, the delicious aromas of an Italian kitchen in full swing greeting them.

  The hostess welcomed them as they walked up.

  “I have a reservation,” Nick said. “Under Hardwin for two.”

  The girl checked her book, then grabbed two menus and smiled brightly at them. “Right this way.”

  Nick gestured for Willa to go first. She followed the girl through the restaurant and out a back door to a brick patio. An ivy-covered trellised ceiling provided cool shade, and paddle fans moved the air just enough to make it comfortable. Red-checkered tablecloths and flickering votives in glass holders adorned each table. Overhead, fairy lights interwoven amongst the ivy in the trellises sparkled like stars. In the center of the patio stood a three-tiered fountain gently bubbling away.

  “It’s so pretty,” Willa said. And now she knew why she’d never eaten here before. This wasn’t the kind of place someone would come alone.

  The hostess took them to a small table in a corner and placed the menus in front of the chairs. “Here you are.”

  Nick pulled Willa’s chair out for her. “You like it?”

  “Very much.”

  He smiled and took his seat across from her. “Good.”

  The hostess let them know their server would be with them and left.

  Willa picked up her menu, but looked around a little more before she paid it any attention. “Have you been here before?”

  “No, but I heard it was a nice place.”

  Willa looked over the menu at him. “It’s very romantic.”

  “Too much for the first official meeting of the SSS?”

  “What’s the SSS?”

  “Sad Single Shut-ins.”

  She laughed louder than she meant to. “Ah, yes, our two-person support group.”

  “I’ll check into having T-shirts made.” Still smiling, he cast his gaze on the menu. “I hope you’re hungry. Everything on this menu looks good to me.”

  “So are you going with bib or no bib?”

  “If I get the Steak Italiano, no bib. If it’s the Sunday Supper platter with the spaghetti Bolognese, lasagna and chicken cacciatore, then bib, definitely. How about you? Any ideas yet?”

  “I already know what I want.”

  He glanced up. “You do?”

  “Caprese salad to start, then spaghetti Bolognese. No bib, because I’m crazy like that. And possibly a slice of that limoncello cake for dessert.”

  He nodded. “Good choices. I like a woman who knows what she wants.”

  Willa shrugged one shoulder as she admired the man across from her. “I like what I like.”

  And right now, she liked him.

  After they ordered, Nick leaned back in his seat and looked at her with the kind of expression that said he had questions. She wasn’t wrong.

  “So who do you normally hang out with when you have free time?”

  “You mean do I have a boyfriend?”

  He grinned. “Maybe. It’s a valid question.”

  “No boyfriend. Not for a long time.” And not for lack of wanting one. “Which is fine. When it happens, it happens, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Mostly I work, which I know isn’t healthy, but I love what I do. Sometimes I hang out with Pandora Williams. Do you know her? She’s a real estate agent here in town.”

  “And a witch.” He nodded. “I know her well. She sold me my house.”

  “Small world.”

  “Small town.”

  She laughed. “Very. But I like that. It feels like a community to me.” Kind of like a replacement for the family she no longer had.

  “Yeah, I get that. I didn’t have a lot of family around me growing up, so maybe that’s what I like about this place. I mean, it’s a little…”

  “Boring?”

  He snorted. “Yes. But I’m finding out boring isn’t so bad.”

  If boring meant dinners out with Nick, she could get behind boring in a big way. “So how about you? Girlfriend? Wife? Ex?”

  “None of the above. Yet.”

  Willa’s smile probably came too fast after his answer, but whatever. She liked him. And knowing he was unattached just made him—and the evening ahead of her—a whole lot more interesting.

  Nick held the door for Willa as they left Guillermo’s. It was leave or get kicked out since they’d lingered almost until closing. She had their doggie bags and the desserts they’d ordered to go after they’d discovered just how large the portions were. Even after their server had brought the desserts, though, they’d just sat there, talking, completely lost in each other, laughing and sharing stories from their past. He’d even told her he’d been a foster kid, something he rarely shared with anyone.

  He hadn’t had a night like this in a long time. Maybe forever.

  “Thanks.” She touched his arm as she went past and the shiver of power he’d felt from her before skidded over his skin like a reminder not to fall too far.

  Which really sucked.

  Dinner with Willa had been more enjoyable than Nick had anticipated it would be. She was easily the most fun person he’d spent time with in ages. He loved that she didn’t take anything too seriously and, yet, knew her mind about things. He also loved that she’d yet to eat anything he’d describe as diet food in front of him. Granted, she had the advantage of her fae metabolism, but she put it to good use.

  She was exactly the kind of woman he needed in his life, full of energy and a desire to enjoy things. In fact, she was exactly the kind of woman he could see settling down with.

  If only she weren’t fae.

  Her heritage hadn’t been a problem so far, but all he had to do was imagine the future to see how it could be. He pictured them married and having a fight. Would she use her power against him to win? What if they had kids? Would those children be handicapped by the bloodlines that warred within them, unable to fully realize either of their supernatural sides?

  “You seem lost in thought there.”

  He glanced over. She walked alongside him, bathed in the soft glow of the street lamps and the light spilling from the store fronts, as beautiful as ever.

  He nodded. “Yeah, I guess I wa
s. Sorry.”

  “What were you thinking about, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  He couldn’t tell her the truth. Not when he’d been tasked with keeping her safe from her potential stalker. Instead, he smiled. “When we’re going out again.”

  She blushed a little and looked away. Damn, that was sexier than it should have been.

  She transferred the food bag to her other hand, then slipped her free one into his.

  Every nerve ending in his body hummed to life as her latent power spiraled through him. It was a mix of warrior on alert and instant desire. Her touch was such an unexpected jolt, and while it left him speechless, a thousand thoughts shot through his head.

  If she wanted to hold his hand, then she liked him, and that was cool. But what if she was touching him deliberately to control him? Did she have any idea what she was doing to him? Could she tell what he was by touching him in his human form or could she only read stone? If that was the case, he was safe. In his stone form there was nothing to give him away as a living gargoyle unless he moved. It was one of his kind’s greatest passive defenses.

  But what if her plan was to control him and force him to get rid of this Martin guy who was bothering her? That was a possibility. Except he’d been the one to arrange this date as a way to surreptitiously protect her. The more he thought, the more he simultaneously wanted to shake her hand loose and hold it tighter.

  He was losing his mind.

  She shrugged one shoulder, seemingly oblivious to the maelstrom of emotion she’d loosed in him. “I’d be happy to see you whenever.”

  “Good,” was the best he could come up with.

  “Would you like to come up to my place? We could eat our desserts and…talk. I can make coffee.” She laughed nervously. “It’s one of the few things I can do successfully in the kitchen.”

  Common sense told him that if she was trying to control him, she wouldn’t have asked him to her place, she would have demanded it. Her tone was anything but certain.

  It was time to let the theory of her as some fae mastermind go. “Yeah, that would be great.” And now was the perfect time to find out who Jasper was. “You live alone?”

  She nodded. “I like it that way. I need peace and quiet when I’m designing.”

  So Jasper wasn’t a roommate. “I know you said you don’t get out much, but I’m still surprised you don’t have a boyfriend.”

  She shrugged. “I just haven’t met the right person.”

  The way she looked at him, he could have sworn she was going to say, Until now. The thought made him take a deep breath.

  She pointed to the street sign. “This is me. Jack-O’-Lantern Lane. Stairs are around back down a little alley.”

  He grunted softly as they made the turn onto her street. “That’s not very safe. Is it well lit? What kind of foot traffic does this street get? Do you have a security system?”

  “It’s fairly well lit, I guess. No clue on the foot traffic. I mean, it’s right off of Main, and there’s a dentist and an accountant’s office on this street so…honestly, still no idea. And yes, I have a security system, but I never use it. I probably should.” She went into the alley and stopped in front of a set of wooden steps that ascended to a small covered landing on the second floor.

  He shook his head as he checked out the lights at the bottom and top of the stairs. “The bulb on the landing is out.”

  She nodded. “I just noticed that, too.”

  “That’s unacceptable.”

  She crossed her arms. “Um…do you want to run a perimeter check or something? Would that make you feel better?”

  “Yes, actually.”

  She smiled wryly. “It’s sweet that you’re concerned, but I rarely use this door. There’s another set of steps inside that lead down to the office in my shop. That’s how I usually come and go.”

  His gaze stayed on the landing, his eyes narrowing as the soldier in him went on alert. “So did you leave this way when you met me or did you go through the shop?”

  “I went through the shop, why?”

  He tipped his chin toward her apartment. “Because your door is open.”

  Willa twisted her hands together as she waited for Nick to make sure everything was all right in her place. Her only real worry was that something had happened to Jasper. Her jewelry supplies were valuable, but they could be replaced.

  After a few minutes, lights came on. Then he stuck his head out and waved her up. “All clear. Sort of.”

  She jogged up the steps, too worried about Jasper to look at the broken lock. “Sort of? Did you see a big orange cat?”

  “No, but—”

  She sucked in a breath and pushed past Nick. “I have to find him.”

  “We will, but—”

  “No buts. We find him now.”

  With a singular focus, she looked around the apartment. “Jas, where are you, baby? Are you okay? Here, kitty, kitty.” She clucked her tongue and made kissy sounds, but he didn’t show. In desperation, she grabbed the bag of treats from the side table in the living room and gave them a hard shake.

  A distant, desperate meow answered her.

  “I heard that,” Nick said. “Sounds like he’s trapped somewhere.”

  “I can’t tell where it came from. Maybe the pantry? Check the other rooms,” she commanded Nick. She left him to it while she headed into the kitchen. She yanked open the pantry’s bi-fold doors. No cat. She started going through cabinets. “Here, kitty, kitty. Where are you, baby?”

  “Is this who you’re looking for?” Nick walked in holding Jasper like a baby. His paws were kneading the air as Nick rubbed his belly.

  “Jasper! Is he okay? Actually, I can tell he’s okay because he’s in big baby mode. He loves being held like that.”

  “Yeah, he just kind of curled up in my arms like this.” Nick handed her cat over. “So Jasper’s a cat.”

  “What?” She pressed her cheek against Jasper, hugging him hard. “You poor thing,” she whispered in his ear.

  “Nothing.” Nick shook his head, looking as relieved as she felt. That was sweet that he’d been worried about Jasper, too.

  Jasper’s purrs vibrated through her. “Where was he?”

  “In the closet in the other bedroom.”

  She sighed into Jasper’s fur. “My poor boy. Are you okay? How did you get in there?”

  “I have a pretty good idea.” Concern filled Nick’s eyes. “We need to call Sheriff Merrow. Someone was definitely in here.”

  “Granted, the lock is broken but…” She glanced around. Her jewelry supplies were untouched. What she could see of them. “Doesn’t look like anything was taken.”

  “Follow me. Don’t touch anything. Merrow might want to dust for prints.”

  “Now you’re freaking me out.”

  “Sorry, but…” He nudged her bedroom door open with his elbow.

  Her chin dropped, and it took her a moment to process the scene in front of her. Rose petals were strewn over her floor and bed, and on the center of her quilt was a box of drugstore variety chocolates. A note sat on top of it.

  She hugged Jasper a little tighter. “If he touched you—”

  “He?” Nick’s brows shot up. “Who did this, Willa? You know, don’t you?”

  “I have a pretty good idea.” She picked her way across the rose petals to get close enough to read the note.

  See you soon. - M

  Frustration racked her body, and a low groan resonated out of her throat as she turned to face Nick. “I have a stalker. A client. He ordered a custom piece. I thought I handled it, but now…not so much.”

  “Doesn’t look like he’s going away any time soon.” Nick whipped out his phone. “I’m calling Merrow.”

  Ten minutes later, Sheriff Merrow walked through her door. He wasn’t in uniform, but that made no difference to Willa. His attention went straight to her. “Willa, you all right?”

  She was at the kitchen table, a glass of water in front of her. Sh
e lifted her chin, aware that she was trembling, but it wasn’t from fear. “Mad is all.”

  The sheriff nodded. “I get that. Break-ins are a violation of your privacy and personal safety.”

  Nick came back into the apartment through the shop door. He’d rolled his sleeves up, which somehow made him look more serious, not less. “That entrance is still locked, so I don’t think—Sheriff.”

  “Hardwin.” The sheriff gave him a nod. “You just check the shop?”

  “Yes. No sign that door’s been tampered with, but the lock on the outside door was ripped clean off.”

  Sheriff Merrow glanced back at the door he’d just come through. “I noticed that. You found the bedroom disturbed?”

  “Yes. We were looking for Willa’s cat. Seems the perpetrator shut him in the bedroom closet.”

  “All right. I’ll have a look around.” Sheriff Merrow glanced at Willa. “You don’t mind if I…” He gestured toward the bedroom.

  “Nope. That’s what you’re here for.”

  With a nod, the sheriff went off to inspect the room.

  Nick came and sat with her at the kitchen table. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

  “I know. I’m not really that afraid of this guy. More…annoyed that he won’t leave me alone. And really ticked he was in my space. He had no right to be in here.”

  Nick reached over and put his hand on top of hers.

  She smiled at him. “Crappy ending to an otherwise great night.”

  “Next time will be better.”

  She stared at her water. “Good. On both counts.”

  The sheriff came back out. “Willa, I know it’s late, but you can’t stay here tonight. I need to get my people in here and do a full report. Pull prints if we can. And you shouldn’t stay here until you get the front door fixed.”

  “Fourth of July is two days away. The town is booked for the Red, White and Boo Festival,” she said. “Getting a hotel room is not going to be easy.” Or cheap.

  Sheriff Merrow nodded. “Maybe you could call Pandora.”

  “I would, but she’s in Atlanta at some real estate conference. She won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”

  Nick squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry about it. You can stay with me for as long as it takes.”