Page 10 of Nightmares and Numerology

Maverick’s eyebrows lifted. “Ah. Something formal? Or were you thinking something sexier?”

I was thinking I was going to burst into a pile of cinders. My neck and cheeks felt hot enough to fry eggs on. I gave the rack nearest his elbow a desperate glance, unable to voice the request. Thankfully, he caught it and followed my gaze.

“A cocktail dress? Are you planning on going out clubbing?”

“No,” I finally managed. “Candlelight dinner, I think.” Angelo hadn’t been overly specific.

“With Angelo, I’m assuming?” I nodded and wondered how quickly word spread in the Hollow. Apparently, pretty quickly.

“It’s supposed to be a surprise,” I continued. “And, well, I wanted to surprise him back. We live together, so he’s seen most of my nice outfits by now.”

“Ah,” Maverick said, as though that made sense.

I wasn’t sure if he actually understood or was just humoring me. At least thelookwas mercifully absent. Maybe I’d judged the moody warlock too harshly. He’d been raised by witches, who seemed to have a completely different relationship with sex and romance than us mere mortals. Indigo had apparently danced naked often, specifically to attract male Sidhe when she was younger. There was relatively little sexual shame in their society. I guess I hadn’t expected a man to be as on board with that as Maverick seemed to be.

Maverick gave me a once-over, starting from the crown of my head and concluding on my aching ankles in their kitten heels. The look didn’t feel sexual at all, though I was probably too desensitized to realize if it had been. Angelo’s leering made casual admiration feel tame. Besides, I’d seen the way Maverick looked at the Chief of Police. He was dead gone on his gorgeous faerie wife.

“You’re a pear shape, right?”

“Yeah,” I grumbled, not exactly happy that he was pointing it out.

Maverick reached out and casually flicked my ear. A staticshock traveled from the tip of his nail into my skin. I yelped, clapping a hand over it.

“Hey!” I yelled at him.

“Don’t do that,” he answered.

“Do what?”

“That thing vanilla human women do. Where you think you’re hideous because you aren’t model-perfect.”

“Says the guy who married a svelte princess,” I countered. “Or is it queen now? I heard Taliyah’s in charge now that the war with Janara is over.”

I still wasn’t clear on everything that had happened there. Until members of Misty Hollow had poured into town through a faerie portal, I’d been the new girl on the block. I wasn’t having as hard a time adjusting to the changes since I hadn’t been here long enough for Haven Hollow to feel like home. All I knew was that there had been celebrations among the local faeries when Taliyah returned from whatever mission she’d been on. It had taken a few days for me to understand the significance of the news.

Maverick shrugged. “It’s complicated,” Maverick responded. “But my point was about your self-esteem or lack-thereof.”

“Right.” I didn’t even feel like arguing the point. “Yeah, I think I’m a pear shape.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. You say it like it’s a bad thing.”

I swallowed hard. “You don’t think it’s a bad thing?”

He looked at me. Really looked at me. “I think women are beautiful in all their shapes and sizes.”

“Oh.”

“And I think a wrap or empire waist dress would work best for your figure,” he continued. “The empire has a more flattering silhouette, but the wrap dress comes off faster.”

The damnable blush was back again. “I think I’ll go with thewrap then.”

Maverick smirked. “Good for you. Now we have a few options available...”

Chapter Five

Angelo

No way. There was no way I wasthisunlucky.

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