Page 5 of Vampire's Vixen

As I unlocked my shop door, Devon peeked out from Ever After, the bridal shop next door owned by Kevin Sands, a puma shifter with a good eye for fashion.

“Hey, Maisy! How’s it going?”

I grinned at her, juggling my travel mug and purse as I pushed open the door. “It goes, it goes. How are you doing?”

Devon had been in serious danger when she came to me for a reading, but now that danger was gone and she was back on the road to happiness.

“I’m good. You want a cupcake? We have cupcakes in the store today!” She held up a gorgeous pink frosted cupcake with tiny pearl candies on it.

“Thanks, but I had a full breakfast. I’ll hit Crystal’s in a couple hours.” I waved to her and darted inside as big fat raindrops began to splatter on the sidewalk.

As I shut the door, the quiet hush of my shop made me smile. It was painted in shades of mauve with sage and ecru trim, and the chairs matched the dusty rose of the walls, while my desk was a soft white. The other furniture matched my desk. All in all, Married At First Bite gave off a soft, cushioning feel.

I hung my jacket on the coatrack, slid my purse into my desk drawer, and turned on the Open sign. Then I lit a stick of rose-scented incense and settled in at my desk. I had no matchmaking clients yet—Brenda had been my first and only—but Zandre might break my dry streak. The tarot readings had been saving my ass, as far as keeping the shop afloat. I was a good card reader and people were spreading the word.

I’d had at least two to three readings a day, if not more. It wasn’t what I’d hoped for, but I did enjoy helping people, and most of my readings were about relationships, so they were tangentially related to my line of work.

A glance at the clock told me it was nearing ten, and outside I began to see more people on the street. It was break time, and people were out getting their coffee and snacks.

The bells on the door rang and I looked over to see a tall woman enter the shop. She had flaming red hair that coiled down her back. She was wearing a blue caftan, under a black leather jacket, and her tote bag had so much bling on it that she looked like a walking advertisement for a Bedazzler.

“Hi, I’m Maisy Tripwater,” I said, standing.

She paused, looking around. “I’m Cara Cork. Where should I sit?”

I pointed her to a round table that sat to one side of the shop. “There will be fine. Would you care for some sparkling water or tea?” I served both, though I preferred coffee. But tea seemed to calm people down in ways that coffee didn’t.

“Water, thank you.” She settled at the table and placed her purse on the floor beside her. “I’m looking forward to this. It’s been a long time since I’ve had my cards read.”

I brought her back a bottle of sparkling water and a glass with ice in it. “Here you go. Well, I’m happy to read for you.” I flipped the lock on the door and put up my Reading in Progress sign, then returned to the table. “Well, Ms. Cork?—”

“Cara, please.”

“Cara, what kind of reading do you want?” I asked.

She hesitated, then said, “I want to know how to deal with a false friend. I know she stole my boyfriend, but she’s also been spreading rumors about me and I think she keyed my car. Let’s call her Mary? Anyway, I want to know how to shut her up and stop her from bothering me.”

I frowned. “Well, let’s see what I can find out.” I held the cards and then handed them to her. “Think about your problem, then shuffle them four times and cut twice. Phrase your question to them clearly.”

She picked up the cards and held them for a moment before shuffling and cutting them. She handed them back to me, and I laid out a spread. It had some interesting cards, ones that told me Ms. Cara Cork wasn’t telling me the full story.

“I make it a point to be blunt with my readings so there aren’t any misunderstandings,” I said. “I’m seeing a few odd things here that makes me think there’s a lot more to this than just some woman who has decided you’re problematic in her life.” I glanced at Cara.

She blushed, faintly but enough to tell me that she was hiding something. “I’m not sure what you mean,” she said.

So she was going to play it coy. “Okay, well, let’s start it with this: Mary knew your boyfriend for quite a while, didn’t she?” In my mind, I caught a flash of a little girl and boy playing in the mud together.

Cara blinked. “Um…yes, I think she knew him before I did.”

“In fact, they were in a relationship for quite some time,” I said, glancing at the two of cups. “They were in love.”

As if slowly deflating, Cara shrank back in her chair. “Yeah, they were.”

I hated calling my clients on their bullshit, but I was willing to do it when necessary. “So, how long were they together before you came along?”

Cara let out a little squeak. “They weren’t getting along. They’d been married for three years. I wasn’t the one who started the affair—” She stopped, frowning at me.

“So, she didn’t steal your boyfriend. You stole her husband, and then he went back to her. Am I right?” I looked down at the cards, then up at her.

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