Page 11 of Oohs, Ahhhs, and Orbs

Mortimer jumped onto the counter, startling me and making me jerk back. Luckily, when my coffee splashed, it ended up hitting the floor and missed my clothing entirely.

“What the heck! Good morning to you, too, fluff ball,” I muttered as I double checked myself for coffee stains. His meow was louder than normal. “Are you mad I went out last night?” I shook my head. “Get over it, buddy. I’m allowed to have a social life, too. I’m not old yet. Though your owner has always had a much more lively social life than I’ve ever had.”

I went into the back for a few paper towels to clean up the small spill, the whole time listening to Mortimer meow almost urgently. When I came back into the front of the shop, it was to see him pacing back and forth, almost in agitation.

“What’s into you this morning, Mortimer?” I squatted down and started wiping up the spilled coffee. “You’re acting stranger than normal this morning. Are you missing Grandmother?”

I stood back up, ready to toss the used paper towels into the trash, when something caught my eye. I’d just wiped up coffee, but there was something else on the paper towel I hadn’t expected. A small bit of dark brown, almost like rust, was on the paper. I didn’t remember dropping anything recently.

I bent back down to look for any more of the mysterious substance, but the area was clean. I shrugged. Whatever it was, there was only a tiny bit. I dropped the dirty paper towels in the wastebasket and grabbed my apron off the hook, pulling it over my head and tying it behind my back. I picked up my cup of coffee and sipped it as I walked toward the door.

“Good morning, Mildred. You look lovely today.” I noticed a smudge of what looked like lipstick on one bony cheek. “Well,that’s new,” I muttered as I used my thumb to wipe it off. “You know what, Mildred? I don’t even want to know.”

I turned and flipped the sign over to OPEN and unlocked the door before taking a longer stroll around the shop. Not much seemed out of place, and my earlier assessment looked correct. I moved the dragons back onto their shelves, but after a brief hesitation, I placed a few stones around them. I liked the way it looked and hummed in satisfaction. The dragons shimmied in delight, making me smile.

I glanced up at Frank, the crow, to see he had an eagle-eyed watch on the whole place. There was something different about his positioning, though I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Maybe he just decided to move? I gave a mental shrug, and after offering him a wave, I headed back to the register. I needed to brew up a few of my most popular potions. One would think the luck or prosperity potions would be the most popular, but they weren’t. The ones that I sold out of most often were the success and mental clarity potions, often purchased by college students. It made my heart happy to know that I was providing a tool for helping others succeed.

I was almost back to the register when I heard the bell over the door ring. I turned, expecting Shayla since she usually stopped in either after a run or before heading to school. The grin I had for her faltered when I saw a tall, sexy detective striding towards me instead.

“Detective Storm. What can I do for you this morning?” I lifted my chin and turned, walking the rest of the way to the counter. I needed the extra moment to fortify my defenses after seeing him. Just that quickly, the fluttering began in my belly, and my heart rate picked up speed. I didn’t know if I would easily forget the man, but I was determined to keep a professional distance. I absolutely didn’t want to involve myselfwith someone who was already involved in another relationship, mate or not.

When I stepped around the corner and finally looked up, it was to see him already across from me, his gray eyes a darker shade than the last time I’d seen him. He had a look of determination, and his square jaw was set. I swallowed, knowing that I would have to stand my ground against him. I had a feeling that when the man became determined about anything, he didn’t back down easily.

“I’m sorry you were accosted by my ex-wife’s best friend last night. She shouldn’t have done that. I warned her to stay away from you in the future. Knowing Marlene, she probably won’t listen, so I want you to tell me if it happens again.”

I blinked up at Logan as I took in his words. “Uh, that’s a lot of information to unpack. You were married?” I didn’t know why, but the thought of him being in a serious relationship with someone else, one that led to marriage, living together, sleeping in the same bed every night, had my heart clenching. Without realizing it, I had lifted my hand and rubbed my chest to ease the pain there. Logan glanced down and watched me, his eyes going soft at what he saw. I quickly dropped my hand.

“It’s fine. She didn’t really say anything to me.”

“Liar.” His tone was soft as he took me in, his eyes traveling over my face, likely taking in the signs of my sleepless night. “You have nothing to worry about. Things have been over between Kristy and me for a long time. Longer than even the amount of time we’ve been divorced.”

I cleared my throat, but the tightness there made it hard to swallow. My tone was husky from the emotions raging through me. “Really, it’s no big deal.” I shrugged one shoulder and turned to tidy the pens in the cup holder by the register, just to have something else to focus on. “I’m sorry your marriage didn’t work out.”

“Do you lie a lot when you’re nervous?”

I gasped and jerked my head up. “I’m not nervous,” I declared and narrowed my eyes. “That was a very rude thing to say.”

Logan tilted his head, a slight grin tugging at his lips. “Was it?”

I gave a sharp nod. “It was. You don’t accuse a lady of such things.”

His grin widened. “I’ll keep that in mind. Go out with me again. Tomorrow night. I want to take you on a real date.”

I was already shaking my head before he’d even finished speaking and began stepping back. “That’s not a good idea, Detective?—”

Logan reached out his hand and placed it over the top of mine before I could pull away. My gasp was loud and immediate. The electricity that lit up my entire nervous system was like being hit with a bolt of lightning. I jerked away from his hand and stumbled backward, my back hitting the wall as I took in deep lungfuls of air.

Before I could come to terms with Logan Storm, who was indeed my fated mate, he was around the counter and running his hands over me. He tilted up my chin and took in my shocked expression.

“What is it? Are you hurt? What happened?”

I shook my head, my denial weak at best. “It’s nothing. I’m fine, just a bit of static electricity.”

“That wasn’t static. It felt like a thousand volts of electricity went through every cell in my body. Tell me you didn’t get hurt.”

“I—I promise, I’m not hurt.” I took in his features, the same as he was taking in mine. “Did you really feel it, too?”

He just tightened his jaw while scanning me again, looking for any visible signs of damage. I could have told him he’d find none. Outwardly, I was perfectly fine, though I was sure Iprobably looked shaken from the shock of it all, but inside, it was a different story.

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