Page 49 of Lila

“Then it won’t be a problem. May I borrow your phone,mi reina?” He holds out a hand and I dutifully give him my phone. He turns the screen on and side-eyes me. “You should have a lock on your phone.”Ugh such a jerk.

I glare at him as he types away on my phone before looking back up at the sales clerk, who tells him an outrageous price for six outfits and my eyes bug out as Mateo looks impressed by the total.

“Not bad,” he murmurs as he casually taps my phone to the card machine. “Please have everything delivered to apartment 1306 this evening.”

“Of course, sir. Thank you for your business.”

“Ready,me reina?”

“Uh-huh. Give me back my phone and I’ll order us a ride. I want a smoothie after that.”

Chuckling he hands me back the device. I pull up the app and order a ride as we leave the store. The car drops us off in front of the smoothie place I heard recently opened in town. The glow of the green neon lights up the street. The sign overhead reads BBW in big bold letters. Just below in a black script, it says Basil’s Beauty and Wellness Tanning and Smoothies.

“Huh. A smoothieandtanning place. That’s an interesting combination,” I mutter.

Mateo opens the door and we walk into a very open modern shop. The front is filled with cute two-person bistro tables and a trash can with a swaying lid. One entire wall looks to be made of plants. As we walk up to the counter, I see a broom sweeping the floor. Then a dustpan scoops it up and throws it in the trash. Shaking my head I focus on the menu that’s displayed on a large flat screen on the wall behind the counter. There are more plants on the shelves by the TV.

“Hi! Welcome to BBW. How can I help you, today?” A curvy girl with red hair and almost equally red eyes asks.

“Oh, gosh. I don’t know, there are so many choices,” I groan.Why are decisions so hard?“What do you recommend?”

“You look like you could use some extra hydration. How about The Pink Drink?”

“Ooh. That sounds good! I’ll have one of those. Mateo?”

He studies the menu before saying, “I’ll have the Not an Aussie, please.”

“Coming right up!” she chirps.

I smile and turn to pull Mateo to sit at a table to wait. There’s a rag wiping down a table and I eye it as we sit at a different table.

“You see that too, right? I’m not going crazy?” I mutter.

“Sí. Must be some magic.” He shrugs.

The woman who took our order brings us our drinks. I expect her to leave, but she stands there staring at us like a specimen under a microscope. Finally, brows furrowed, she asks, “What are you?”

Surprised by her bluntness, I laugh.

“Sorry.” She cringes. “I’m new to the whole supernatural thing. It’s so interesting. Do you know since I moved here, I’ve met a chameleon shifter, an actual yeti, and so many unique things that I had no idea even existed? I’m a scientist, you see… Well, Iwas. Whenever I meet a new supe, I’m compelled to find out what they are.”

“How’d you know we’re supes?” I ask.

“You saw Smith.” She shrugs. “Well, not Smith exactly. No one canseeSmith. Even supes can’t see invisible people.” She chuckles. “But you saw the broom and rag. Humans don’t see that. It’s the ward.”

“Oh. That’s clever. I’m a witch, and he’s a chinchilla shifter.”

“Like the tiny gray rodent? Chinchilla? How does that work? Surely your body mass is too large to compact down into such a small creature. Shit, sorry. I don’t mean to… Apologies, here, have your next smoothies on the house.” She pulls out two coupons and leaves them on the table before flitting away.”

“Wonder how long ago she was turned,” Mateo murmurs.

“Not long ago, if I had to bet. She has to have excellent control over her bloodlust if she can stand to be surrounded by humans every day.”

Chapter 35

Lila

WeleaveBBWandI run straight into someone on the sidewalk. “Shit! I’m sorry!” I say as I back away. My heart stops when I see Cybil smiling at me.

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