Page 33 of It takes a Psychic

“I don’t doubt that.” He slathered clotted cream on the scone. “All right, what’s the ransom demand?”

“Information, Mr. Rancourt,” she said. She was no longer smiling. “That is what I want.”

“About?”

“I want to know everything you can tell me about the pyramid.”

He considered the terms while he finished eating the scone and then picked up his coffee cup. “Why is the crystal so important to you?”

“Long story.” She glanced around and then leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I’d rather not go into the details in a public place like this. Why are you so interested in the stone?”

“Long story, and I agree, this isn’t the place for it. Let’s find a more private location.”

She eyed him with cool, calculating suspicion. “My parents did some background research on you.”

“And?”

“As far as they can tell, you’re who you claim to be: the director of the extremely private Rancourt Museum, which specializes in artifacts that have an Old World paranormal provenance.”

He got a ping of intuition and suddenly knew her mothers had done more than just verify his employment status.

“I told you about my day job last night,” he reminded her.

“They also checked out your ability to make yourself a ghost in a crowd. They think you’re an illusion talent. Is that true?”

He told himself he shouldn’t be surprised. Hewasn’tsurprised, damn it. She had seen what he could do with his talent. He forced himself to lift one shoulder in an unconcerned shrug and drank some coffee.

“Runs in the family,” he said, lowering the cup. “Usually shows up at least once in each generation. I’m the one who got stuck with it this time around.”

Leona peered at him as if he were an unusual artifact. “How strong?”

He realized he was getting irritated. “That’s a very personal question. I would like to point out that this is a business meeting. I’m not filling out a matchmaking agency questionnaire.”

“Thought so.” She nodded in a way that told him he had confirmed her conclusions about his talent. “You’re strong. I assume that is the reason your marriage was annulled.”

How in green hell had they veered off into the minefield subjects of his para-psych profile and the annulment? They were the last things he wanted to discuss. Neither topic was any of her business. There was something seriously wrong with the power dynamic in this relationship. He had protected her last night. She owed him, damn it. She had no right to sit there nibbling little tea sandwiches while she asked him extremely personal questions.

“Are you finished with your coffee?” he asked. “Let’s get out of here.”

She signaled the waiter before he could act. When the guy arrived at the table, she rezzed up a charming smile.

“We’ll need a box for the rest of the items on the tea tray,” she said. “The dust bunny and I are both still hungry.”

So am I,Oliver thought.And not just for scones and tea sandwiches. Noquestion about it, there was something seriously out of balance here. For some weird, inexplicable reason he was suddenly spoiling for a fight.

That made no sense. He never lost his temper. Okay, almost never. It took him another beat to figure out why he was overreacting to the extremely annoying woman on the other side of the table.

He wanted an excuse to get closer to her, to put his hands on her.

Chapter Fourteen

It was a short walkto a nearby park. Leona took the opportunity to analyze the mix of emotions that had burned in Oliver’s eyes when she asked him about his talent and the annulment. It was obvious that he had some issues with his unusual paranormal profile. It had apparently affected his life in significant ways.

She understood. She had a few problems in that department herself. But she could not afford to let sympathy weaken her resolve. She was a woman on a mission.

They found a picnic table and sat down across from each other. She set the restaurant box containing the leftovers from the tea tray on the table and opened it. After a moment’s consideration, Roxy chose the last lemon bar, chortled, and bustled off to explore the nearby water feature, a large pond.

Oliver used both hands to remove his black-framed glasses with acool, deliberate motion. He dropped them into his shirt pocket and replaced them with a pair of sunglasses.

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