Page 50 of Wooing the Wiccan
“What are you doing here?” I don’t need security in a meeting here at the DEA, surrounded only by elves and dragons who’ve been vetted at the highest level, aka by Steffen, the paranoid conspiracy theorist.
“Your heart rate spiked about half an hour ago. Eoin sent me, just in case.”
My… what? I narrow my eyes. “You monitor my heart rate?” How did I not know that?
Ari shrugs. “Of course. It’s a small spell—you’ve been wearing it for thousands of years. A spike in heart rate can be an indicator of fear, so it works as a panic button of sorts.”
Brandt’s cackling with laughter, but he shouldn’t be. If my security thought of this, it’s guaranteed that Steffen did too. To Ari, I say, “Increased heart rate can mean a lot of things besides fear.” The last time my heartbeat sped up, Jared and I wouldn’t have appreciated an interruption.
Nodding, Ari says, “That’s why context matters. There’s no reason for your heart rate to go up in the quarterly finance review meeting, so here I am.”
He makes it sounds very logical and reasonable, but Eoin and I are going to have a very blunt conversation about this—and the fact that I didn’t know. That’s embarrassing. I’ve been wearing someone else’s spell all this time and didn’t even notice. To be fair, it would have been cast by an expert with the intent of remaining hidden, but still.
“Well, you can report back to Eoin that I’m fine.” I don’t bother to hide how disgruntled I am, but that doesn’t faze him.
“I already did, the moment I saw you. I’ve been hanging around because I’m curious to know what got your heart racing in a finance meeting. The part I walked in on was so boring, we could have used it as a weapon against insomnia.”
That makes Brandt laugh again. “We really could. Do you remember the time?—”
“Yes.” I cut him off, but I’m smirking. “Tadhg was sleeping with his eyes open,” I explain to Ari. “It was hard to tell, because everyone had the same glazed look in their eyes, but then he started snoring. These finance meetings get wild sometimes.”
“Wild?” My bodyguard shakes his head. “We need to get you la—” His eyes widen, and he snaps his mouth shut so hard, there’s an audible click. “I mean… Sir…”
Aaaaand I’m right back in the cycle of negative thoughts. Iwasgetting laid, which is what Ari was about to suggest, and now I’m not.
“So,” Brandt says, breaking the awkward silence, “what was so fascinating on your phone? You zoned out right after it buzzed.”
“Jared.” My tone is blank. “Jared messaged me.”
“That’s great!” Brandt’s face lights up, and then caution creeps through his expression as he studies me. “Isn’t it?”
“He didn’t end things, did he?” Ari demands hotly. “Of all the xenophobic?—”
“He’s coming over tonight to talk.”
They exchange a glance. “That’s a good thing, Raðulfr,” Brandt encourages. “He hasn’t just blown you off.”
I stare glumly at the tabletop. “Maybe. He could be too polite to do it over the phone.”
“Do people do that?” Brandt turns to Ari. “I’ve been with Percy for years, and we didn’t really do the dating thing.” I snort, because that’s an understatement. He went from zero to committed with Percy in two days, no date necessary. He ignores me and continues, “If couples fight and then don’t talk for two weeks, do they meet up to end things? Or is it just a given?”
“A given?” My heart starts to race. “What if he thinks we’re already broken up and tonight he’s just bringing my books back?”
“You lent him books? That really is love,” Brandt mutters.
Ari holds out his hand. “Show me the messages. Did he say he was bringing your stuff?”
I hand over my phone. Technically, the security team already has access to everything on it, anyway. “No, but?—”
“Are you overthinking?” Brandt’s delighted grin makes me regret millennia of friendship. “You are, aren’t you? I don’t wantto mock your pain, but this is amazing. I’ve waited so very long to see you this wrapped up in another person again.”
Percy would understand if I slapped his man. “You might be about to see me recovering from heartbreak again.” Those dark years after I lost Ásta weren’t fun for anyone around me.
He says nothing, but the quality of his silence has me looking up. There’s a soft smile on his face. “If you feel for him what you felt before, I can’t believe that he doesn’t return the sentiment. You love thoroughly and completely. He won’t give that up easily.”
I swallow. Fucking dragons. Just when you’re ready to wash your hands of the lot of them, they show you what wisdom truly is.
“He’s right,” Ari breaks in. “These messages all look like a good thing to me. He’s still pissy, maybe, but I guess he’s allowed to be.”
