Page 8 of Magic & Mochas
I blinked, surprised he could tell what I was thinking so accurately.“I do.Which means I won't be able to get rid of him unless I turn him into a frog or something.”
Thorne raised one eyebrow.“You can do that?”
“Theoretically.”I sighed.“He’s a lawyer by day, a potions master by night.He would sniff out that particular potion in a heartbeat.Unfortunately.”
His lips curved in a slight smile.“Is that what you were about to do to me?When you barged in on me?”
I flushed at the reminder of our initial meeting.“No!That was a pixie banishment spell.In my defense, Mr.Chevalier failed to disclose that there was someone living in the apartment—sanctioned or otherwise.”
“The desperate tend to leave out inconvenient details.”His tone took on a hard edge that made me wonder what experience had caused it.
“Very true.”My tone was only a shade lighter than his.
But now, I found myself in quite the pickle.I had no apartmentorboyfriend—and Rasmus thought I had both.I wanted to avoid the satisfaction of having him catch me in the lie at all costs.Even if I had to swallow my pride and ask for help from a complete stranger.
Clearing my throat, I pivoted to fully face Thorne.“How would you like to make a deal?”
“What kind of deal?”he asked warily, crossing his arms over his chest.I tried not to admire the way his sleeves pulled taut around his biceps.
“Evidently, you need a place to stay.And I need a boyfriend—at least until Rasmus returns to Seattle, which I imagine won’t take more than a month, at most.So, in exchange for staying here rent free, will you pretend to be my boyfriend until the end of the Masquerade Ball?”
“Will you turn me into a frog if I refuse?”He looked serious, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Was heteasingme?
“I just might.”I wiggled my fingers, calling up a cleaning spell to glitter at my fingertips threateningly.
Though if I were being honest, I highly doubted I could do anything at all to him.Something about the way he held himself told me he was not unfamiliar with combat, magical or otherwise.Not to mention those scars all over his body…
“Well, I certainly can’t have that.”He gazed at me for an uncomfortably long moment, before he seemed to come to a decision.“Make it three months of rent, and I accept your terms, Miss…?”
I flushed, realizing belatedly that I had yet to tell him my name.“Morelli.Clove Morelli.”
I held out my hand for him to shake, which he did—far more gently than he must have with Rasmus.
“So, Miss Morelli.What do you plan on doing with this building now that it’s yours?”His voice was distractingly deep.
“Just Clove is fine.I used to love spending time in this café when I was little, and I want others to be able to enjoy it too.But cooking is not my forte, so instead, I thought I’d open a coffee shop!”I grinned.“I already have the name and color scheme picked out, and I have plenty of ideas for magically-infused drinks to add to the menu, and—”
“I see you’ve given this a lot of thought.”His gaze was appraising.
“More than you can imagine,” I said softly.
“What are we doing first, then?Cleaning?”Thorne began to carefully roll us his sleeves, exposing his muscled forearms and dark tattoos I had failed to notice before.They wrapped around his arms in a series of elegant swirls and intricate patterns.
“Wait,we?You’re going to help me?”I had been so distracted that I nearly didn’t notice what he’d said.
“What kind of fake boyfriend would I be if I let my girlfriend do all the heavy lifting?”
“Are you sure?Not that I wouldn’t appreciate the help, but we would only need to act like a couple in public.”I bit my lip.
Didn’t Thorne have better things to do with his time?From what I had heard, shadowmancers were relatively rare, and were therefore always in high demand as adventurers.
“And what were you planning on telling Rasmus if he popped back in and you were alone?”His quiet question rattled me.
If Thorne hadn’t appeared when he did, would Rasmus really have taken no for an answer?Even though we had dated for two years, I wasn’t entirely positive he would not have tried to take me back by force.
“You’re not too busy?”I summoned the mop into my hands.
