Page 28 of Shadows of Nightshade
“I know,” I heard myself saying. “I’m a biology major. I love botany.”
My heart turned to lead the second I said it. I was being rude.
Yet Miles didn’t seem to think so. He sat up straighter, watching me as stars appeared in his eyes. “You like plants too?”
“Too?” I repeated. “You’re a science major?” I had never seen him around the department before, but the semester was still young.
And it wasn’t like I knew everyone.
“No, I’m majoring in pre-law,” he said. He tilted his head and gave me a curious look. It was almost as if he expected me to know this, but he took my ignorance in stride. “I’m focused on environmental law, though. Plants are a passion of mine.”
I didn’t know how it was possible for him to become even more attractive, but it had happened.
“So, what’s going on with you two?” Miles glanced toward Damen. “Are you going to have a slumber party after all?”
Damen snorted.
I was sure there was something behind Miles’s question, but his words had stirred a longing within me. “Slumber party…” I repeated. That was a rite of passage I hadn’t really partaken in, besides with Finn. “Really?”
They were supposed to come over, and groups of three or more people were supposed to be held to a different standard. Technically, though, if they stayed for ghost-hunting reasons, it wouldn’t be considered a party.
I glanced at Damen. He caught my eye and winked. “Maybe. That’s what friends do, after all.”
“Oh, you’re friends now?” Miles asked. “Everyonewill love that; we’ve been wanting to be her friend, too,” he added as he squeezed my shoulder. “Good job, Damen!”
I didn’t have time to languish at the moment. There was one thing I still didn’t understand.
“I have a question.” I sucked in a breath, acutely aware of their suddenly serious gazes on me. “And it might sound stupid. But can you promise not to make fun of me if I ask?”
“Sure,” Damen said shortly. He was scowling at Miles—he was possibly the moodiest man I’d ever met. Still, I believed him.
“You two—” I looked between them. Damen’s mood dropped, and they both leaned toward me in rapt attention. The dread that’d been filling my stomach grew stronger. Did I jump to another weird conclusion? “I never really asked, but youareghost hunters, right?”
Their silence was enough to cause my anxiety to choke me.
If this had been nothing but a series of coincidences, then it meant that I was nothing more than some random girl who just showed up on Damen’s front porch one day.
That would be so embarrassing.
Miles blinked, but as he opened his mouth to respond, Damen spoke first.
“Not exactly,” he said, resting his chin over his fist. “But kind of. Youcouldsay that we’re experts in our paranormal specialties. And we can help you.”
What the fudge did that mean?
Still, I’d made assumptions. It was all I could do not to hide my face in shame. “I thought you were ghost hunters! I can’t believe this…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Miles rubbed my back. “But why would you think—”
My phone rang, interrupting his question.
My heart leaped as I snatched my purse off the floor. “Sorry,” I apologized. Finn’s interference was the only thing that could have made this moment worse. “I have to take this.”
Leaving the room wasn’t an option. That’d make it way too obvious, and Damen was already suspicious.
I didn’t look at them as I answered. Hopefully, they’d stay quiet.
“Hello,” I greeted pleasantly.
