Page 2 of Power Shift
“Ooh. What about the innie?”
I laughed. “No innies, either. No situation where I have to worry about how my breath smells in the morning or how my hair looks. I want peace in the valley for a while.”
Moira leaned over and sniffed one of the blooms. “Peace is overrated. You know what isn’t?”
I gave her the side-eye. “What?”
“Hot, dirty, uncomplicated sex.” She flicked my nose and darted away before I could slap her hand away.
“You know I don’t do casual.” That had stopped on a clear, starry night in a field in Scotland.
Moira’s face softened. “One man can do a lot of damage, but one day I hope to see you shine again. Take the time you need, Evie. Even if it’s years from now.”
I shrugged. “Maybe one day.”
“One day is a good start,” my friend said. She gently stroked one of the blooms. “All of these flowers seem oddly themed.”
“Yeah,” I grumbled. “Because the Shifter Lord is a dick.”
Moira snorted a laugh. “Let me guess. You have plans for these arrangements?”
I could feel the crazy shining on my face. “Who, me? I would never.”
The vampire grinned. “There you are friend. I was wondering if you’d retired your sassy pants.”
“My sassy pants have been lost in the laundry for a while.”
“Laundry is the worst chore, but isn’t it nice when you get to wear your fresh, clean sassy pants again?”
I tossed an extra leaf at her. “Why are you so weird?”
She snatched the golden leaf from the air and fanned herself with it. “You like weird, Evie Quinn.”
“Not necessarily,” I grumbled. “But I do like you.”
“Aww,” Moira cooed. “BFFs forever.”
“Go do something useful, will you? I have to finish putting this together so I can drop it at the courier.”
Moira waved the contract at me. “Umm. You may want to look over this paperwork.”
My hands stilled. “What did he do?”
Moira winced. “He didn’t do anything, but I think he knows how much all of us like vacations.”
I snatched the paper from her fingers and skimmed.
Moira helpfully pointed out the passage in question.
I swore like a sailor and closed my eyes, slowly counting to ten in my head.
“It’s a lot of money,” Moira said quietly.
“He always does this,” I snarled. “And I always fall into his stupid trap because we’re a small business, and we all need money to retire, eventually.”
Moira’s eyes crinkled at the edges. “Honey.” She laid a hand on my arm. “We’re all immortal. The only one who might not have a retirement fund or an assload of money in the bank is Tess. She’s the only one of us who’s young.”
My shoulders slumped as Moira brought me in for a tight hug. “You worry far too much about everyone else and never about yourself.” A hand stroked down my hair. “We love you far more than we love the money.”
