Page 34 of Pixie Problems
I could tell he wanted to be grumpy about it. But, in the end, he agreed. “Yes, fine! You’re a bossy pixie,” he complained.
I laughed, and leaned back in his chair, almost biffing it when the chair went back further than I had anticipated. My arms windmilled as I attempted to steady myself, my heart-rate returning to normal when I didn’t fall over, head first.
“Why isyour office furniture attempting to kill me?”
“It likes me more,” he replied facetiously.
I grumbled under my breath and sat up again. I wouldn’t be leaning back again anytime soon. I glanced up at Rhys as he grabbed two icy cold waters out of a mini fridge and handed one of them to me.
“No soda?” I asked, pouting.
He harrumphed at me, and I swiveled the lid off and drank. “Ahh, thanks.” I set the bottle down on his desk. “Okay, I already have a storefront space on Municipio Way—”
Rhys cut me off with a splutter. “What! I’m acouncilorandIwasn’t even given a piece of prime real estate like that!” he squawked in outrage.
I could tease him about that, but I decided to be nice. “To be honest, I think it was given to me so the councilors and the Municipio staff have a medical professional nearby. I’m the only one for several blocks.”
He frowned but nodded. “Makes sense.” Then he smiled. “I’ll know where to go if I need medical help.”
“I’m only an apothecarist. Go to a doctor or hospital if you need their services,” I reminded him.
He folded his arms over his chest and gave me a disbelieving look. “You don’t think I ran your background before you started here? I know you have a PhD, from Harvard, no less. A naturopath license from Bastyr, and you’re HWS certified.”
I found something fascinating on the far wall, and he chuckled. “Humble little pixie, aren’t you?”
“I’m not little!”
He grinned at me like a feral cat. “I beg to differ.”
I cleared my throat and changed the subject. “I’m going to be at the new office space at ten tomorrow morning. Think you can make it? I’m moving in shelving and other bits of furniture.”
“I’ll be there.”
My face warmed at his appreciative look, and I got out of there as fast as my legs would take me. The sound of his laughter following me out.
The whole rest of my shift Rhys pulled out the flirting big guns. He didn’t attempt to kiss me, as Mia had complained to me aboutseveraltimes, but then again, he knew better with me. Mia put up with it, even though she complained about it, but I wouldn’t.
The thing about Rhys, though, was that he flirted with class. It made his attempts all the more dangerous to me, because I could tell he really meant them. And since I’d met him, I’d never seen him flirt with anyone else. He was always really respectful toward females, never leading anyone on, or promising something that he didn’t feel he could deliver.
I knew from Mia, and the brief bit Rhys had told her, that Rhys had lost someone close to him. I didn’t think it had been a wife, so maybe it had been a family member.
The interesting thing about married or bonded couples was that my Insight read them as separate individuals, but also one unit. I could see in them both where they had traces of the other person. Most especially in the chemical traces in their bodies and brains. And the really interesting thing I’d found was that those chemical traces lingered even after someone lost a spouse. They carried part of that person they’d lost with them until death.
My Insight, when I looked at Rhys, didn’t indicate any other chemical traces other than family. Those closest to his own DNA. So, even if Rhys had been in several relationships throughout his long life, I could pretty equivocally say that they hadn’t been really long-term ones.
The fact that Rhys didn’t flirt with someone else in my presence or hearing didn’t really mean much on the outside, but when I’d checked with Mia, and she said he didn’t flirt with anyone around her either, I’d started to wonder . . .
If Rhys was giving off signals that he was interested, was I?
I had a lot going on in my life, so I’d really tried to keep Rhys at arm’s length, but he was like the cake that you devoured at 12:30 a.m. You tell yourself you’ll just have one slice, but before you know it, you’re sitting there with the whole cake gone and you’re blaming the dog.
In this case, if Rhys broke my heart. I’d only have myself to blame.
* * *
When I went homethat morning, I called the Circle P. I’d been keeping in touch, calling home every Sunday. But I had a question I wanted to ask, and it couldn’t wait. Especially considering that I was moving into my apothecary shoptomorrow!
“Hello granddad,” I said when he answered the phone.
