Page 68 of A Touch of Crimson
Fifteen minutes later, they were climbing into her powder blue Prius hybrid, which had been delivered by the car transport service just the day before. Elijah sucked up all the space in the vehicle, even with the passenger seat shoved back as far as it could go. She felt bad about cramping him, but she liked her car. She’d told Adrian she had no aspirations of saving the world, but she did try not to pollute it or drain its natural resources.
They hit the road. Elijah was a great side-seat driver, telling her where to turn in time for her to maneuver across lanes.
“You’re twitchy,” he noted when she rubbed her damp palm against her jeans—again.
“I’m worried about all the bad stuff that’s been happening since I met you and Adrian. It’s a lot more than usual, isn’t it?”
“We’re always busy, but it’s definitely getting more intense.”
“God.” She exhaled in a rush. “I’m sick over Adrian. He’s lost too many of his friends lately, and he’s not getting a chance to grieve properly with everything falling apart at once.”
“Mortals don’t mate so quickly.”
She shot him an arch glance. “Not sure where that came from, but I have to disagree. Haven’t you ever heard of a one-night stand? Some mortals mate within minutes of meeting each other.”
“Not mate as in fuck,” he corrected drily. “Mate as in take a bullet.”
“I’d take a bullet for you. And while you’re very hot, I don’t want to mate with you.”
“You’re nuts, you know that?”
She shrugged. “And you’re my friend. So what does that make you?”
He stared at her profile for a long time, then finally turned his head to look out the passenger window.
As they climbed the hill toward Angels’ Point, Lindsay’s phone rang. She pulled it out of the cup holder where she’d dropped it and answered, fumbling to hit the speaker button. “Dad. How the heck are ya?”
“Missing you. How are you?”
“I’m hanging in there. Hiring staff for the grand opening and trying to stay out of trouble.”
“How’s Adrian?”
Recalling the weariness she’d heard in Adrian’s voice, she sighed and said, “He’s having a rough time.”
“But you’re still sticking with him. That’s hopeful. It must be serious between you two.”
Glancing at Elijah, Lindsay spoke the truth because she knew both men had her best interests at heart. “Actually, I kinda put the brakes on.”
“Why?” Unlike Adrian, Eddie Gibson revealed every emotion in his voice. The undertone of disappointment was unmistakable.
“We’re…incompatible.”
“Did he say that?” Now he sounded pissed.
“No,” she said hastily. “He wants to go for it. I just see the trouble ahead, and it’s best to cool things off now, before we’re invested.”
“You’re already invested, baby,” he argued. “Or you wouldn’t be worried about trouble ahead.”
Her lips pursed. “Hmm…”
“You’ve been keeping guys at arm’s length your whole life. I was happy about that when you were younger, and later on, I figured if your dates were worth anything, it wouldn’t be so easy to cut them off. But shutting Adrian out isn’t easy, is it?”
“Dad, can you please not psychoanalyze me? Or at least save it until you’ve tried dating again.”
“That’s why I called. I’m taking someone out to dinner tonight.”
Lindsay’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. For a moment, she couldn’t decide what she was feeling. It wasn’t all good. She was surprised and scared, dismayed and hurt, happy and excited.
