Page 130 of Noctis

“Have you ever gone into a shop where you knew you couldn’t afford anything, but still wanted to look around?” She laughed before I could answer. “I’m asking the wrong person. Anyway, it’s like that. I’m not going to order anything, but let me have five minutes to fantasize about what I would get if I could.”

I sat back in my chair. “Sure. I guess…”

“Thank you.” She went back to studying the menu.

“What would you get?” I asked after a minute, my curiosity piqued.

“Midnight Snow.” She glanced up. “Vanilla vodka, salted chocolate, cold coffee, bitters, and mint oil.” She sighed and put the menu down. “Instead, I’ll have a Pepsi and a big dessert.”

“Dessert is allowed,” I said.

“So kind.” She crossed her arms and studied me. “I thought I was going to meet your new boyfriend today. You made it into this whole big thing.”

“Did I?”

“You did. You bigged him up so much you made him sound like the second coming of Christ. Yet…” She aimed a pointed look at one of the empty chairs at our table.

“He’s running late. He’ll be here soon.” I checked my watch. “As in within the next five minutes.”

“I’ve got to admit,” Laura said, “that I’m relieved.”

“Relieved?”

“That you-know-who is gone.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Because all of that was just weird.”

“If you say so.”

Laura leaned forward. “Don’t tell me you still think I was wrong about him.”

I knew she was wrong, but I could hardly say that. “I think we saw different sides of him.”

“Rowan.”

“What? You’re the one who said you were relieved he was gone.”

“I am. I worried about you when he was around.”

“I know.” I picked up my water glass, mostly to give my hands something to do. “How about we don’t talk about him today?”

Laura studied me for a moment, then sat back. “Fair enough. Is this new boyfriend as good-looking as you’ve made him sound?”

“You can judge for yourself when he gets here.”

A waiter appeared to take our drink order. Laura asked for a Pepsi without glancing at the cocktail menu again, which made me irrationally proud of her. I ordered the same for myself and another for Caligo. By the time the waiter had gone, Caligo was walking into the restaurant.

I spotted him before Laura did. He’d chosen a dark green shirt I’d helped him buy, along with a pair of trousers that did an excellent job of making me forget what I’d been about to say. He paused just inside the doorway and looked around. For a moment, I worried he was going to locate me by my heartbeat and head straight for the table like some sort of human tracking device, but he scanned the room properly until his eyes met mine.

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” I said.

Laura turned to look. “Bloody hell. He’s hot.”

“I know. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.” I had three different versions of Caligo, and they were all hot.

Caligo reached the table and gave Laura a polite smile. We’d practiced that one. The first version had made him look as though he wanted to eat her.