"You understand that nobody could really tell it was you in that footage, don't you?" Jake said, shooting her a brief glance while steering through the parking structure. "They never got a clear view of your face. Plus, everyone's searching for someone who's lying low and sneaking around, not the nice bank lady who helps them with their investment planning."
“True,” Harper had to admit. “But when you’re the bank lady - and the fox - in question, it’s a frightening position to be in, thinking the next person to come sit across from you is going to point their finger and shout, ‘You’re the one on that video!’ so everyone can hear.”
Katerina, seated behind Jake, winced. “Ouch. I can see your point.”
The quiet descended around them as Jake handled the parking payment and carefully merged into traffic.
"What's your start date at the new bank?" Katerina inquired.
"Next week, on Monday." Harper rotated in her position to face her companions in front and back. "It's amazing how you located an available position exactly when one was required, Jake! I'm truly in your debt, and I won't forget it."
"Oh, that wasn't me," he replied, waving it off. "Talk about the craziest timing - you know the night your incident got filmed? The new president of the bank and his sister happened to be staying at the West Side Inn we're taking you to. They'd landed from London just a few hours earlier, and stumbled into the common room where everyone was watching your story playing over and over on the news."
Gasping, Harper stared at first Jake, then Katerina in disbelief. Katerina nodded, her golden eyes sparkling with amusement. "I was there. It was wild."
"And they aren't Other?" Harper's voice cracked on the question, her mind racing through what this might mean for their community's security.
"Nope. Not a clue," Jake responded with a casual shrug. "I believe whiskey was involved at some point. The good stuff, from what I heard - though apparently not good enough to blur out what they saw on TV."
“I can imagine!”
A laugh bubbled from Katerina's throat. "It was Troy who had the foresight to show up with some aged Caribbean scotch. First he arrives as Jacinth pops out to go, then he's still wrapping his head around that when she comes back with Douglas in tow. Then while the poor guy is still reeling from watching the video that's being played on a loop on the news, here comes her mother, teleporting into the lounge in front of us."
Harper pondered the details, attempting to match the quick summary Maroulla had emailed her earlier. "So Jacinth - she's the one who's a Djinn, right? She was nanny to Douglas’s children, and they’re married now? And you're saying there's also her mom who shows up?" She couldn't help but be absolutely fascinated.
“Yes, Zahra,” Katerina answered her. “You’ll totally be jealous when you see her. She’s all gorgeous and sultry, with this flaming dark red hair and slanted green eyes. I swear, the men practically drool the instant they lay eyes on her.”
"Totally," Jake agreed, nodding with a grin spreading across his face. "That woman is sex on a stick."
Katerina leaned forward to smack him on the shoulder, making Harper wince in sympathy. "You're not allowed to say that!"
"Ow!" He rubbed his shoulder, scowling at her in the rear-view mirror. "Why not? You were talking about how gorgeous and sultry she is! I was agreeing with you!"
Harper pressed her lips together to suppress a smile, amused by their bickering. "We women are allowed to talk about other women like that," she informed him, her voice taking on a teasing lilt. "Men aren't."
"Especially not engaged men," Katerina concurred.
"Not fair," he grumbled, slumping in his seat like a scolded puppy.
But that made Harper remember, and she turned an eager gaze on Jake. “I forgot! You said in your email that you’ve met your Chosen, but then you never said anything more. Tell me about her! And how did it happen? I mean, how did you know she was your Chosen?”
“Ah, yes. Becca." Jake smiled, and she could see the instant change which came over him, the warm glow in his eyes transforming his entire expression into one of pure adoration. "She's a witch, a Djinn brought her here from 17th century Salem."
"What!" Harper shrieked, jerking to sit straight up in her seat, turning to look at him. A real witch from Salem?
"Jake!" Katerina chastised. "You could have broken that news more gently. Though he's telling the truth," she added. "They were going to put her on trial for being a witch, so she used an ancient family heirloom - a Djinn talisman of some kind - to make a wish. It called Remi, a Djinn friend of Jacinth's, who transported her to our time. We recruited Jake because he specialized in American history, figuring he could help bridge the gap between her colonial life and the present day."
“I knew instantly,” Jake reminisced, a small smile curving his lips. “I took one look at her, and my wolf sat up and saidmine!”
“According to Becca, the first words Jake said to her were ‘oh, my God, you’re beautiful,’” Katerina teased.
To Harper's complete astonishment, Jake actually blushed, the red spreading across his cheeks and up to his ears. His gaze focused on the road before him, as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "She's right, I did say that. I felt like such an idiot." The sight of this big, confident wolf shifter turning shy over his first encounter with Becca warmed Harper's heart.
“Well, obviously it worked out,” Harper pointed out with a laugh.
“Yeah. She’s amazing. She'd have come with us to pick you up, but she's at Katerina's and Troy's, teaching a class on milking a cow and churning butter.”
"Churning butter? Oh, wow! We don't see that in this day and age," Harper pointed out with a laugh. The image of someone actually making butter the old-fashioned way tickled her imagination.
