I eye the street in front of me suspiciously, noting the storefronts. “There’s nothing down here.”
“Oh, but there is. Ye of little faith.”
Emery and Reid exchange a look over the top of my head. There’s something distinctly…devious about their expressions. I don’t know if I feel uneasy or excited. Perhaps it’s a mixture of both.
Reid and Emery are one combination of men I’ve never considered before. Reid is usually so surly, so quiet, so…angry. Emery, on the other hand, wears a flirty mask designed to keep the rest of the world at arm’s length. I may just be the only person in the world who sees them as they are, not how they present themselves.
“You okay with walking? It’s a little bit of a trek.” Emery takes in my jeans and sweater ensemble.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” I wave away his worries.
It’s a little chilly, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with. I’m just grateful it hasn’t yet started to snow beyond a few light flurries here and there.
“So how about we play twenty questions?” Emery releases me to walk backwards, keeping his verdant-green gaze trained on me.
“Isthisthe date?” I tease. “It’s feeling rather…date-ish.”
“You really think this would be how I’d woo you? Walking down the street and making small talk?” Emery places a hand to his chest dramatically. “I can assure you, my dear Isabella, that I’m a much better woo-er than that.”
“Surrre you are,” Reid drawls sarcastically.
“Oh, you shush it, you overgrown man beast,” Emery says lightheartedly, then he turns towards me. “So…twenty questions. Let’s start with…what’s your favorite color?”
“This isn’t how you play twenty questions, but pink,” I answer automatically. “Sometimes yellow.”
“Pink and yellow.” Emery’s eyebrows arch. “Wouldn’t have expected that. You definitely seem more like a…purple girl.”
I throw my head back in laughter. “What the fuck does a purple girl look like, Em?”
The tips of his ears pinken. “I-I don’t really?—”
“Yes, Emery.” Reid smirks. “What does a purple girl look like?”
I swear Emery’s entire face is as red as a tomato. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the flirty shifter this flustered before.
“MY FAVORITE COLOR IS BLUE!” he blurts, practically screaming.
Reid and I exchange a look, and he snorts. “Dude, no need to yell.”
“I hate you all.”
The three of us continue walking to the mysterious destination while Ethan peppers questions our way. I find out that Reid’s first job was working at an automobile shop and that Emery wanted to be an astronaut when he was younger—until he realized he’s deadly afraid of heights. Reid hates country music but loves classic rock, and Emery is obsessed with anything that has a beat. Surprisingly, before Reid was cursed, he used to be a singer. A really, really good singer, according to Emery.
Though he hasn’t sung a single song since Dyson placed the spell on him.
That makes me sad. And once again, I vow to convince Dyson to lift the hex—or find a way to fix Reid myself.
It’s not fair that he’s punished for a crime he didn’t commit. If anything, Michelle should face repercussions for sexually assaulting Reid and then lying about it.
Just thinking of that evil bitch makes my blood curdle and my veins scorch.
I hear the surprise before I see it. Laughter and happy screams fill the air.
“What in the…?”
Bright, twinkling lights come into view, and through the trees, I can just make out the top of a Ferris wheel.
“A fair?” I widen my eyes.
