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I hated him. He had a girlfriend, but the familiar way he would touch Arden’s shoulder if he passed by her and laughed at her jokes made my blood simmer.
Yeah, it wasn’t rational, but I’d never claimed I was. Especially when it came to Arden.
Arden took off her apron and headed into the back, leaving her female coworker, a petite blonde, at the counter.
“I’ve got her from here,” I said to the enforcer with me.
Our cloaking spell allowed us to see each other, but no one else could.
“You’re sure, sir?” he asked.
“I’m sure. I’ll drive us back, too. You’re dismissed.”
Once he left, handing me keys to my car and requesting another ride from an enforcer posted a few blocks away as backup, just in case, I closed my eyes and started working on a glamour. My magic tingled over the skin of my face and neck, the sensation familiar. I was usually fine with being recognized, but strolling into her job as myself would have tipped everyone off that something was going on with her.
The glamour I created was my default incognito disguise—same dark hair and eyes, but no beard, a buzz cut, a different nose, and a slightly different brow. I looked like a distant relative of myself, which was how I preferred my glamours. I had the power to turn myself into anyone, but I didn’t like changing myself that much.
I told Arden about my glamour and gave her a fake name to call me by. I walked into the shop, looking above her coworker at the big menu.
“Hi, welcome to Muddy Mugs!” The blonde’s nametag readLucy. Arden had referred to her before, but as a good friend and not her coworker. “What can I get for you today?”
“I’m here for Arden, actually,” I said. “And an iced cinnamon latte, I guess.”
“Oh!” Lucy perked up. “You’re Mitch! She should be out in a second. I’ll make that latte for you. On the house, since you’re her friend.”
“Thanks.”
I stepped out of the way to where we were supposed to pick up drinks. By the time Lucy finished my latte, Arden was ready to go. Even after a long shift, she was gorgeous. She smiled when she saw me.
“Hey, Mitch,” she said, the fake name rolling off her tongue just as easily as my real one did.
“Hey.” She smelled good, too, like roasted coffee beans and sugar. I managed to hold on to my self-control and didn’t yank her into a kiss. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah. I wanted to introduce you to my boss, Chad. He owns the place,” she said, gesturing to the asshole who I hated even more now that I was directly in his presence.
My gut told me something was off with him. Maybe it was his very young girlfriend, who had to be around eighteen or nineteen. Why was that girl with him?
Chad seemed friendly, but his warm demeanor was a façade, which was evident in his body language. He fidgeted excessively, and his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. And his face. I wanted to kick his ass, and he hadn’t done anything except give me a goofy smile.
“Nice to meet you, man,” he said, extending his hand to shake mine. I didn’t return the favor, so he rubbed his hand down the side of his jeans. “Arden has told us so much about you.”
“Has she?” Bullshit. Another check in the box against this guy.
Arden nudged Lucy toward me. “And this is my best friend, Lucy.”
“So good to meet you! Arden hinted at having a newfriend.” She gave Arden a knowing look, making her flush. At least Lucy was being truthful.
“Nice meeting you as well,” I replied, and I meant it.
“Arden’s a great employee,” Chad said, putting an arm around her shoulders.
My control snapped. Instead of punching him in the face like I desperately wanted to, I partially shifted, the air around us heating as I sprouted fangs. My eyes must have turned bright red by the startled expression on all of their faces. Chad took a step back, letting go of Arden.
“Easy,” Arden warned, putting her hand to my chest. “We should go.”
I calmed down, shifting back into my glamoured form, and left with a half-assed goodbye. As soon as we were outside and away from the shop, Arden stopped and gave me an exasperated look.
“What?” I demanded. “I’m glamoured.”
