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Her green eyes soften, and she stretches higher to kiss me back, tracing her fingers through the scruff on my cheeks. “Me too.”
CHAPTER14
BRITT
“Are you sitting down?” I enter the Star Parlor after taking a minute to clean up after my afternoon delight with Aiden.
“You’re beaming.” Mom levels her eyes on me. “You had sex.”
“I did not!” I’m a trash liar. My cheeks go hot as a firecracker, and my eyes blink too fast, not to mention my fidgety fingers.
“You’re almost thirty, Birgitte. You don’t have to lie to me.” She lifts her chin. “At least it looks like it was good sex. Who with?”
“That’s not your business.” I can’t believe she knows this.
She steps closer, and my back is to the door. “You’re sleeping with Aiden Stone.”
My eyes widen, and even if I don’t believe it, the woman’s psychic interrogation skills are intense. It’s how she makes her money, after all.
Sliding my hand around my back, I’m about to open the door when she places her palm flat against the wooden frame, holding it shut. Her face is close to mine, hazel eyes boring into my soul.
“I’m not talking to you about my sex life!” I shut my eyes, doing my best to push against her invasion.
“Fine.” Her tone is miffed, and she steps away, lowering her hand. “You don’t have to share your life with your mother. I’m only the one person in the world you can always trust.”
Anger flashes in my chest, replacing my embarrassment. “Is that some kind of joke? When have you ever shared anything with me? I chased you all over the spiritual world trying to be close to you until I finally gave up, and now you want me to trust you?”
“I have always been right here for you. You’re the one who left the fold, went to that college and learned to be a detective.”
“I’m not a detective.” Pausing, I take a breath,exhale… “I didn’t come here to argue with you, Mom. I need you to talk to me about what’s going on in town.”
Her brow furrows, and she walks over to her small tarot-reading table. “What else is going on in town besides you having an affair with your boss?”
“Gran is actually more of my boss than Aiden, and it’s not an affair. He’s single, I’m single. We’re just…” I’m not going there with her. “We got a lead on the man I was telling you about. The one with the prosthetic leg? It seems he might be living somewhere in or around Kiawah.”
“Is that so?” Her voice rises, and she scoops the gold cards off the table and begins to shuffle.
It’s the first time I realize where I get my fidgeting hands. She hides it by shuffling the deck. I hide it by twisting my fingers together. Strangely, seeing her thrown off balance softens my feelings towards her.
“I came down here looking for you the other day, and Cass said you were running an errand near Kiawah.” Her shoulders stiffen, and I continue. “When I was here the last time, you wanted to consult the cards about the case. Did you learn anything?”
It’s a tentative question. I don’t really think the cards tell her anything. I think they’re a front she hides behind. At the same time, I have no idea what her connection might be to our suspect or his behaviors. Mom adores Terra’s pickles, and I happen to know she’s afraid of chickens.
“Are you really coming in here, trying to pretend like you’re on my side after you’ve forsaken the supernatural and started sleeping with the enemy? Do you even remember how hard his father fought to keep your grandmother from becoming mayor?”
“That was years ago. Andrew Stone is dead, and Aiden seems to have made peace with Gran.”
“A leopard doesn’t change his spots. The Stones are not your friends.”
She sounds just like Bull Jones, and an angry comeback is right on my lips.
Instead, I take a breath and bring down the heat. “We’re all on the same side, Mom. We all want to keep Eureka safe. It’s the reason you said Gran wanted me to come back, to help Aiden solve this case.”
I want to tell her Aiden’s not her enemy, but she’s right. Our families have fought for years, and I’m pretty sure Aiden doesn’t trust her any more than she trusts him. Which doesn’t bode well for our budding…relationship?
My chest tightens, and it’s probably best not to name it. Not yet. Not when it’s still so new and fragile.
“Your grandmother would do anything to get you back to Eureka for good.” She places the cards on the table. “She’d probably even look the other way if she knew what you were doing with him.”
