“A few weeks ago, I’d have agreed with you. In fact, I probably would have stayed away completely,” Astrid said. “But recently… I don’t know what’s happened to him. Garrett seems to have changed a lot since he and Wade patched things up. It’s like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, or something. I can’t explain it. I’m not saying there’s a major friendship rebirth afoot, but they have a better idea of where they stand with each other. It seems to be having a pretty wonderful effect on Garrett.”
“That’s great, Astrid. It really is.” I meant it from the bottom of my heart. I wanted her to find someone awesome. She deserved an ace guy who adored the ground she walked on. There wasn’t a smarter, funnier, wiser woman alive than Astrid Hepler, and she was worthy of the best of the best. I didn’t think Garrett fit that description, but that wasn’t up to me. If she liked him, then more power to her.
The lingering sting of betrayal clouded my judgment where Garrett Kyteler was concerned. A bit of patching up couldn’t change someone’s nature. Garrett had always been an ass, and I was willing to bet my life on the fact that he would continue to be an ass… in some form or another. The only difference was, if Astrid opened her heart to him and he crushed it, he would have me to deal with. I would rain down on him with the fury of a thousand tormentas and wear his balls as earrings.
“Anyway, enough about me,” Astrid urged. “I’m not the only one in this room with a fledgling romance. Tatyana, have you got anything exciting to tell us?”
“Yes, the tea must be spilled,” I encouraged, grinning like a loon.
She sighed and rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was looking forward to telling us about Dylan. “Things have… progressed a little bit, I suppose. He’s extremely hard to read. Sometimes, I think he’s really into me, and the next I think he’d prefer to be with his college friends. That is the problem with American men—they aren’t very open with their feelings.”
“And Russian men are?” I flashed her a knowing grin.
“No, I suppose you’re right about that,” she said with a giggle. “Well, I say he isn’t showing signs of interest, but he did take me on a date the other night.”
Astrid grinned. “He did?”
“First of all, he picks me up from the coven with a bouquet of flowers in his hand and takes me on this surprise journey through San Diego. I have no idea where we’re going, but I decide to enjoy the not-knowing part of it,” she continued. “We drive up the coast and park beside this tiny church that overlooks the ocean, and it has the most beautiful cemetery I’ve ever seen attached to it.”
A cemetery didn’t exactly sound like an ideal date spot to me, but Tatyana looked almost smitten.
“We walk through this pretty little gate and sit beneath the shade of some trees at the far side of the cemetery,” she continued. “There are spirits all around, gentle ones, who are content to wander in such a beautiful spot. They tell me that the bad ones come out at night, never in the day. I realize, as I’m walking, that he’s arranged a picnic in the cemetery for us, with a blanket and a basket full of my favorite foods—soft cheese, fresh bread, blueberries, truffles. He’s thought of everything. We sat there and we talked for hours, before he drove me home. No kissing, no fumbling, just one of those perfect dates where all you do is talk and get to know each other.”
“And you think he’s not interested?” I gasped. “The man is clearly head over heels in love with you. No man puts on a picnic unless he loves you. And he set it all up in a cemetery, knowing you’d be at home there with all the ghoulies floating around. I imagine he had an idea or two about his ghoulies, too, even if he didn’t make any moves on you.” I flashed her a wink.
“You’re awful, Santana.” She chuckled, flashing a coy smile. “I don’t know. See, he was lovely and charming at the picnic itself, but then as soon as we got back here, he went back to being odd again. All the confidence kind of drained away, and he got all shifty and weird. I think we might be going on another semi-date this week, so I may be able to figure him out better this time.”
“He’s just shy, that’s my guess,” I said.
“But then why was he cool at the cemetery, but weird here? I don’t get him.”
“I think you should definitely see how the next date goes,” Astrid chimed in. “The more you get to know him, the more he’ll loosen up around the coven. It’s probably this place that makes him nervous, not you.”
“Maybe you’re right,” she mused. “Anyway, why haven’t you and Raffe been on any dates? You’re into him, right?”
“I’m definitely into him.”
“And he’s into you, right?”
I shrugged. “It’s been bugging me for a while, but I really don’t know. I like to think I know myself and that I can turn on the charm. But with him… I’ve got no idea if he’s just easily flustered and kind of blushy as a person, or if he’s, as you say, into me. I want him to like me the way I like him, but we don’t always get what we want. Which sucks, by the way.” I buried my face in the duvet cover. “If you think Dylan is hard to read, try reading Raffe. That boy, quite literally, blows hot and cold.”
“Trouble with djinn djimminy djinn djimminy djinn djinn djaroo?” Astrid asked.
I chuckled. “Surprisingly not. In this scenario, Raffe’s the one I’m having trouble with. The djinn is pretty freaking blunt. He says it like it is.”
“You sound like you admire it.”
“Him. Like I admire him,” I replied. I’d come to know the djinn well enough not to consider him anything less than a person in his own right. “No, I just wish Raffe could be a little more forward sometimes, you know? Well, as long as he’s being forward with the things I want to hear.”
Tatyana smiled. “I have a solution to all your romantic problems, my dear.”
“You do?”
“Harley.”
“Hey, I know she’s cute and everything, but ladies don’t exactly sugar my coconuts, if you catch my drift?”
Tatyana burst out laughing. “No! I mean, why don’t you talk to Harley about Raffe? Being an Empath, she’ll be able to tell you what he’s feeling without anyone else knowing about it. Raffe included.”
As if summoned by the mere mention of sugared coconuts, Harley thundered past the half-open door of Astrid’s bedroom. Striding at breakneck speed, she seemed to be headed somewhere important. I thought about going after her, but, considering her pace, I decided against it. She looked determined and kind of angry, and if she was angry at something, I didn’t want to get in the way of that freight train.
Alas, my romantic woes would have to wait.
Seventeen
Harley
I strode through the hallways like a woman possessed, overwhelmed with the need to get a couple of things off my chest. I’d spent the last few hours stewing in my room after a fruitless day of scouring San Diego for the kids, and I couldn’t take the silence anymore. The girls were in Astrid’s room, but I didn’t want to bother them with my silly problems, not when there were so many things on all of our plates. I wasn’t exactly a chatterbox when it came to personal issues. As such, there was only one man—well, man-beast—who was up to the task.
“Harley, what a nice surprise,” Tobe growled warmly, as I plonked myself down on one of the glass boxes and let out an enormous sigh. “Or, not so nice, by the sounds of it. Bad day?”
I nodded. “You could say that. Bad month, if I’m being totally honest.”
“Do you need someone to talk to?”
“Would you mind?”
He stopped what he was doing and sat down on the box next to mine. “Not at all. What seems to be the problem?” he asked. “Is it the missing children?”
“See, it should be,” I replied sharply. “Those kids should be all I can think about, but my mind keeps wandering off to these weird places. I can’t get my head to think straight; it keeps getting filled up with a bunch of useless fluff.”
“I doubt there is such a thing as useless fluff, but could you be more specific? I cannot advise on something as vague as… well, fluff.”
I held my head in my hands. “The Family Gathering. I didn’t realize it was such a huge deal. I thought it was some casual thing that you could go to if you wanted to. Alton’s already said he’s expecting me to be there, but what’s the point in me going?” I rambled. “It’s not like I have anyone to bring along. I’ll just be wandering around by myself, putting on a smile to keep the coven happy.”
This wasn’t like me at all, to get so bogged down in a mire of self-pity. That was the trouble—this was one scenario that I couldn’t shrug off. I’d spent the last few hours trying to snap the hell out of it, to no avail. Everyone else had families that were coming to the Gathering. They might have been complaining about them, but they’d all have someone there at the party.
“I mean, it’s not like I can invite the Smiths, is it? They’re human, so that’s a no-go, even though they’re just about the only family that I have,” I went on. “Well, the only family that aren’t in hiding, and still seem to want me around.”
“Slow down there, Harley, or you’ll end up having an aneurysm,” Tobe said.
“See, this is why you should never get attached to anyone or anything,” I spat. “All they do is leave… or get themselves killed.”
“We are not talking about the Smiths anymore, are we?” Tobe asked.
I cast him a look of pure mental exhaustion. “I don’t know what’s up with me, man. I knew Isadora wasn’t going to be here to stay. I knew it the moment we met and she explained who she was. I’m such a freaking idiot.”