Alec took off his jacket and draped it over his arm, then loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. All he had to do was keep his cool, listen to her concerns and then address them, logically and calmly. His father had never tried that approach, so it might just work the first time out.
A tiny bell rang above his head as he entered the shop. The interior was a hodgepodge of old wooden display cases, thick tapestries and threadbare furniture, just another in the mix of odd establishments scattered throughout the Village. He wandered over to the counter and bent down to examine Ruta’s merchandise, if it could be called that.
There were birds’ nests and the jaw from some sharp-toothed animal, a small bowl of amber crystals and a bottle of dark green liquid. Everywhere he looked, there was something more bizarre-feathers and pickled eggs and dried roots and berries. His gaze halted on a stuffed weasel that sat above the cash register. The place was downright creepy-and empty. “Hello?” he called.
An instant later a slender figure popped up from behind one of the counters. Her long black hair tumbled around her face, and when she brushed it back, he met familiar eyes of a strange violet color. For a long moment, they didn’t speak, a tiny frown marring her smooth brow.
“It’s you,” he finally said. “From the sidewalk this morning.”
“Yes,” she murmured. Her fingered fluttered up to her necklace and she rubbed the pendant nervously. “How are you? How did you find me?”
“You work here?”
She nodded. “I do. My grandmother owns this place. Ruta Lupescu.”
“Your grandmother,” Alec said very slowly. “Ruta is your grandmother.” He fought the urge to step back out to the sidewalk and regroup. Either this was incredible luck or terrible irony. He’d been thinking about this woman all day and now here she was, as if destiny had put her in front of him.
Was there any way to separate business from pleasure now? Ruta had made her feelings about the Harnett family well known. What were the odds that her granddaughter would feel differently? Given time, perhaps he could enlist her help to convince Ruta.
For now, that’s what he needed-time. He could play it cool, collect a bit more information and revise his strategy. “I understand you tell fortunes here.” He swallowed hard, suddenly finding it difficult to speak. Out on the street, he felt safe, in control. But this was her environment. His mind drifted back to the old woman’s curse. Perhaps her granddaughter was even more powerful than she was.
“My grandmother usually does the readings,” she said. “She’s not in right now, but she’ll be back in about a half hour.” A tiny smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. “Funny, I wouldn’t have pegged you for the type to come into this shop.”
“I’ve always been curious,” Alec admitted, returning her smile. “And some power must have made me walk through that door.” He leaned in closer, bracing his elbows on the counter. “Maybe you would do my reading?”
She paused, then shook her head. “I’m really not that-”
“I won’t hold you to anything you tell me. I just have a few simple questions.” At first, it looked as if she might refuse and he’d be forced to leave without learning anything more.
“All right,” she finally said. “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll go get the cards.”
“Cards? Aren’t you going to look into a crystal ball or read my palm? Or maybe you could do the tea-leaf thing?”
“There are many ways to do a reading,” she explained. “I prefer tarot cards, but if you’d like me to read your palm, I can do that.”
Alec sat down across the table from her and held out his hand. Right now, all he wanted was to touch her, to see if her fingers elicited the same intense reaction they had that morning. “Let’s try this first, and if I don’t get the answers I want, we’ll give the cards a shot.”
She reached out and took his hand in hers. The moment she did, Alec felt his blood warm and his pulse leap. Slowly, she drew her fingers over his palm, stroking it gently. He tried to concentrate on the task at hand, but Alec found himself fascinated by the sensations her touch evoked.
As she stared at his palm, he took the chance to examine her more closely. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. His eyes fixed on her mouth, and he imagined kissing her. She’d taste like some sweet, exotic fruit, strangely addictive, yet unfamiliar to him.
“What would you like to know?” she murmured, glancing up.
“Let’s start with your name,” Alec said. The words came out before he realized what he was saying. In truth, that was the only question he wanted answered at the moment.
Another smile curled the corners of her mouth and Alec’s regret evaporated. “It’s Sabina.”
“Like the Audrey Hepburn movie?”
“But without the R. Sabina, not Sabrina. Sabina Amanar.”
“Sabina,” he repeated.
“What’s your name?”
“You’re the psychic. Why don’t you tell me?”
She stared down at his palm and continued to run her fingertips over his skin. “Your name makes no difference. It won’t change your future.”
Alec winced inwardly. If she knew his last name was Harnett, it would definitely change his prospects for dinner with the lovely Sabina. “What do you see there?”
“You work very hard. Even now, your thoughts are occupied with matters of money and power. But there is one problem that weighs heavily on your mind. There is something you want, something you…” She paused as if to carefully choose her words. “Covet, but it will not come easily. You are tempted to use trickery to obtain this thing, but that will not bring it to you.”
Alec shifted uneasily. She could be talking about anything from the new Jag he’d been looking at to his next real estate deal to her grandmother’s building. But then again, she might actually be talking about his desire to yank her into his arms and kiss her. Either way, he didn’t like that she was able to see through him so easily. “Can you be more specific?”
She frowned, then drew in a sharp breath, as if what she saw surprised her. “There-there is family involved. And a decision made many years ago.” Sabina placed his hand on the table, then drew back. “That’s all I see,” she said softly. “You should come back when Ruta is here. She’s much better than I am.”
“I think you’re doing a fine job. So what do you advise I do?” He reached out and took her hand, turning his palm up again. “Tell me.”
“Be honest,” she said, not bothering to look down. “Say what you mean and mean what you say.”
“Have dinner with me,” he countered.
Sabina gasped. “What?”
“You told me to be honest. We were going to have coffee tomorrow morning. Let’s have dinner tonight instead.”
“I hardly know you,” Sabina said with a coy smile.
Alec knew she’d accept the invitation. The attraction between them was obviously mutual. “You’re psychic.” He grabbed her hand and placed her fingertips on his temple. “Just read my mind and you’ll know everything you need to know. I’m a good guy, right?”
“Yes, I suspect you are. But I still don’t know anything about you.”
Alec stood. “My name is Alec. Alec Har-” He paused, then cleared his throat. Now was not the time to reveal all. “Harper. I’ll pick you up this evening in front of the shop. Seven, if that’s all right.”
“I really think we should start with-”
“You read my palm, Sabina. You must know that I don’t take no for an answer.” Alec pushed back from the table and walked to the door. “See you this evening.”
When he reached the street, he turned back and looked through the glass-paned door to find Sabina staring at him, an odd frown on her face. Alec gave her a little wave, then stepped to the curb to hail a cab. But when the cab pulled up, he hesitated, then pulled open the passenger-side door. “Can you wait a few seconds?”
The cabbie nodded and Alec strode back inside the shop. S
he was standing where he’d left her, toying with her necklace as she had earlier. Without hesitation, Alec reached around her waist and drew her up against his body. A moment later, he lost himself in the taste of her mouth. A tiny cry of surprise slipped from her throat, but then she softened in his arms and returned the kiss, her tongue gently teasing at his.
Alec could have stood there for the rest of the day, kissing her, letting the waves of desire wash over him. But there would be time for that later. He drew away and smiled. “I’m not sure why I did that,” he whispered. “But if you figure it out, let me know.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the shop. As he hopped into the cab, Alec chuckled to himself. So maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to mix business with pleasure. Besides, from the very moment had Sabina touched him, all thoughts of business had disappeared from his head. Right now, he had one task at hand-romancing Sabina Amanar. And that would be nothing but pleasure.
CHAPTER TWO
“HOW DO I LOOK?”
Sabina stood in the center of the shop and twirled around once. Chloe Kincaid watched her from behind the counter, a lollipop stuck in her mouth. Asking Chloe was probably not the best choice considering that the twenty-two-year-old graduate student preferred to dress like a vampire. Her lips were painted a bright red and her pink-streaked black hair stuck up in unruly shocks.
“What are you going for?” Chloe asked.
She smoothed her hands over the embroidered blue silk. “Sexy, but not too sexy. Interesting. Maybe a little aloof, but approachable. Mysterious?”
Chloe stared at her a long moment, her head tipped to the side. “I’m not sure a dress can do all that. Maybe you ought to try therapy.”
Sabina was well used to Chloe’s arid sense of humor. “Well, do I at least look pretty?”
She shrugged. “Yeah.”
Sabina’s spirits lifted. She’d designed the dress herself out of a piece of vintage silk she’d found in a store in SoHo. Body-skimming and sleeveless, with a fitted waist and skirt, the dress was Asian in influence, with a bit of Village bohemian tossed in. And the deep sapphire color was perfect. “Maybe I should wear something a bit more conservative. I have a little black cocktail dress that-”
“You are a goddess,” Chloe replied flatly, turning back to the magazine she was reading. “I do like the necklace.”
Sabina reached up, surprised to find that she still wore the love charm her grandmother had given her. She carefully tucked it beneath the mandarin collar of the dress.
“I’ve got one of those, too,” Chloe said, holding up a clay amulet nearly identical to Sabina’s. “Your grandmother gave it to me for Christmas last year, and since then my sex life has been fantastic.”
“Really?” Sabina asked. “Then you think it works?”
Chloe nodded as she blew a bubble with her gum. The bubble popped and she smiled. “Oh, yeah. Ruta knows what she’s doing. I’ve had more boys than I can handle.”
Sabina admired her grandmother’s abilities, but she had never placed much faith in the magic that Ruta practiced. Sabina had learned that telling someone’s fortune was more about reading their behaviors and attitudes, about drawing conclusions from carefully asked questions, than actually seeing into the future. As for charms, how could a simple clay disk wield any mystical power over a man?
But since she’d put the necklace on that morning, her social life had improved by leaps and bounds. She had a date with a devastatingly handsome man. “I’d settle for just one. A really good one.”
“It may not be the amulet that’s getting me the men,” Chloe said, bracing her chin on her hand. “I suppose it could be the potion.”
“Ruta gave you a potion?” Sabina groaned. “She knows she’s not supposed to give out potions. I’ve told her again and again. Someone could have an allergic reaction and die.”
“It’s all herbal,” Chloe said. “I watched her make it. It doesn’t taste great, but it works.” She grabbed her bag from beneath the counter and rummaged through it. A few seconds later, she pulled out a small brown bottle and handed it to Sabina. “You should try it. He won’t be able to resist you.”
With a quiet curse, Sabina shoved the bottle into her purse and snapped it shut. “I’m going to have to talk to her about this. If we sell potions, we have to have a license and insurance and inspections. This isn’t like the old days.”
The bell on the door rang and Sabina spun around, her stomach fluttering with nerves. She held her breath as Alec closed the door behind him, then let it out slowly when he faced her. “Good evening, Sabina,” he said with a devilish grin.
“Good evening, Alec.” Her eyes lingered on his face for a moment, then slowly drifted down his body. He wore a navy linen jacket that hugged his wide shoulders and a crisply starched blue oxford, which set off the color of his eyes. Faded jeans made him look just boyish enough to set her heart racing. Her sapphire silk had been the perfect choice.
“You look beautiful,” he said. “That color suits you.”
Sabina felt her face grow warm and she dropped her gaze. She’d hoped for aloof and mysterious, but any second now, she’d begin drooling and then he’d know exactly how she felt. She glanced over at Chloe, who was watching them both, a bemused smile curling her painted lips.
“Chloe, don’t forget to drop that mail in the mailbox on your way home,” Sabina said.
Chloe leaned forward. “Don’t worry about the dress,” she whispered. “The way that guy is looking at you, you won’t be wearing it long.”
Sabina sent her a warning glare, then pasted a smile on her face. “Don’t tell Nana I had a date. She’ll wait up until I get home and then I’ll have to tell her all about it. Just say I went to a gallery opening.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Chloe said.
When Sabina reached Alec’s side, he took her hand and wrapped it in his, then pulled the door open in front of her. “So, are we going to have a good time tonight?”
“What?”
“I just thought you might have a sense of how this is all going to go. Maybe you can give me a few pointers, warn me off before I make any big blunders. You’re the psychic.”
“Why don’t we let the evening just develop on its own,” Sabina suggested. “I’m going to switch off my powers now. No mind reading, no soothsaying.”
“All right.” He tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. “Would you like to catch a cab or should we walk?”
“Where are we going?”
Alec shrugged. “We can go Uptown or we can stay in the neighborhood. Or if you like, we can stop by Balducci’s and pick up something from the deli. I make a really good sandwich. And I’m good with frozen pizza. That’s the extent of my cooking expertise.”
Though she would have loved to see Alec in the kitchen, for now, Sabina wanted to stay on neutral turf. “Why don’t we just walk until we find a place we both like?”
They strolled in silence for a few blocks, heading in the direction of SoHo. Sabina didn’t feel as if she needed to make conversation. It was enough just to be with him, to know that he wanted to be with her. “Do you live in the Village?” she asked.
“I have a house over on St. Luke’s and a place up in Vermont. Where do you live?”
“Above the shop. There are eight apartments. My grandmother has one, I have one, and we rent the rest out. She owns the building, so I get a break on the rent.”
“So you live comfortably on the income you make telling fortunes?” he asked.
“I do. We do.” She smiled.
“And where does one study to become a psychic?”
“I never studied for that. That sort of thing comes naturally. I actually studied fashion design at Parsons.”
“Really. And why didn’t you pursue it?”
“I am. I’ve been gradually making some changes at the shop, and when my grandmother retires, I hope to turn it into my own boutique. Now, tell me what you do.”
“It’s not nearly as interes
ting,” Alec said. “I buy and sell things-apartments, buildings mostly, sometimes just land.”
She frowned. “You sound like a real estate agent.”
“That’s part of my job,” he replied.
“My grandmother and I don’t like real estate agents,” Sabina said, the suspicion thick in her voice. “They’re always trying to get us to sell her building. You wouldn’t believe what they’ve tried. They call every day and send letter after letter. Some of them even give us gifts. They bring over these elaborate plans, photos of homes in Florida and Arizona. It’s ridiculous. And the worst of them, Simon Harnett, reports us to the building inspectors every month. Are you one of them?”
“For you, I’ll be anything you want me to be.”
“The perfect gentleman,” Sabina said. “That’s what I want you to be.”
He stopped dead on the sidewalk, dragging her to a halt. His hand came up to her face and he smoothed his palm over her cheek. “I’m not sure I can do that.”
“And why not?”
In what seemed like nothing more than a heartbeat, Alec wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled Sabina into the shadow of a doorway. His mouth came down on her hers, so quickly that it took her breath away. What began as a desperate kiss soon turned soft and gentle, and Sabina surrendered to it willingly.
His hands skimmed over her torso, smoothing across her back. Sabina’s skin tingled beneath the thin silk of her dress and she shivered in reaction. At first, she was barely able to think. But then her mind began to focus on the feel of his lips, the taste of his tongue, the wonderful way he held her face between his hands.
It wasn’t a proper kiss from a proper gentleman. This was kiss that invited further seduction, a kiss that made promises about what they might share together once they were completely alone-and naked.
The longer it lasted, the more light-headed she became. Maybe it was the heat. It was awfully warm tonight, so humid it was hard to catch her breath. When he finally drew back, Sabina gulped in fresh air, but that only seemed to make her more dizzy.
“I-I’m not feeling very well,” she murmured, pressing her palm to her forehead. “I haven’t eaten all day and I feel like I could-” Sabina’s knees suddenly gave out beneath her.
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