As it turned out, she was only a block and a half away. She arrived at Delaney’s Delectables a few minutes later.
The smell was divine. She paused just inside the door and inhaled, eyes closed. Chocolate was both the fuel for her writer’s mind and the bane of her writer’s backside. But she’d had salad for lunch. Very low carb. She could splurge a little.
And chocolate was good for the writing. She believed in literally feeding the muse.
“Roxy!”
Delaney’s voice rang out over the hum of the shop. Roxy opened her eyes and smiled. “Hey, woman, what’s up?”
Delaney came out from behind the counter and greeted her with a hug. “I didn’t know you were coming by today. Did you tell me and I forgot? I might be getting pregnancy brain.”
“Can you have pregnancy brain when you’re not even showing?”
“I’m showing.” Delaney leaned back and pulled her apron tight across her stomach, displaying a slight roundness.
“I look like that after a big lunch. Are you sure that’s a baby in that little bump?”
Delaney nodded and laughed. “Yep. I’m almost four months now.”
“Picked out any names yet?”
“Not really. We talk about them a lot, but nothing’s stuck. I’m sure it’ll come to us as we get closer.” Delaney put her hands on her hips. “You look happy. And a little weirded out. What’s going on?”
Roxy shrugged. “I wish I knew. Do you have a minute to talk?” The shop was kind of busy. “I don’t want to take you away from your work. Maybe after you close?”
Delaney waved that idea away. “I have all kinds of time for you. We can go in my office. You want a slice of something? Some truffles? Coffee?”
Roxy eyed the display cases. “Yes, definitely. But there are too many options. I need help. Anything new I haven’t tried yet?”
“Let’s see, what’s new… I’ve got these fireball truffles I just came up with. Plus a new mocha flourless cake. The strawberry champagne bonbons aren’t as new but they’re a summer only thing and I just started stocking them again. Oh, and adult chocolate-covered cherries. You should definitely have one of those.”
“What are adult chocolate-covered cherries?”
“The cherries are soaked in moonshine. I hear they’re good, but I haven’t been able to try them myself.” She patted her stomach. “You’d really be doing me a favor.”
Roxy laughed. “Well, if it’s doing you a favor, how can I not help out a friend?”
Delaney nodded. “Exactly.” She looped her arm through Roxy’s. “C’mon.”
Roxy let Delaney guide her back behind the counters, and a few minutes later, they were in Delaney’s office with two plates of sweets and two small bottles of milk.
Roxy took the chair beside Delaney’s desk and dug into the mocha flourless cake. The coffee-chocolate goodness of it spread across her tongue and raised goose bumps on her arms. “Oh man. I could weep at how good this is.”
Delaney grinned and finished the bite of truffle she’d just taken. “You want a slice to take home?”
“Just one?” Roxy laughed, then shook her head. “I don’t know if it’ll keep in the trunk. I still have some other errands to run. I better not this time. Trust me, this plate will keep me going for a long time.”
“Good.” Delaney sat back in her desk chair. “So what’s up?”
Roxy rested her fork on the edge of her plate. “This is going to sound really strange. It’s the stress of the divorce, I know that’s all it is, but…I…I’m seeing things. Weird things.”
Delaney’s brows lifted, but that’s where the surprise on her face ended. “Like what?”
Roxy rubbed her forehead. “I thought I saw a black panther this morning. I’m pretty sure that was just a weird shadow, or someone’s overgrown house cat, but still. And then when the woman came to install my tank—”
“Undrea?”
“Mm-hmm. I’m embarrassed to even say this, but I could have sworn I saw gills behind her ear. Because of course the woman who owns the fish tank place would have gills.” Roxy groaned and shook her head. “I’m sort of worried that all this stress from moving and getting divorced and being behind on my book is making the stuff I write about come to life.”
Because that’s all it was. Stress. Nothing like what had happened to her mother.
Delaney bit her lip. “Stress does do strange things to people. I don’t think you should worry about it too much. Hey, maybe it’ll give you some new story ideas.”
Roxy leaned in. “Your teeth look odd. Pointed, sort of.”
“What?” Delaney seemed to pale a little. She closed her mouth and then, after a breath, said, “I thought the divorce was final. Didn’t you say it was just a matter of time?”
“Yes, and when I said that, I thought I’d have the signed papers any day. They still haven’t come.” Roxy stabbed another piece of cake. Delaney’s teeth seemed normal now. Weird. “That jerk. He’s really dragging this out. Oh, and get this, because emailing and texting me wasn’t enough, he just sent me this creepy little note asking me if I was enjoying my new house.”
“What?”
She scowled. “He cannot leave me alone. I can’t believe I ever fell for him. He was so different when we first got together. But man, once that ring went on, he changed completely. Absolutely thought that little band of gold made me his property.”
Delaney made a noise of disgust. “The sooner you’re done with him the better.”
“I’ll say.”
“You know what? You need to get out. Spend some time doing something that will take your mind off things. The book can wait a little bit, right? Your fans aren’t going anywhere. Did you get your dad’s car yet? Take it out for a drive maybe—”
Roxy started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Delaney asked.
“I went for a drive. And ended up with a ticket.”
“Oh no! Do you want me to have Hugh take care of that for you? Because he can. And he will.”
“No, no. I already paid it. Plus the officer responsible took me out to lunch.”
Delaney’s mouth hung open. “What? Why didn’t you start with that?” She swatted Roxy’s leg. “Now that’s news. Who was it?”
“Alex Cruz. Do you know him?”
“Ooo, he’s a cutie. I know him a little. Why, you want me to do a little digging on him? Find out how available he is? Help you get to know him?”
“No, no. Nothing like that.” Roxy smiled. “He’s my neighbor. I think I’ll be getting to know him well enough pretty soon.”
Delaney ate the other half of her truffle. “You couldn’t do better for a neighbor. You’ll never have to worry about crime. Not that you would in this town anyway.”
Roxy looked at her watch. “I’d better go. I still have to get some groceries, and I really need to write a few pages today. Thanks for listening to me and my craziness.”
Delaney put her hand on Roxy’s arm. “I’m here any time you need to talk. I can only imagine how nuts this divorce must be making you. Please don’t hesitate to come by or call. I am so glad you’re here. If I wasn’t pregnant, I swear I’d be dragging you out every night.”
Roxy stood. “I’m glad to be here. Having a friend in town I can rely on is awesome.”
Delaney got up and gave Roxy a quick hug. As she pulled back, she said, “Hey, you want to come over for dinner some night this week?”
Roxy narrowed her eyes. “Is this one of those things where you secretly invite Alex too? Because I’m not looking to get involved. I’m really not. I need time to process this divorce.”
“Nothing like that, I swear. Just dinner, and then I’ll watch you and Hugh drink all the wine I can’t have.”
Roxy snorted. “Sounds good. Text me.”
“I will. You know what else we’re going to do soon?”
“What’s that?”
“A spa day. Maybe even before the dinner, because it sounds like you nee
d it.”
“No argument there.”
“Excellent.” Delaney opened the door. “C’mon, I’ll walk you out.”
On their way back into the shop, Delaney grabbed a bottle of water from one of the big coolers. “Here, take this with you. This isn’t like Jersey. You have to stay hydrated in the South.”
“Thanks.” Roxy stuck the bottle in her purse. “Talk to you soon.”
Delaney waved as Roxy left. She walked back to her car feeling better. The divorce would be over soon, and her life would take on a new normal. It was just going to take time. And maybe in time, she’d give Alex a chance to be more than just a friend.
But for right now, Officer Hotness was going to have to settle for being Nocturne Falls’ sexiest neighbor. One Roxy was really glad she lived next to.
Alex’s radio came to life in a burst of noise. “Alex, this is Birdie. Pick up.”
He reached over and grabbed the handset. “Go ahead, Birdie. This is Alex.” Birdie wasn’t the department’s dispatcher, but she did sometimes radio with calls.
“Are you in town? You need to swing by Delaney’s shop, pronto.”
He changed directions to head that way immediately. “I’m on it. What’s the issue? Theft?”
“Not sure. Just get there.”
“ETA is four minutes.” He laid on the speed a little and made it in three and a half. Black Cat Boulevard was full, so he parked in the fire lane. Patrol cars could do that.
He strode into the shop on full alert, but it looked like business as usual to him. He took his sunglasses off and tucked them in his shirt pocket as Delaney came out from the back room. “Birdie said you needed me as soon as possible. What’s going on?”
Delaney shook her head. “That’s not what I said at all. But since you’re here, come into my office and we’ll talk.”
Curiosity piqued, he followed her back.
She closed her office door and pointed to the chair beside her desk. He sat there while she took the chair at her desk.
He leaned forward. “Employee problem? Embezzlement? Property theft?”
She sighed. “None of those things. I want to talk about Roxy St. James.”
He sat back. “What?”
“You went out to lunch with her today, right?”
“Yes. I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”
“What did she drink at lunch?”
“A bottle of some fancy sparkling water.”
“Not the Nocturne Falls stuff?”
“Nope.”
“That makes sense, then. She must drink a lot of bottled water. That’s all I can figure out.” Delaney rubbed her chin like she was thinking.
“I’m not following.”
“She’s clearly not drinking the Nocturne Falls tap water, or not enough of it, because she thought she saw gills on Undrea and a black panther in her neighborhood.”
“She did ask me if someone in our area had a big black housecat. She never said panther, though.” No doubt Diego out and about. Alex would have a word with him on that subject this evening.
“Well, she said panther to me. And then she thought my teeth looked odd earlier when she stopped by. Fortunately, I drew my fangs up in time, but this isn’t good. It’s one thing for tourists to think they see supernaturals all around them, but if the human citizens don’t drink the water and they start seeing us for what we really are, we’re in deep trouble.”
The water from the natural springs at the falls had been enchanted by the Ellinghams’ personal witch, Alice Bishop. When humans drank the water, their reality blurred at the edges a bit, helping to keep human residents and tourists oblivious to the supernaturals around them. And because that water fed the reservoirs and was bottled and sold everywhere in town, getting tourists to drink it wasn’t a problem.
Until now. “I can’t force her to drink the water.”
“Neither can I, but I did give her a bottle of it on her way out. Let’s hope she drinks it. In the meantime, you’ve got to cool it around her. No shifting outside your house.”
“I promise you, I’m not the panther she saw. It had to be Diego.”
Delaney squinted.
“My brother. He’s staying with me.” Alex’s expression was less than happy. “He’s not the easiest to rein in sometimes. I’ll talk to him. Make sure he knows the deal.”
“Good. Roxy and I have been friends since college. She’s under enough stress with this divorce. She doesn’t need to think she’s hallucinating too.”
“Why not tell her the truth?”
Delaney’s eyes widened slightly. “When Hugh told me he was a vampire, I climbed out a second-story window and ran off into the woods in the dark of night. And I wasn’t under the pressure of a deadline or a controlling ex who wouldn’t sign my divorce papers. I don’t think Roxy needs that kind of reality dumped on her right now.”
“Okay.” He thought for a moment. “You know, I might be able to help with this. But only if Diego gets the bartending job he interviewed for today and gets out of my house at night.”
That perked Delaney up. “If it’s a matter of getting him that job, I can help with that. I assume it’s at Howler’s.”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll call Bridget. She’ll do it as a favor, I’m sure. Even if he doesn’t last, maybe she can keep him busy for a week.”
“That should be more than enough time.”
“What are you planning?”
He hesitated, then smiled. “Just a little neighborly get-together.”
By the time Roxy got home, it was so late in the afternoon it was practically dinner time. She unloaded her groceries and, for a moment, wished she was good enough friends with Alex to make use of his hot tub. A soak would be glorious. She rolled her shoulders, trying to release the tightness in them. She might have to take Delaney up on that offer of a spa day.
But as much as Roxy wanted to loaf, the book called. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, set it on her desk in the office, then went to change.
A few minutes later she was in yoga pants and a Lost Boys T-shirt, sitting in front of her computer and staring down at Chapter Two. She put her hands on the keyboard and thought for a moment about what events needed to happen next. Then she dove in.
Marabella tugged against the restraints holding her. For eight long months, she’d suffered at the hands of the druids, imprisoned in this damnable tower and kept from her beloved, Wolfgang. No doubt he thought her dead. She closed her eyes and a prayer escaped her lips that he didn’t think she’d also been the one to betray him.
Did he understand that this was all his brother’s doing? She couldn’t be sure, but Wolfgang was no one’s fool. If anyone could have discovered Ulric’s plan, it was him.
She went very still and listened but the hall beyond her chamber seemed deserted. This might be her only chance. Her captors could return at any time. She closed her eyes and, at long last, summoned the witch’s power she’d been born with.
All these months, the druids had laced her food and drink with herbs meant to destroy her magic. And they nearly had. But the incessant use of them had begun to create an immunity in her. One she’d kept hidden.
One she’d nurtured. And what the druids in Ulric’s control didn’t know was that her magic had almost fully returned to her. In a very short time, she would leave this dank prison behind.
Then she would find her beloved and together they would rain down vengeance upon the head of Ulric and his minions.
She concentrated, calling upon her powers to manifest themselves. The magic curled inside her, aching to be free, almost bursting from—
Roxy’s doorbell rang, and her head came up. How many times had the chime sounded? Once? Three times? She had no idea. A glance at the window told her the sun was just about to set. How long had she been sitting here? She scrambled out of her chair and made it to the foyer as the bell rang again.
She pulled the door open and smiled. “Oh, hey,
Alex.”
“Hey. I thought I’d invite you over for some celebratory pizza.” He grinned. “Diego got the bartending job.”
“That is worth celebrating. And I love pizza, even if it’s not really on my diet.”
He gave her a little side eye. “You don’t need to diet.”
She was curvy. She knew that. Thomas never let her forget it. Dieting wasn’t something she did, it was a way of life. “Watch what happens when I don’t. With my job? It’s a constant struggle.”
“Well, I think you look great. And I’m ordering from Salvatore’s. If you haven’t had their pizza yet, you really should. It’s kind of legendary.” He cocked his head. “Or are you sick of hanging out with me?”
That she was not. “No. I’ll come over. One slice won’t kill me. Can I at least make a salad or something?”
“So long as you don’t mind being the only one eating it.” Then he laughed and held his hands up. “I could try some, I guess. So long as there’s a lot of dressing on it. And maybe cheese. And bacon.” He shrugged apologetically. “The Cruz men aren’t really salad eaters.”
“Okay, forget the salad. Are you ordering the pizza now? I’d love to finish this scene I’m working on.”
He looked at his watch. “Come over in an hour?”
“That would be perfect.”
“I’m also making my mother’s famous lemonade. You’re not allergic to citrus or anything, are you?”
“Nope. What makes the lemonade famous?”
“Um…” He thought for a second. “I don’t know actually. It’s just lemonade with some mint in it. She usually adds vodka, too, but tomorrow’s a work day, so I’m not doing that.”
“Well, I’m game. I’ve never had lemonade with mint.”
“Great.” He started to leave then stopped, his hand on the column of her front porch. “Oh, bring your suit if you want. It’s a perfect night for the hot tub.”
“Sounds good. Will do.” She closed the door. Then, realizing what she’d just agreed to, she leaned against it and let out a big sigh. Wear her bathing suit in front of Alex? That shouldn’t bother her. But it did. Her figure was far from perfect. Of course, Diego would be there too, but for whatever reason, she didn’t care what he thought.
The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls Book 6) Page 6