Give Me (Wyrd and Fae #1)(3)
She glanced at the clock on her desk phone. Two more hours until she was off. She wasn’t a witch or a flower child, but Greg was right about one thing. Insurance adjuster wasn’t the right job for her. The constant pressure to deny claims, even legitimate ones, was grinding her down. Heck, maybe now she’d go to law school herself. She could represent people screwed over by insurance companies. Again she checked the time.
When the workday was finally over and she pulled into the Fantasy Springs parking lot, it was still over a hundred degrees outside. This heat will kill me, her mother always used to say. Whenever Lilith asked why they lived in the desert, a sad smile was the usual answer. Sometimes she’d say it’s safer here. Lilith could have moved away after college, but those words always stopped her—it’s safer here. And then she had met Greg.
He was worth the heat.
Lilith glanced up at her rearview mirror and saw her mother’s green eyes staring back at her. “Great gods!” She slammed on the brake and caught her breath. eyes were dull blue, but sometimes in bright sunlight they seemed green. It always freaked her out, a trick of her mind that happened when she was especially lonely for her mother.It’s only the sun, Lilith. Her
It was no use looking for a parking place. The only open spots were so far away her mascara would slide down to her jaw before she reached the entrance. Valet parking was definitely in order.
The parking attendant gave her an appreciative once-over. Saucy boy. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew she wasn’t the juiciest peach in the bowl. There were no highlights in her light brown hair. Her eyes were nothing special. She was average everything—height, weight, build.
But Greg adored her, and that made all the difference. Greg’s love made her happy; and while she was by no means a knockout, this was the best she’d looked in all her twenty-nine years. She winked at the attendant and dropped the keys into his hand.
At the entrance a blast of cool air rejuvenated her, and she felt a lusty urgency between her legs. Poor Greg was keeping such late hours working on this case. They hadn’t had sex in ages. Well, she was certainly going to jump his bones after dinner. They should get a room and stay the night.
Maybe she wouldn’t go to law school after all. Maybe she and Greg would make a start on the three children they’d decided would be optimal.
Lilith reached the Bistro’s maitre d’ desk just behind a woman who looked like she’d stepped out of a fashion photo shoot. Her jet black hair was streaked with artsy-fartsy colors—fire-engine red, white-blond, and blue. Her makeup was perfect—the sun would never dare disturb such beauty—and her little black dress was surely designed exclusively for her tall slim body.
She couldn’t be any older than Lilith—in fact, she looked a little younger—but her voice was sophisticated and confident. “Has the Sarumen party been seated?”
Sarumen. The name of Greg’s boss, the senior partner on the construction case. The woman’s face lit up as an older, equally good-looking man walked up and kissed her cheek.
“Jenna, darling.”
It felt like eavesdropping, but the two didn’t acknowledge her. Like aristocrats, they seemed oblivious to the common people.
“Oh, Dad,” Jenna said. “Isn’t it good to get away from that wretched case?”
Sarumen obviously adored his daughter. “That wretched case is paying for the world tour you call your honeymoon.” He led her away to a silver-blond beauty who handed them each a flute of champagne.
Lilith asked for Greg’s table, a twinge of envy shadowing her happiness. She had never known her father. Her mother had refused to speak about him or about anything in her past. She died when Lilith was in college and left nothing behind but a macramé necklace and an old stock pot. Thank god for Greg. He understood what it was like to be alone in the world. His parents were alive, but he was estranged from all his relatives.
No matter. They’d build a new family.
“Lily?” the hostess said. “Your date asked you to meet him up at the 12th Floor Bar.” She leaned forward. “That’s a good-looking guy you have there.”
“It’s true,” Lilith said with a grin. “He’s much prettier than I am.”
Riding up in the elevator, the image of the beautiful young woman at the Bistro stayed with her. Jenna Sarumen, the boss’s daughter. Greg had mentioned that she was a brand new lawyer and had been assigned to the same case. He hadn’t said how fantastic she looked. Lilith wasn’t a petty person, but she was really glad Jenna Sarumen was getting married.
Everyone in the world was getting married it seemed, the grand and the aspiring grand. She’d let Greg know his boss was in the house—after she opened her little blue box.
Greg was in the lounge watching the lights come on in the valley below, a desert version of fairyland. He really was prettier than Lilith. Like a modern day Prince Charming, he had sandy blond hair highlighted with white-blond streaks. He was tanned and brown-eyed and had a firm jaw and caressable cheekbones and oh-so-kissable lips. Greg didn’t like public displays of affection, but Lilith bent over his back to give him a light peck on the cheek.
“This is much more romantic than the Bistro,” she murmured in his ear. She loved the feel of his muscular shoulders, the smell of his skin. If this dinner weren’t so special, she’d suggest they get a room right this minute.