“Hey, Hayden—”
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Lisa placed her hand lightly on my shoulder. Her short-cropped black hair stood at various angles as if she’d just crawled out of bed. Black kohl lined her cobalt-blue eyes. She had a diamond stud in the side of her nose. I’d pegged her as harsh and radical when I’d first met her. But she was actually sweet and fun. The closest thing I had to a friend. Best of all, like everyone else here, she kept her emotions to herself.
“I noticed you and hot guy seemed to connect,” she said. “I’ll handle the to-go orders if you want to wait on him.”
Lisa had been taking care of the customers who were seated at the counter and at tables. I took an order for a mint chocolate and a mint chocolate mocha from a tall guy who had his arm slung around a short girl’s shoulders. Even before I turned to the preparation area to begin mixing the drinks, he’d planted his lips on hers.
“That’s okay, I’m busy here,” I muttered to Lisa.
Her eyes widened as though she thought I was a total loser not to jump at this opportunity. “Did you not see the way he looked at you? And he is apparently alone. Hello? This might be your chance to do something besides curl up with a book at night.”
I liked curling up with a good book. Lisa tended to curl up with any available guy after work.
“I don’t want to break my routine,” I said, working to keep my voice flat. I turned the milk frother on, focusing on my work, and trying to drown out Lisa’s cajoling. I took a deep breath, confused by my own feelings. I was slightly grateful to know the elders cared enough to send someone to find me and bothered by the fact that he’d succeeded in finding me. Panic made my voice want to warble. I hated it. With the milk sufficiently frothy, I shut off the machine. “If you want him, go for it,” I told Lisa.
“Seriously?”
“Sure.”
She grinned, her blue eyes sparkling. She bounced as though she had springs in her shoes. Sometimes it wore me out to watch her. Where did she get so much energy? She was a freshman at college, working here over winter break. This resort was a popular retreat for college students—whether to play or work. I’d created a fictitious background that resembled everyone else’s true story. I was a university student looking for work during winter break. When the students left, I’d probably move on as well.
Spike had hired me without asking for references. Maybe I had an honest face. Or maybe he’d been desperate for the help since students had arrived en masse to enjoy the slopes. Because he was dependent on seasonal employees, and most of the ones he hired didn’t live in the town, he provided rooms in a couple of condos he owned. Lisa and I lived in the same one, our bedrooms across the hall from each other. It was the reason we’d become close. We saw a lot of each other.
“Wish me luck,” she said with a wink. “I so want a winter romance, and he looks like the type to give a girl a good time.”
Funny how she saw him as a good time, and I viewed him as a journey straight back to hell. It was possible that he was here to enjoy the slopes, but judging by the way he was watching me, I had a feeling he was here to convince me to return to Wolford.
I handed the drinks to Romeo and Juliet. Three giggling girls who were eyeing Daniel as though he were their favorite flavor of chocolate shouldered their way to the front and breathlessly gave me their order: a white, a dark, and a milk hot chocolate.
As I turned back to the preparation counter, I glanced surreptitiously over to where Lisa was talking with Daniel. She was leaning on the counter as though she intended to take up residence there. Not that I could blame her. He had magnetic eyes and a wicked grin, the kind that made me want to join him in a smile. But I resisted the temptation. I didn’t trust his appearance or the fact that I couldn’t feel his emotions. Why was he blocking them? How was he blocking them?
Beyond the floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows that provided an unobstructed view of the main street with its quaint shops and the towering snow-covered mountains in the background, the purple and blue shadows of twilight were descending. The crescent moon was already rising, yet still faint, giving it a ghostly, ominous appearance. A chill swept through me.
Wiggling her eyebrows, Lisa walked back toward me. “He ordered a chunky chocolate. You know what that means. And I’m so tempted to put my theory to the test with that guy. Did you see his killer grin?”
Lisa had a theory that the more chocolatey a guy liked his hot chocolate, the better he kissed. If nothing else, she reasoned that he’d taste great. Daniel was the Big Bad Wolf, and she didn’t even know it. His bottom lip was full and would provide such a nice cushion for mine. I wanted to kick myself for even wondering what his kisses might be like, because I suspected he was trouble.
“Apparently, though,” Lisa continued, her brow furrowing, “what he really wants is you. He says you’re friends, that you’ve been expecting him?” She ended her statement on a high note, questioning what he’d told her, wanting me to confirm or deny it.
Fear spiked inside me. He was here for me. The elders had probably sent him. I knew they wanted me to be at Wolford when I experienced my first full moon. And while legend said that I needed to go through my first transformation with a mate, I couldn’t risk someone else’s life if the harvester kept his promise and came for me. But I couldn’t explain any of that to Lisa, so I simply lied. “Never seen him before in my life.”
I carried the steaming mugs over to the three girls. As they paid, I said, “See that guy at the end of the counter?”
“He’s a little hard to miss,” White Chocolate said. “Even with that heavy jacket on, you can tell he’s all muscle. And that face. He belongs on a Calvin Klein billboard.”
“I wouldn’t mind him keeping me warm all through the night,” Milk Chocolate said with a giggle.
“Then this is your lucky day,” I lied smoothly. “He’s looking for someone to hook up with. And he has two friends who are just as hot.”
“Really?”
“Where are they?” Dark Chocolate asked suspiciously.
“Parking their Hummer.”
“They have a Hummer?”
“Oh yeah.” I leaned in conspiratorially. “Their parents are mega rich. The guys just got in today and don’t know anyone. They were flirting with me earlier, but, well, I have a boyfriend.” I was becoming exceptionally skilled at lying. Before I’d run away from Wolford, I’d never lied, but I was astounded by how easily the false words rolled off my tongue lately.