100% That Witch - Celia Kyle Page 0,32

the use of spending so much on a fancy dinner if none of it got eaten. Sure, the grand gesture would have been nice, but still.

She pulled the door open with a flourish and stepped inside. Nothing but bemused faces greeted her.

Okay, maybe that was a bit too much to expect.

As joyous as her little fantasy had been, she had to chuckle at herself over it. For something like that to happen, Rhys would have to be more than a secret romantic. He would have to be as unlike himself as possible, which, in truth, was the last thing she wanted.

Scanning the room, she couldn’t find Rhys anywhere, and he wasn’t easy to miss. Not that it mattered. There was a table tucked next to a window with two chairs practically calling her name.

“Evening,” a disinterested young fae barista said as Tiffany approached the counter. “What’ll it be?”

“Drip coffee, please. Can I get that in a ceramic mug rather than a paper cup?” The fae raised her eyebrows as if it were an opulent request.

“If you say so. Want room in it?”

“Please.”

Stepping to the side, she set about doctoring her mug into something fine and mellow. Even without sizing the room up, she could feel eyes on her. If she hadn’t been feeling so good in her own skin, she might have lingered outside until Rhys made his appearance. But the whole of her body felt alive, and for the first time she could recall, she didn’t mind being the object of attention.

Sidling over to the table she had singled out for the big event, she finally surveyed the room and her suspicions were confirmed—a number of eyes were on her.

Not that it was all that unusual in and of itself. She was used to being gawked at to some degree, but tonight she found appreciation on every face looking her way. Between sips of coffee, she smiled back and got cozy.

After what seemed like an hour of waiting but couldn’t have been more than ten minutes, the door opened and the man of the hour swept inside. For a second, he didn’t seem to recognize Tiffany as he searched the room. Once his eyes rested on her in earnest, she offered him a little wave. He nodded in return and stepped over to the counter to order a coffee for himself.

The poor thing is nervous. No need to be, Rhys. No need at all.

When he finally sat across from her, he reached out and set a paper cup of black coffee on the table. Something about the disposable impermanence of the paper cup settled uneasily over Tiffany. Instead of kneeling at her feet, he simply slouched casually in his chair. His gaze skimmed her outfit, and she pulled her shoulders back a bit to give the best effect.

“What is it, laundry day?”

His quip had the same dry tone as Nathan’s but lacked every ounce of the support and charm. With one withering pass of his eyes, he had managed to incinerate all the confidence she’d been carrying.

Vance might as well have ridden in from the wilderness of time past and punctured her to the core. Humiliation and panic gushed into her bloodstream in equal quantities. Tiffany found herself gripping the arms of her chair so hard, she worried the wood might splinter.

“Not exactly,” she tried to laugh. “I just wanted to look nice for you.” The words fell feebly from her lips, sounding almost desperate in their crushed hope. It didn’t help that Rhys winced slightly when she said it.

“Listen, Tiffany…”

His voice held a tone no expectant girlfriend ever wanted to hear.

Oh, shit. No, no, no, no, no. Not this. Not now.

Her stomach doubled over into itself, souring into an ugly little ball. Even though she didn’t dare put a name to it, Tiffany knew exactly what was coming; like standing in a tunnel with a train barreling straight at her and not being able to run fast enough to get away.

“I just want to start off by saying that you’re great. It’s clear you’ve got a grip on who you are and what you want to do with your life.”

Total lie.

She had no idea. Not only that, but over the last week or so, her life had spun totally out of control. It would have been wonderful to blame it on being so tied up over him, but she had to admit the roots went much deeper. No matter what Rhys said, Tiffany had no idea who she