100% That Witch - Celia Kyle Page 0,46

intimate anymore, but we still care for each other very much. We parted amicably, and we’ve remained friends, even though we don’t see each other very often. We’re very comfortable with each other.”

You sure are, she thought with some menace. The news hit her so hard that, for a moment, she couldn’t speak. When she finally found her voice, the words tumbled out so fast, she couldn’t stop them.

“But I thought you were gay!”

Nero frowned, an amused grin quickly following. His eyes glinted with a touch of mischief. “What on earth gave you that idea?”

He casually began picking a few items from the shelves as if her brain wasn’t melting into a puddle at her feet. Tiffany tracked him around the shop, trying to absorb what he’d just said.

“Of course, sexuality can be a tricky thing for vampires,” he continued as he added a couple more items to his basket. “When you’re basically immortal, boundaries can sometimes blur. I’m open-minded, but I’ve always preferred the ladies.”

In a daze, Tiffany somehow managed to put one foot in front of the other and before she knew it, she stood behind the counter, waiting for him to bring up his purchases as usual. At least, that’s what she hoped to convey. Inside she was anything but usual. Every solid ideal that had been holding her down disappeared or liquefied over the last few seconds, and now, she was drifting without any hope of an anchor.

“But you… Nathan… Wait, you said…” Tiffany shook her head a little, frustrated that her thoughts wouldn’t settle into a pattern that even vaguely resembled a sentence.

Now I understand what it feels like to be numb with shock.

Nero wore a half-smile as he packed his purchases into a canvas bag. “Sorry to surprise you like that, but…” He waited until she met his gaze and held her firm. “But I’m definitely not gay.”

Tiffany was still dumbstruck, her thoughts in a tangle somewhere on the way to her mouth.

“See you tomorrow. Right?” he said as he headed for the door. “We’ve still got studying to do.”

Tiffany was left standing mute behind the counter. Her thoughts finally cleared enough to allow one question to wriggle through—one that seemed the most important of all.

If he’s not gay, then who the hell is his Beloved?

Eighteen

Tiffany put the scene in the back of her mind so she could function for the rest of the evening. It required only a little mental control to focus on her customers and the routine of the shop. Her questions multiplied in that dark corner of her mind, but she managed to keep them at bay.

By the time she got into her car to drive home, the pressure of her thoughts was really weighing on her. A dam was about to break inside her, and only now did she realized all her grief and loss over Rhys had been shielding something far darker.

I just wanted to be accepted and loved for who I am. Nero was safe up until now. But after this morning, nothing feels safe.

As she started the car, she congratulated herself for getting through the day without manifesting even one bunny. That was when she noticed the top-hat-wearing chipmunk on her passenger seat. He was on his back, kicking his feet in the air and blinking up at her like he was trying to make her laugh. She couldn’t help but smile.

The drive to Hollow House was short enough that she had no time to sort through her thoughts. The last thing she wanted was to become a raging storm of reactive emotion. She wanted to think rationally and work through this but before she could even start, she was home.

When she slammed into the house, she found Nathan alone at the kitchen table, and her plan to not react went completely and utterly to hell.

“Hey, you!” she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the perpetually shirtless vamp. “Explain yourself! What the literal fuck?”

Nathan lounged with his chair rocked back, his feet on the table, nursing a beer. The legs of the seat were tilted precariously as he pushed himself farther back. His legs were clad in tight leather pants, and his chest and abs looked particularly good stretched out the way they were. At her shouting, Nathan slowly lifted his gaze and blinked at her.

“Try again, sweetheart.”

Tiffany frowned, and a whole litter of kittens in a multitude of pastel colors sprang from the ground around her feet, scampering madly around the room. She took a