Neve (Silver Skates #3) - Helen Scott Page 0,5

their gazes, and that, I could definitely understand. My gaze slid to Seren. He was tall, lean, smart, kind of a jerk, and definitely my type. And new.

Maybe it was all the magic in the town, but if it was populated with men like Seren, then I could definitely understand the draw. Not that it would keep me here, but still.

Seren glanced at me again, but this time, instead of irritation in his eyes, I could swear I saw curiosity. He turned back to the counter and said, “Can you get the manager, Whit, for me please? Tell him Seren is here to interview him.”

The guy behind the counter nodded and disappeared through a back door.

Once he was gone, I said, “Interesting choice, interviewing the manager and not the owner.”

“No one knows who the owner is. The furthest up the chain we could get was Whit, the manager.” Seren shrugged. I must have had a twinkle in my eye or something, because he quickly added, “And we explored all options, so there’s no reason to go poking around.”

I wanted to tell him he misunderstood the twinkle of interest in my eye. It wasn’t for who owned the rink. I couldn’t care less about that. No, the interest was for him.

A slow smile spread across my face. Daddy would be positively livid if he found out I was being intimate with the staff. And wasn’t that a delicious thought?

3

Neve

As we waited for the manager of Silver Skates, the ice rink, I got the urge to go and explore all the cute little shops. I wanted to see what this brand spanking new skating rink had to offer that made it so special. Although I supposed in a small town, anything new would be special for a time at least. They would probably be excited if some golden arches showed up.

Or maybe not.

There was definitely something unique about Silver Springs, but maybe it was just the concentration of supernatural beings in the area.

Either way, when I saw another gentleman approaching Seren, I quickly said, “I’m just going to take a look around the rink. Check out the stores and stuff.”

“Of course you are,” Seren said with a sigh. “And here I thought you’d come along to see me in action.”

“I mean, I’ll be watching from afar, but I don’t want to put your interviewee off. Don’t want to cramp your style, you know?”

“Sure, whatever.” Seren turned and greeted the other man while I made a hasty retreat.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see the reporter in action, I was just more curious about the other stuff. And curiosity may have killed the cat, but it never hurt me. Each little chalet or cottage was its own thing.

There was the obvious stuff, like the skate rental, employee area, a merchandise shop specific to the ice rink, a party room, and of course, bathrooms and changing rooms. There was also more unique stuff, like a cupcake store, a coffee bar, an actual bar, another restaurant, and even a jewelry store.

I hit the jewelry store first, Bitchin’ Baubles. After all, I did love something sparkly. The minute I walked in, my gaze flitted from display to display. Everything from snowflake earring sets to pendants with little silver skates hanging from them to silver rings with white stones of some kind decorating the centers. The place was beautiful, and it certainly had a theme going with all the winter and ice skating stuff. Plus, almost everything was silver. It was a little bizarre in a way. Most jewelry stores catered to people who liked gold as well, but this one? Not so much. Not that I minded, since I wasn’t a fan of gold myself.

Before I could get any farther into the store, I turned and left. Jewelry was a weakness of mine, and if I stayed any longer, I’d wind up buying half the store. Instead, I went back down a few doors to a coffee shop called Triple E. The place had a couple tables outside, but I wasn’t interested in sitting down, so I went in.

Immediately, I was surprised by the fifties vibe that it had going on, like an old soda shop where they served milkshakes with two straws and stuff like that, only with coffee. A woman was working behind the counter and smiled at me as I came in. Her dark hair, pale skin, and red lips made her stunning to look at.

“What can I get you?” she asked