another treatment from you at the hospital,” he said, voice soft.
I nodded. “I’ll get Jules to take me tomorrow.”
“I could take you.”
“I’d prefer it if Jules did.”
He opened his mouth to say something then closed it. He gave me a stiff nod, beautiful dark eyes piercing mine as he followed me to the exit.
We walked home in silence, the tension a painful thrum in my breast. I hated conflict of any kind. And though this one was unspoken, I was already mourning the loss of Devraj. Not that I’d ever had him, the way I wanted him.
At my front gate, he grabbed my hand, halting me. “Thank you for helping us with this case,” he whispered low, his thumb brushing across my knuckles.
“Of course.” I faced him. “I wanted to help. You know I did.”
“And thank you for—” he glanced at his house next door, biting his lip—“for last night. It was a night I’ll never forget.”
I couldn’t answer, unwilling to tell him it was already seared into my memory for all time. Then I walked away from him, a painful knot in my stomach. I reminded myself that the knot would turn into a hole in my heart if I let myself be with him. While he was here.
Chapter 19
~ISADORA~
“It’s seven o’clock,” said Clara, popping her head into the office in the back of the shop. “I locked up the front.”
“Okay.” I’d been working on this month’s vendor requisitions to restock our bestselling items, having managed to keep busy all day so my thoughts wouldn’t wander to Devraj. “I’ll meet you over there.”
“Hurry up,” she said in her light sing-song voice before heading toward the back exit.
Jules closed the Cauldron up early on Sundays and cooked a big pot of something for the family and any staff who wanted to join us. They were pretty much family, too.
That’s just what I needed. A bowl of some good, spicy comfort food. I shut down everything quickly, locked up the store, and sauntered next door through the back entrance, finding only Jules in the kitchen, stirring something in a big Magnalite pot.
“What are we having?” I asked.
She glanced over her shoulder, her hair pulled back with bobby pins on both sides to keep it out of her face. What little makeup she wore was completely gone now at the end of the day. She looked so young like that.
“Redfish Court-bouillon. Could you grab that platter and bring it out to the table?”
“Sure thing.”
I picked up the tray she was pointing to that had a steaming bowl of rice, some fresh chopped chives, and a basket of fresh-baked French bread. I heard Evie’s booming laughter before I pushed open the door and smiled at the sound. She had such an infectious laugh.
I marched in, so ready to hang with my family and let my worries go for a while. But as soon as I approached the three tables put together for our large crew, my adrenaline shot through my veins like lightning. Evie perched sideways on Mateo’s lap, and right next to them was Devraj.
Damn. I’d forgotten that Violet had invited him earlier this week. So much had happened, like interrogating a vampire in Ruben’s secret room and having sex on Devraj’s white shag rug, that it had totally slipped my mind.
Clara sat next to Jules’s newest sous chef, Mitchell, chatting him up like crazy. But he didn’t seem to mind one bit, probably drinking in the joy that seeped out of her skin.
“Hey, Iz,” said Evie cheerily while I set the tray on the buffet table with the bowls, napkins, silverware, and a few bottles of Tabasco.
“Hey,” I returned as brightly as I could manage after having the wind just knocked out of me. When I was brave enough, I let my gaze skate to Devraj, who was, of course, staring hard.
“Come sit by me,” Evie urged.
“You mean us,” corrected Mateo, a proprietary hand spread on her thigh.
“I’m not sitting on your lap through dinner.”
“Why not?”
She laughed, the husky sound making me smile again. “That wouldn’t be very practical for eating.”
“You might be right. Maybe I’ll just eat you instead,” he said low, but not low enough I didn’t hear.
Okay, didn’t need to hear all that. I caught Devraj’s gaze again, hotter and harder. And inviting.
Nope.
“I’m gonna get something to drink,” I said, throwing a thumb over my shoulder.
Then I escaped to where JJ was still behind the bar. His best friend, Charlie, sat on his regular stool. Livvy sat beside