himself back up for an epic rant. I only caught choice snippets, and they were more than enough to make me glad I had other things to focus on. “—most worthless excuse for a son anyone has ever been saddled with—”
“Well the building is the nicest on the block,” Lina told me. “And bigger than the space I’m in now. I’ve been looking to grow for a while, and I think this spot would suit the shop well.”
David frowned at her. “It would cost a fortune to convert a bookstore into a coffee shop. Why not buy the pet store next to you and knock down the wall for extra space?”
At that, Fluke gave a sharp, irritated bark. One visit, and he was already attached to the pet shop.
I reached down and patted his head. “Don’t worry, buddy, I’m sure Sapphire isn’t looking to sell.”
Lina pointed at me, while looking at David. “That. I’ve asked and they’re not interested.” Then she turned to me, apologetic. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was going to cause you issues, or I’d have waited till no one was around to bring it up.”
David waved her off. “It’s Sage’s choice, not mine, obviously. It just seems like an odd move for you. Expensive.”
She shrugged at him. “I have the money to invest. If the shop can handle more customers, I’ll have more.”
“—should have left everything to the state! At least they would have respected my family’s legacy!—” Dad’s voice was so high it was squeaking on the last word of every sentence.
I tried to smile at David and Lina. It was nice that they had made up from whatever weird awkwardness they’d fallen into. Had they dated in the past, maybe, and now it was hard for them to have a civil conversation?
Without thinking it through, I glanced over at Gideon again. Why did the very thought of dating make me look at him? The guy died in the eighteen-hundreds. He probably didn’t even know what the word dating meant. Probably called it “courting” and thought it was only for people planning to get married and have kids.
He was on the move, and that made a nervous ball form in the pit of my stomach. I had just realized that morning, even if I hadn’t said it out loud yet, that he’d been right. Probably about everything. Arcane magic was real. He was an arcane mage, and maybe I was too, and most of all, I needed him.
I needed him to stay.
So that he could teach me, of course. Not because I enjoyed his company and wanted him to stick around. Not because he had brown eyes so deep I happily could stare into them for hours. Not because I loved his dry sense of humor and arrogant grin.
He marched right up to my father, and I had a wild moment of concern about whether Gideon’s gun would work on Dad. Instead of anything violent, though, Gideon took off his hat and put it on Dad. Then he pulled it down to cover his face.
I buried my face in my hands and tried not to laugh.
David immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. “Look at us, dragging you into a debate about businesses after what you went through this morning.” He put a hand on my shoulder, giving me a light squeeze, and Gideon made a noise that could only be called a growl. “We’ll get out of your hair. We can both talk to you about things another time, when you’ve had a chance to recover.”
I swiped my hands down, leaving them over my mouth as I inclined my head to him, trying my best to look serious. Lina nodded to me and offered a little wave, and they both turned to go. He held the door for her, and I wondered if it was as much to make sure she left as to show good manners.
There was something odd going on there, and between my usual social awkwardness and the nightmare of two ghosts in the background, one of whom really was a huge asshole, I couldn’t make sense of it. Maybe I’d ask David next time I saw him. We’d been chatting casually for years; maybe he’d feel comfortable explaining what that whole scene had been about.
I turned to look at my father, who had removed Gideon’s hat and was stamping on it. He looked like a hysterical Yosemite Sam, only with graying blond hair and no luxurious mustache.
We watched him do