on her skin. “I would never tease you, Alice. I mean every word of that.”
“Hot diggity dog.”
“Indeed.” He kissed her again, and the taste of pinot noir on his lips made her head spin in a delightful way.
Alice’s crow cawed her approval in her mind. This man could be the one. How else could she explain the hard and fast way she was falling head over tail feathers for him? Her rational side warned her she should probably put on the brakes. Not a screeching halt, but a slight slowdown would have been wise.
But Alice had never been accused of doing the wise thing. She wasn’t an owl, for Pete’s sake. She much preferred to live in the moment, and this moment couldn’t have been any better.
After they ate, she lay on her back, resting her head in Donovan’s lap. He smiled down at her, running his fingers through her hair, and she basked in the attention. “It’s a shame Marty didn’t want to come. I thought he’d enjoy the outdoors.”
Donovan sighed. “Normally, he would. I’ve never shown so much interest in a woman before, so it’s hard for him to get used to this. He’ll come around, though. You make me happy, and he’ll learn to accept that.”
“You make me happy too.” Her lids drifted shut as he continued stroking her hair. “My parents used to bring me here for picnics when I was a kid. The creek was a lot deeper then, and Megan and I would swim all day while our parents sat on the bank and talked.”
“You two are close.”
“We’re like sisters. Well, I’m an only child, so I assume it’s what having a sibling would be like.” She opened her eyes. “What about you? What’s your family like? You don’t mention them much.”
“There’s not much to say. We were never close, and now I’m alone.” He stared out over the water. “How many generations of your family have lived here?”
“Just us. My parents visited Shift Creek when they first got married, and they fell in love with the town. So, they moved here and opened the café a few years before I was born.”
“Have you ever considered moving away?”
“Heck no.” She sat up. “I went to college in Austin, and that was enough. I’m a free spirit, but I’m not a wanderer. I’ll take a vacation every now and then, but Shift Creek is my home. I love it here. Why?”
Her stomach sank. If this was the part where he asked her to move to New York with him, he would be sorely disappointed. Best to find out now if he was having second thoughts about staying. “Do you want to go back to New York? Is that why you asked?”
“No. I’ve never had such an affinity for a place like you do. Anywhere could be my home.”
He always had the right answer for everything, didn’t he?
As she stretched her arms over her head, a gust of wind picked up an empty wine cup, blowing it through the field. “I’ll get it.” Alice stood and chased the tumbling plastic a few yards before grabbing it and returning it to the picnic basket.
Donovan’s phone lay in the bottom of the bin next to his keys and wallet, and a notification lit up his screen. He stood on the creek bank, watching the springs bubble from underground.
“You have a message.” She gestured to the basket and tried not to get her hopes up.
“I’m sure it can wait.” He reached a hand toward her, inviting her to join him.
“What if it’s Griffin?”
He nodded once and strode to the basket, lifting the phone and swiping his thumb across the screen. His eyes darkened briefly before he dropped it on the blanket. “It’s not.”
“Damn.” She followed him back to the water’s edge and nudged him playfully with her hip. “Was it something important?”
He nudged her back and smiled. “Not at all. I’m attempting to acquire an artifact…for a client…but the current owner is reluctant to part with it.”
“Can’t you cast a spell to make him think he doesn’t want it?” She wiggled her fingers toward him like a cartoon witch about to shoot magic from her hands. Why she did that, she had no clue. She’d seen witches and warlocks cast spells before, and they were never that animated. They weren’t green and warty either.
Well, some of them were warty, but that had nothing to do with their magical abilities.
Donovan arched a brow. “That would be unethical…and illegal.”
“Oh, yeah. I