Succubus Dreams Page 0,58

started, then he told Seth."

She cut me a suspicious look. "You know, you sure seem to hang out with Seth a lot."

"Hey, you can be friends with nice guys too." I had no idea why I still felt the need to keep my relationship with Seth a secret. Some instinct told me it was the right thing to do.

"Too bad," said Maddie, finishing her own margarita. "I bet he'd treat his girlfriend like a princess."

"Yeah," I agreed wryly. "So long as that princess doesn't mind a mistress. Sometimes I think his writing will always be his first love."

To my surprise, Maddie didn't laugh or look outraged. "Well, I think that's the price you've gotta pay if you want to be with a man like that. It might be worth it."

Now I became pensive, wondering if this was true. Was I too hard on Seth and his distractibility? When lunch wrapped up, we walked back - not too tipsy - to the bookstore. I nudged Maddie as we stepped inside.

"Okay, here's the deal. In the next week, I want you to do three adventurous things."

She looked startled. "What kind of adventurous things?"

"I don't know." I pondered, thinking I might be drunker than I'd suspected. "The adventurous kind. Go out clubbing. Wear red lipstick. Doesn't matter. All I know is that there's going to be a pop quiz later, okay?"

"That's ridiculous. It's not that easy," she said with a scowl, turning away. "You can't just make something like that happen."

"Did I just hear you tell Maddie to go clubbing?" Seth's voice asked a moment later. She was already halfway across the store, and I doubted she'd take me up on my challenge. Too bad. I turned around to face him.

"I'm helping her live life."

"By drinking in the middle of the day?" he teased.

I pointed upstairs. "Don't you have a book to finish? I'll talk to you later. I have important things to do."

I felt only a little bad about dismissing him, seeing as we had dinner plans and would see each other later. He wandered off to write, and I threw myself into my work. Someone was home sick, so I got to be out amid the holiday shopping frenzy. Maddie worked a register beside me, and I was pleased to see how cheery and charismatic she was with customers.

When closing time came, I stopped in front of the newspapers, looking for...well, I didn't know what. But I hadn't forgotten about that poor drowning victim. I wondered if there might be more about him - or more about anything that might help me figure out what was happening to me in my sleep. Sadly, the headlines offered no insight today.

Seth and I drove to Pioneer Square for our late dinner and unsurprisingly couldn't find parking. We ended up several blocks away and were freezing by the time we entered the restaurant. The trek was worth it, though. This place was one of my favorites, serving up Cajun food spicy enough to chase away the winter chill. With gumbo and étouffée, it was hard to brood for too long.

We'd almost finished dessert when my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Georgina. This is Vincent."

"Hey," I said, surprised to be hearing from him.

"Look, I really need to talk to you in person. Is there any way I can see you?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah...it's kind of important."

I glanced over at Seth, who was finishing the last of his bread pudding. He was so easygoing, I doubted he'd mind if Vincent stopped by.

"I'm out with Seth..."

"It'll just take a few minutes," Vincent promised.

"Okay." I told him where we were, and he told me he'd be there shortly.

He wasn't kidding. I'd barely explained the situation to Seth when Vincent walked into the restaurant.

"What'd you do, fly over here?" I asked as he slid into a chair beside us.

"Nah, I was just close." He gestured to the remnants of our desserts. "Looks good."

"It was great," I said. "Now, what's up?"

He hesitated and glanced in Seth's direction.

"It's fine. Seth knows everything," I assured him. The waitress came by and dropped off our receipt and change.

Vincent studied Seth a moment more, then turned back to me. "Okay. I just have a quick question for you. We can talk about it on our way out."

The three of us set out into the cold again, heading toward Seth's car.

"So," Vincent began. "Remember that story you told me a little while ago? About the cop shooting his partner?"

"Yup."

"Where'd you hear it?"

We walked in