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Interesting

"Daisy?" Sinclair asked "Are we okay?"

"Yeah, of course," I said "I wouldn’t want you to lie to her, either And I guess she had to find out sooner or later Did she freak?"

"She’s curious," he admitted "I wouldn’t say freaked But, um, it wouldn’t hurt for you to keep a lid on--"

"Yeah, yeah" I cut hiood first impression Not like I did with the Maave a deep, rich chuckle that le and my tail twitch "Just between you and me? I kind of liked the funky satyr booty call"

I smiled "Pick you up at seven?"

"Why don’t we pick you up?" Sinclair suggested "Eot a rental"

As it transpired, not only did E-new rental convertible that was much, much nicer than my poor ten-year-old Honda Civic At seven o’clock sharp, she and Sinclair pulled into the alley betweenand the park to pick me up Oh, and it was also a stick shift, which she drove with reckless aplo wildly around ht, Daisy?" Emmeline’s eyes aze Her close-cropped hair was unaffected "Shall I put the top up?"

I rued my hair back into a ruthless ponytail "Not on my account"

Sinclair inhaled deeply "It still smells like summer"

I poked hiht yet supple, stirring in the wind Once a week, he treated the essential oils, and I always knew because it smelled a lot like fresh rose"

Reaching behind hiot to look fine for his ladies, darling"

Out of the corner of ent s about her and her presence here in Peer on it, I resolved to keep ood first impression

The Bide-a-Wee Tavern is located out in the sticks, a couple hway Frankly, it’s not the venue I would have chosen if I were trying to ood impression on a first-time visitor to Pe style and sophistication It’s not a dive, but it’s pretty rustic: basic A and dented wood paneling that were probably installed in the 1970s

Don’t get --I love the place I love the saed since I was a kid drinking Shirley Teuitar in the house band, eyes half closed and a beatific smile on his face Just the memory filled me with tenderness

That hat I’d wanted to share with Sinclair But with Eh her eyes, too

It looked dingy and a little sad As I’d promised, the place was full, but the clientele was older and overwhelly white The latter’s sort of unavoidable since Peenous, butlet’s just say that there were a lot of frued Midwestern ladies in their finest appliquéd sweatshirts

"It’s early," I et into Lulanced uncertainly at his sister

"I think it’s brilliant," E in a clipped and authoritative manner "Very authentic" She turned to the hostess "Table for three?"

So we stayed

At first it ard, but eventually, reased the conversational skids In between numbers, I asked Emmeline questions about herself, about her education at boarding schools and at Oxford She responded with engaging tales laced with self-deprecating hu up in Peularly scheduled appearances by pretty, sparkly fairies that helped popularize his tours

Here’s e didn’t talk about: Jamaica, obeah, Sinclair and Emmeline’s mother, and the fact that I was a hell-spawn

That was okay withabout the various elephants in the roo them up Sinclair definitely didn’t see ," E the story of our bargain with the Oak King "Ion Sinny’s tours today Well done"

"Oh, the tour is entirely Sinclair’s doing," I said honestly "It was all his idea I just helped facilitate it"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>