Soothsayer: Magic Is All Around Us (Soothsayer Series Book 1) (10 page)

I blinked. “How so?” I edged closer to the window.

“Most women I meet can’t wait to find their next relationship. They’re always looking for Mr. Right or Mr. Right-now in some cases. But you’re secure. You're…” He hesitated, trying to find the right word, “Unique.”

I laughed.

“What?” He gave me a confused smile.

“Oh, make a left up here. I’m just up the block on the right side.”

“So what did I say that was so funny?” he asked, returning to our conversation.

“It’s just, I’ve tried very hard not to be unique,” I said and looked out the window. “I’m right here.” My complex flashed by the window. Ian hit the brakes and put it in reverse, parking in a spot that was really only big enough for motorcycles and scooters.

“You can't change who you are.” The tenacity in his expression had no effect on me.

“Thanks for the ride. And thanks for tonight. I had a really good time.” I meant it. Ian might not give me butterflies or ignite a fire inside me but he was still a nice guy and the evening had gone better than I’d thought possible.

“So did I. I’m glad I got to meet you.”

“You too. Night,” I said, opening the passenger door and stepping out.

I closed the door and started walking to the gate when I heard a window roll down behind me. I turned to look and Ian was leaning across the car almost out the passenger window.

“What time should I pick you up tomorrow?” he asked.

“Tomorrow?” I replied.

“You didn’t forget that you’re supposed to show me around now did you?” He smiled.

“Oh, that. Well I normally get up around five in the morning on Saturdays to make it to the beach for sunrise.” I hoped this news would discourage him from wanting to spend time with me. Ian was nice and all but I didn’t really want to spend an entire day with him.

“Sounds good. See you around five-thirty then. Sleep well,” he said, rolling up the window before I could protest.

“You too,” I said under my breath and turned to unlock the gate.

I sighed with relief as I locked the door behind me, nearly collapsing on the tiled entryway floor. I changed out of my dress and into sweats faster than Superman changing back into Clark Kent. I set my alarm and crawled into bed.

I yawned and rolled onto my side. As much as my brain wanted to over analyze the evening, a tequila-induced sleep forced my eyelids to close and I passed out.

>>>><<<<

I had hoped Ian wouldn’t show up. Most people didn’t like getting up before the sun, but he arrived just before five-thirty and we headed out for the day. He was quiet most of the morning, no doubt still feeling the effects of the sandman, but he didn’t take his eyes off me the whole time. It felt like he was waiting for something to happen, like I would magically sprout wings and fly away. I tried to ignore him but I couldn’t help feeling exposed and vulnerable as he tracked my every movement.

I finished shooting a few photos and we watched the sun rise over the water. With any other guy, I might have thought it romantic to watch the fingers of dawn stretch across the sand, but with Ian the sky couldn’t brighten up fast enough.

“How about we get some coffee?” Ian suggested. He stood, dusting the sand off of his jeans.

“Coffee sounds great. I know just the place,” I replied. Ian reached for my elbow and helped me to my feet. Robert’s face flashed across my eyes and his voice echoed in my head,
“Violet, I need you to look at me.”

I pulled away from Ian and dusted myself off without looking at him.
What the hell was that?
I thought.

“Stand up too fast?” Ian asked.

His voice startled me. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Just a little light-headed.” I lied. Ian’s blue eyes flittered over me and a shiver ran down my spine. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something about Ian was off and I was ready to be rid of him.

We pulled up to the Java Beach Café and instantly I felt a sense of relief wash over me. It was packed with people and the familiar scent of fresh donuts and coffee filled my nose.

“This must be the place to be,” Ian said with a smile as we walked inside.

“You betcha. Java has the best pastries within a hundred miles.”

We put in or orders and found a place to sit outside.

“So does your family also live in Pismo?” he asked as we sat down.

“No, they don’t.” I fiddled with the napkin dispenser, avoiding eye contact and hoping he’d switch to a different subject.

“So you’re not originally from around here, or did they move away and you stayed behind for the view?” He wiggled his eyebrows and a feeling of unease settled in the pit of my stomach.

A small, plump woman bustled over to our table and quickly distributed our coffee and breakfast.

“I moved here after college. My parents aren’t around anymore and I needed a place to start over.” I tore a piece of my donut off and popped it in my mouth as I waited for my coffee to cool a bit.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” Ian sipped his coffee and for the first time today, took his eyes off of me.

“Yes you did,” I said, calling him on his bullshit.

“I’m just trying to get to know you. Man, you’re a hard nut to crack, aren’t you?”

I sighed. “I just don’t talk about my past much. I try to focus on the future.”

“I understand. I lost my dad when I was ten and my mother was never the same after. It was like a piece of her died with him.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…” I trailed off.

“It’s alright, it was a long time ago. Thankfully I had my uncle. He took me under his wing and kind of became a surrogate father.”

“Same with my aunt. She took care of me after my parents died but unfortunately we haven’t stayed very close over the years.”

“I’m sure she’s always looking out for you, one way or another.”

“Maybe,” I mused. This conversation was making me feel uneasy. I was being too free with my past, something I never did. I could feel the unnatural desire to open up to him cling to my chest like a bird to its prey. The words he wanted to hear bubbled out of me without my consent. I felt compelled to answer him and tell him whatever he wanted to hear and it terrified me.  

“What about siblings?”

“Nope, it’s just me.” I tried not to answer, but the words just popped out. I took a sip of my coffee as panic gripped me.

“That’s lonely.”

“It’s all I’ve ever known.” I shrugged. “What about you? Any brothers and sisters?” I tried steering the conversation toward him to get the heat off of me.

“An older sister, but we don’t stay in touch. After my father died, she went away to school and we took different paths in life.”

“It must be hard to have family and not be close to them.”

“Not really, my uncle is my family,” he said, his voice cold and hard.

Whatever had happened between him and his sister must have been pretty bad. I couldn’t imagine having a sibling and not being close to them. I let the topic of family drop as we quietly sipped our coffee. If it were me, I wouldn’t want some stranger digging into my family history. Then again, a stranger was currently digging into my family history and I was letting him. I couldn’t figure out why; even Becky had to work to get details out of me sometimes and we’d been friends for years.

“So, no parents, no siblings, no husband, you’re all alone. That’s kind of sad actually,” Ian said. He frowned and reached across the table to hold my hand.

“I’m not alone. Just because I don’t have blood family doesn’t mean I don’t have people in my life that I care about.” I pulled my hand back and placed it in my lap.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. New topic?” He leaned back in his chair and took a bite of his bagel.

“Sure.” I took a sip of my coffee and let it warm me from the inside out. Despite it being a beautiful day, I felt cold to the bone.

“So, how well do you know the Maxwell family?”

I froze, my donut halfway to my mouth. Did he know something about what happened?

“The Maxwell family?” I managed to sputter out.

“Yeah, Becky said you two worked that wedding. I figured you had an in,” Ian explained.

“Oh, well no. Annabel hired me to photograph the wedding but I’d never met them before that.” I felt like I was walking on thin ice. He narrowed his eyes as if analyzing my every word.

“Interesting family aren’t they?”

“How so?” I sipped my coffee, playing it cool.

“Well you know how it is, wealthy families always have skeletons in their closet.” He let out a low chuckle but the set of his jaw was serious. He was definitely up to something and the compulsion to tell him everything I knew about the Maxwells was taking over. The more I fought against the feeling, the stronger it got.  

His phone rang, startling us both, and he excused himself from the table. I let out the breath I’d been holding and I could feel the compulsion to divulge any more information slowly fade as he walked away.

He stood out of earshot but his face was serious. Whoever was on the other end of that phone meant business. He looked my way and the corner of his mouth turned up in a handsome smirk.

He hung up the phone and in a few long strides returned to our table. “I’m sorry to do this, but that was work and I have to run,” he said.

“Oh okay, no problem.” I tried to suppress my sigh of relief that this nightmare was almost over.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. My heart kicked up a notch with the skin to skin contact and I tugged my arm to escape.

He leaned in close, whispered, “Until next time,” and gently kissed my cheek before he walked away.

An overwhelming sense of dread filled me from head to toe.

The moment he was out of sight, I felt the tension in my body release and my head begin to clear. Never again was I going to let Becky set me up on a blind date.

With that thought, I made my way to her place to give her a piece of my mind. She may not like being alone, but I’d rather be alone any day than spend another moment with a guy like Ian.

I was still feeling uneasy when I pulled up to Becky’s place and had to take a minute in the car to gather my thoughts. I knew she would want a full report and I didn’t know how I was going to explain my strange morning with Ian.

Brett’s warning sounded in my head about keeping everything a secret and somehow this felt connected.

Braving myself for the onslaught of questions, I walked up the brick pathway to her front door and knocked.

“Hey,” Becky bounced with excitement when she opened the door. “So, how was the morning with Ian?”

I sighed. “Ugh, I would rather have had a root canal. Thankfully he got a phone call and had to run off.”

“I’m just glad you followed through and went out with him. And see, the world didn’t end,” she laughed and threw herself down on the couch.

“Sure, but never again, you hear me? No more blind dates, no more Ian. Never again.” I curled up on the loveseat across from her.

“We’ll see. It really couldn’t have been that bad.” She rolled her eyes.

“Maybe, maybe not. I don’t know, it was kinda weird. There’s just something off about him.” I stared at the ceiling.

“You always do this, you know. You have to find something wrong with every guy you go out with.”

“No, I'm serious this time. He kept asking all these personal questions. It was like he was trying to find something out about me.” I exhaled in a heavy sigh and let my head fall back against the couch.

“You don’t think that maybe you’re overreacting a bit?”

“No, I mean he was nice enough, but he really gave me the creeps today.”

“What could he have possibly done to creep you out so much?”

“Like I said, he asked me a million questions about my family and how I ended up in Pismo,” I retorted. I knew Becky wouldn’t believe me right off the bat because she was right; I did find something wrong with every guy I went out with.

“He’s just trying to get to know you.” Becky waved her hand dismissively.

“That’s what he said too but it was all wrong. It’s like he already knew me and was trying to confirm it. But the worst part was the way he looked at me.”

Actually, the worst part was feeling like I had no control over my own words, but how was I going to explain that to her without sounding like a lunatic.

“The way he looked at you?” Her brow creased as she straightened up and leaned toward me.

“It was… intense,” I said, sitting up. “It’s like he was sizing me up, watching my every movement.”

“So he just stared at you?” She raised an eyebrow.

“He never took his eyes off me the whole morning. It was like those National Geographic shows, where the lion stalks his prey.”

“You really mean it, don’t you?” she asked, leaning back in her chair.

I nodded. “Something was definitely not right.”

“You’re biting your lip. What is it?”