I nodded appreciatively then turned back to my book. I swore I’d read the same page five times but still had no idea what it said.
“No, the bar is fine. We just want dessert,” I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. Rayne?
I turned around to see Rayne enter with a red-headed girl I recognized but didn’t know.
“Evening,” Rayne said playfully. He helped his guest slide onto one the bar stools then slipped onto the seat next to me. “What’s the subject tonight, my illustrious mad scientist?”
“Chemistry,” I said, giving him an inquisitive look. What was he doing here and who was that girl?
“A subject you seem well-versed in.”
“Oh really?” I replied with a laugh, shaking my head. “Ugh. This class is making potions with Professor Snape look like kindergarten.”
Rayne grinned. “How about introductions?” he said, leaning back, “Cassidy, this is my friend, Viola. Viola, this is Cassidy. Cassidy is a family friend.”
Cassidy, I noticed, chuckled.
“You have a family?” I asked Rayne with mock confusion. Truth be told, I knew nothing about where Rayne had come from. I always imagined his family lived on a commune or owned an organic salad dressing company or something. I had never actually met anyone from Rayne’s world before. And now, his acquaintance was very….pretty.
“Hi,” I said to Cassidy, reaching out to shake her hand. “You look familiar. Do you live here in Chancellor?”
She nodded. “I teach at the studio over by the high school.”
I studied her. Her eyes, much like Rayne’s, had a sort of odd sparkle. Was I right or was it just the dim restaurant lighting? She was very attractive. She had long, straight red hair, a smattering of freckles on her nose, and a lithe dancer’s body. Yes, definitely pretty. And pretty familiar with my friend, from what I could see, as she settled in close alongside him. Her familiar nearness to Rayne set my nerves on edge. Easy, Viola.
“What can I get for you?” Rick asked them.
“Dessert!” Cassidy said excitedly. “I’m dying for something sweet. Rayne said you have the best desserts.”
“And coffee?” Rayne asked.
Rick nodded. “Desserts. Tonight the chef has four dishes. We have a brandied cherry clafouti, which is brandied cherries inside a French custard, plantain mock-scallops with drizzled Belgian dark chocolate, a traditional crème brulee kicked up with lemon zest and lavender, and vegan cashew cheesecake with warmed brown sugar peaches served over the top.”
“You’re buying, right?” Cassidy asked Rayne, setting her hand playfully on his arm.
The muscles in my stomach tightened as an annoyed and jealous feeling sweeping over me.
Rayne shrugged. “Apparently.”
“I’ll try them all,” Cassidy told Rick.
Rick smiled at Cassidy. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who noticed her sparkle. “So, can I make you a drink?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Just coffee for me too.”
“You’re in luck. I’ve got a fresh pot brewing,” Rick said then winked at me. With that he headed back into the kitchen to give the order.
I frowned and looked down at my book. Who in the hell was this girl? And why were both Rayne and Rick suddenly looking at her and not…well, not me. Enough, Viola. Don’t act like a spoiled brat. Not five minutes ago you were trying to think of a way to shake Rick. And Rayne is your friend. Don’t be that kind of bitch.
“Test?” Rayne asked, looking over my shoulder.
I nodded. “Day after tomorrow.”
“So…Viola Hunter. I’ve heard so much about you,” Cassidy said then.
Rayne passed Cassidy a glance but said nothing.
“Have you?” I asked, then looked at Rayne. “Do tell. What have you heard? I’d love to hear what Rayne has to say about me.”
“Well, you are definitely as pretty as he said.”
A massive butterfly spiraled through my stomach. “So, you think I’m pretty?” I asked Rayne playfully.
“A goddess,” he replied with a wink.
“This is a great restaurant,” Cassidy said then. “The water wheel outside is perfect. Just look at this place. Your family…the Blushing Grape people, right?”
I nodded. In most cases, being a Hunter was either a really good thing or a really bad thing. In the case of Cassidy, however, I heard no emotion at all in the statement. That alone warmed me toward her.
“I love your dessert wines,” she said wistfully.
I smiled, a proud feeling swelling in my chest. I’d had a hand in developing most of the flavors for those wines. “Thank you. So, you teach?”
She nodded. “Some dance, I teach the little ones tap, ballet, and run mommy and me classes. Mostly I teach yoga though. At night I teach the older girls. I have a great class this year. Some real talents.”
“How long have you been in Chancellor?”
“Oh, a bit. I just float with the wind. I started working at the studio last summer, helped with the choreography for their summer show. They put on The Little Mermaid.”
I nodded. “I saw that show.”
“You did? That’s so cool. Yeah, it was fun. Twyla was Ariel in that production,” Cassidy told Rayne.
“Here we go,” Rick said then, setting down four plates in front of Rayne and Cassidy. “Let me get the coffees,” he said then moved off.
I couldn’t help but notice how Cassidy moved from eyeing over the desserts to eyeing over the bartender. He was definitely a dessert in and of himself, if one were so inclined. That was, of course, why I’d hired him, in addition to his mixology certificate. It never hurt to have some eye candy behind the bar. But I never expected that eye candy would fix his own eyes on me.
Cassidy nodded to herself, like she’d decided something, then turned her attention to the crème brulee. She tapped the crystalized sugar coating with the back of her spoon then scooped up a bite. She closed her eyes, sighing heavily as she ate, then said, “You have to try this.” She scooped up a bite and practically shoved it into Rayne’s mouth before he could protest.
“Perfect,” he said between bites.
Their little exchange made that weird feeling gnaw at my stomach again. I suddenly felt captive. I couldn’t escape the scene, and as much as I wanted to not care what my friend was up to, and with whom, I did. A lot.
“How’s Alice?” I asked Rayne then, shifting the conversation, shifting my attention away from the jealous feeling racking me. Stupid. What right did I have?
“Okay,” Rayne said, suddenly looking a bit sad. “We talked after you left. He wasn’t right for her. She knows it. She just wasn’t expecting to get dumped like that. I don’t know if she’s really going to go to the ball. Well, not unless I find someone for her to go with.”
“We’ll both look. She needs someone fabulous,” I replied.
“What about him?” Cassidy asked quietly, motioning with her spoon toward Rick. “He single? He’s hot as hell. Fix her up with him.”
Rayne fixed Rick with an assessing look then turned to me. “What do you think?”
“Yeah, I…I think he has someone else on his mind right now,” I stammered.
“Too bad,” Cassidy said with a sigh then stuck her spoon in the cherry dessert.
“Someone else on his mind, eh?” Rayne asked, his twinkly green eyes searching my face. I knew from the expression thereon that he realized I was talking about me.
“Seems like everyone has big eyes these days,” I said softly then lifted a questioning eyebrow at Cassidy who was so enamored with the cherry dessert that she’d turned and started talking about it to the elderly couple sitting down the bar from us.