Chapter Seven
Astrid
I woke up the next morning feeling a little fuzzy in the head, but overall, not too bad. Which was something, given how much wine I'd had the night before. I wasn't normally a drinker, so it seemed like even the smallest amounts could turn me inside out. But I had to admit, that dessert wine Quint had served us had been pretty amazing and I'd had more than I probably should have.
Thinking about the night before brought me to the inescapable thought of Quint. Yeah, that hadn't been awkward or anything.
I looked at the business card sitting on the counter in wonder. Things like that didn't happen to me. Quint looked like he had stepped out of the pages of a fitness or fashion magazine. He was tall, incredibly well built, and with his dark hair and unusually green eyes.
Men like that did not hit on me. Ever. And they most certainly didn't ask me out on a date. Guys like that usually went for Piper – and with good reason. She was gorgeous and with her tight, toned body, she could have been a lingerie model herself. I wasn't anything like her.
But the way he'd looked at me – it ignited fires deep within me I hadn't felt burning in ages.
I shook my head. No, I couldn't let myself get caught up in that. Men like Quint were usually after one thing – conquests. He probably saw me as a challenge because I wasn't throwing my panties at him like that snooty little waitress who'd served us.
I looked at the clock and groaned. The one bad thing about being a business owner – you never got weekends off. I crawled out of bed and hopped into the shower. I let the hot water sluice away all the cobwebs in my head and let myself soak in the near scalding water until my skin was bright red.
Getting out of the shower, I toweled off and got ready to head into the bookstore. Locking up my apartment, I made the short walk to work, stopping at the nearby Starbucks to grab a drink on my way. When I came out of the coffee house though, I stopped. Standing directly across the street from me was a man in a dark gray suit. Even from where I was standing, I could see that it was ragged and torn. His hair was disheveled and he looked dirty.
He was obviously homeless. But that wasn't what sent a tendril of ice slithering up my spine. It was the fact that he was just standing there, still as a statue, staring at me. Feeling a presence to my right, I turned and found another man standing about twenty feet away, staring at me just like the homeless man across the street was. This man though, didn't look homeless. He was neatly dressed in jeans and a button down shirt. He had ebony skin, a shaved head, a neatly trimmed goatee, and looked to be in terrific shape. But he too, was standing statue still, just staring at me.
It was a creepy feeling and one that had me edging closer to a panic attack.
I considered going back into the coffee house, but opted against it. Instead, I turned and hurried down the street to my bookstore. I unlocked the doors as quickly as I could, getting inside, closing and locking the door behind me again. When I turned and looked out the front windows, both men were standing across the street, staring at me. The blank expressions on their faces was creepy – and made me think they'd been possessed or something.
I shook my head. Too many horror books and movies in my day.
Still, the way they stared at me, the way they'd followed me, and that blank expression on their faces was beyond creepy. I ran over to the counter and tossed my purse down, fishing my phone out of it. When I turned back to the window as I punched in the number for 911, I froze in place again. Both of the men were gone. Gone as if they'd never been there in the first place.
Looking up and down the street, I didn't see either one of them. It was like they'd evaporated or something. But that didn't necessarily make me feel any better. Canceling the call, I held on to my phone and slowly unlocked the door. Stepping outside, I looked up and down the street again, half expecting one of the men to materialize in front of me.
But there was nothing. Nothing at all.
If it had just been the homeless guy, that would have been one thing. I could have chalked it up to his eccentricities. But to have two of them – and quite obviously, two of them from very different socioeconomic backgrounds – staring at me with the same dead-eyed, vacant expression – it was unnerving, to say the least.
I jumped and let out a small scream of fright when my phone rang in my hand. Feeling the adrenaline coursing through my body, I raised my trembling hand and looked at the caller ID.
It was Piper. Even though I wasn't close to being sure that I was safe, just seeing her name pop up on my phone still flooded me with a powerful sense of relief. I walked back into the shop, making sure to close the door again, and picked up the call.
“You are so going out with that man,” she said by way of greeting.
“Well, good morning to you too,” I said.
She paused a moment. “You okay?” she asked. “You sound stressed.”
I looked out the windows again and still saw nobody – the coast seemed to be clear. I told her what happened anyway, and she sounded horrified.
“You called the cops, right?” she asked.
“I was going to, but then the creepers were gone and I guess, I didn't see the point of it. I'm sure they've got better things to do than hunt down phantom stalkers,” I said and laughed nervously.
“Yeah, like planting evidence and framing people,” she said. “At least, if you listen to my clients.”
I laughed again and this time, it felt a little more normal and a little less forced. Piper had always been able to talk me down from any ledge and make me feel better when things were going sideways. It was something I loved about her.
“Maybe you should call them though,” she said. “Just in case. Maybe they can send out a few more patrols and keep an eye on the area.”
“Yeah, you might have a point,” I said. “I'll do that.”
“Great. You should absolutely do that,” she said. “Now, back to my original point in calling – you are going out with Quint.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I haven't decided yet.”
“That's okay,” she said. “I decided for you. And you're going out with Quint.”
“Why is it that important to you?”
She laughed. “Well, remember last night when I said I was going to get you laid?” she asked. “Well, I'm pretty sure Quint could do the job. Did you see that guy? I mean, talk about drop dead gorgeous.”
“Maybe you should go out with him,” I said. “You seem pretty into him.”
“Oh, I'd do him in a heartbeat, don't be a fool,” she said. “But he wasn't into me. He was into you. As that old song goes, he only had eyes for you, my dear.”
“Now, who's being a fool?” I giggled.
“Yeah well, I'm not the one he asked out,” she said. “Or gave his business card to. That would be you. So, you are going to go out with him.”
I laughed. “You're persistent.”
“I'm a lawyer,” she said. “It's in the job description.”
“I dunno, Pip –”
“I do know,” she cut me off. “Getting out and having something resembling a social life would be good for you. Seriously, Astrid, I worry about you sometimes. Your aversion to – people and life in general – it kind of scares me.”
“I don't think it's all that scary,” I said. “I think what's scarier are people in general.”
“That's what I'm talking about, hon,” she said. “I mean, what if something happens to me – God, forbid – I worry that you're just going to become this recluse. I joke about you being a shut-in, but it's really not all that far off the mark. If something were to happen to me – I really don't know what would happen to you and it worries me.”
“It's not all that bad,” I said.
“Other than me, who do you go out with, hon?” she pressed. “What other connection to society – and the world – do you have?”
I thought about it for a moment. “Well, there's always Pete.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, that settles it. You're going out with him,” she said. “So, when you hang up with me, you call him. Thank him again for a wonderful evening last night and make some plans to see him again.”
“Wow,” I said and grinned. “Anything else I should do while I'm at it?”
Piper seemed to think it over for a moment. “Well, a cut and a style might not be a bad idea,” she said. “Maybe go out and get yourself some dresses that just ooze sex appeal.”
“Yeah, because that's really me.”
“You should've seen yourself last night,” she said. “And the way Quint couldn't keep his eyes off you. Yeah, I'd say that's you, babe.”
I laughed. “I have to go,” I said. “Some of us have to work today.”
“Sucks to be you, hon,” she replied. “I'm gonna lay in bed for a couple more hours and then head out for a leisurely breakfast somewhere that has a patio. It's a gorgeous day.”
“You suck.”
“That's why the boys love me,” she said. “You should try it.”
“Goodbye, Pip,” I said. “Love you.”
“Love you back.”
I disconnected the call and felt a chill wash over me. Still holding onto the phone, I walked back over to the front windows, half expecting to see the two men from earlier peering back in at me. But the street outside was empty, save for a few people taking walks, joggers – the usual weekend morning traffic.
Still , I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. That there were eyes on me somewhere out there. Hidden. Waiting.
But waiting for what?
I folded my arms over my chest and watched the street scene outside for a few more minutes before deciding that they weren't out there. Unlocking the door, I flipped the sign over to the “open” side, and started my day.