All through dinner, Crystal’s eyes kept going back to Rory. The man was pure sex. His eyes had cleared up in the past few days, and she was happily surprised when he’d agreed to order a large veggie pizza to share and had limited himself to one beer. She’d downed her own beer long before he’d finished his.

“So, how do you read tarot cards?” he asked when the pizza was almost gone.

They had talked about so many different things over dinner: travel, the future, the past, children, pets, and even past partners.

She felt like she’d gotten to know Rory Sinclair more in the past hour as they sat in a dark corner booth at Ed’s than she knew about people she’d known for years.

They’d played a simple game she liked to call A Million Questions.

One person asked the other the first question that came to mind and the other person had to answer with the first thing that came to their mind. Then it was the other person’s turn.

She’d learned he’d lost his virginity at the tender age of fifteen with a girl who had been seventeen and the captain of the cheer squad. He’d first fallen in love with a redhead back when he was eighteen. She’d broken his heart when she moved to Oregon to go to school. He’d almost gotten married once in his early twenties, but his bride-to-be had left him at the altar, after which he’d joined the army. He didn’t say much about his service, but she got the hint that after his time served, he’d never allowed himself to get close to anyone again.

They asked each other some of the same questions, but his answers were more exciting. By the time they were walking back home, she realized that for a person everyone liked to gossip about, she was really a dull human being.

She’d never jetted off to London for an affair or found a lover in Madrid. She’d never spent a day painting on the Thames.

She’d locked herself in Silver Cove and had thrown away the key when Johnathan had died. She’d given up much more than just her heart that day. She’d given up her life.

Part of her felt frustrated that she’d allowed so much time to go by without pursuing her dreams. The other part knew that she’d had a wonderful life regardless and that she still had plenty of time to explore places she wanted to go.

She was happily surprised when Rory reached over and took her hand as they made their way back to the house. The rain had stopped, leaving the streets glistening and everything smelling freshly washed.

“Did Rowan add the extra camera today?” he asked as she opened the front door.

“Yes, he added another one too, on the back garage where I park my car.”

“You have a car?” He smiled as he asked.

“Yes, the garage is there.” She motioned to the side of the house. “Would you like to see it?”

“Sure, why not.” He set his laptop case inside the door.

They walked to the side of the deck, and she motioned to the garage a few feet away behind some large bushes. He would have never known it was there.

“It opens to the side street.” She sat on the porch railing, her leg swaying as she leaned back against the house. “My grandfather built it when he purchased his first Ford.”

“I don’t suppose that’s still in there.”

She laughed. “No, but I do still own my father’s ’52 Chevy truck. It’s bright green and needs a new engine.”

He nodded. “Too bad. I know a little about cars, but not enough to replace an engine.”

“Rowan tried once.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Got Serenity involved. They were determined to make it into their make-out car.”

“Make-out car?” he asked, moving a little closer to her.

“Sure. What high school student wouldn’t want to make out in a classic like that?”

He nodded in agreement. “They didn’t get it running?”

“No, they’re the reason it needs a new engine.” She chuckled. “Forgot to put oil back in it after draining it.”

“Ouch.” He shook his head in shame.

“After that, it has sat in there with the hopes that one day, one of them will tow it away.”

“What kind of car do you drive?” he asked, looking back towards the garage.

“An old Ford pickup. It was my dad’s. Do you have a car?”

“No, I live and work in the city. Everything I need is within a block or two. Or I Uber where I need to go.”

“We just got the Uber here last year.” His chuckling stopped her. “What?”

“Just Uber, not the Uber.”

“Right.” She tilted her head at him. “We have such different lives.” What did they really have in common? Where exactly did she think starting a relationship with a man she didn’t have much in common with would take her? “I have an idea…”

“Okay,” he said after a moment. “Does this idea involve nakedness?” he joked.

Instead of answering, she took his hand and pulled him inside and down the short hallway to the library. Gently pushing him down in a chair, she pulled down her tarot cards and sat opposite him.

“Okay,” he said again, settling back. “Shoot.”

“Ready?” she asked, shuffling the cards.

“Sure, why not?” He smiled.

* * *

He watched her every move. She shuffled the cards like one would a normal deck of playing cards, even though these were larger and there were twice as many.

She set the cards down on the table and took a deep breath before pushing them his way in a long line.

“Pick three cards and lay them face down here.” She motioned for him.

He reached over and took three cards from the deck. She flipped them over one at a time.

“This card represents your past.” She pointed to the left card. This one your present…” She flipped the middle card.

“This my future?” he asked, pointing to the far card as she flipped it over.

She smiled and nodded. “This means you’re going to be somewhere else in the world.”

“Like traveling?”

“Could be.” She nibbled on her lip as she slowly laid down three more cards. One at a time, she flipped them over. When she got to the future card, she narrowed her eyes.

“This one could still mean just a trip, but it’s more like you’ll go somewhere... Misplaced.”

She laid three more cards down. “This one means deception or betrayal from someone close to you, who will take advantage of you,” she said after the third one was down. When she laid another row of cards down, her frown grew. “This is the Tower card. It means danger or unseen crisis.” She bit her lip as she flipped over several other cards. Then a smile finally formed on her lips. “Here, Nine of Cups. It means your wishes are going to come true and whatever danger you go through will only end in happiness.”

“How do you know all this by that?” He motioned to the table. He could clearly see a card titled The World, which he assumed meant travel, but the rest of it? He was completely lost.

“Years of study and practice.”

“So, it’s a skill?” He picked up another upside-down card and smiled at The Maiden. Setting it so Crystal wouldn’t see it, he picked up another from the fanned-out pile. This time it was Strength. Taking one more, he held in a strange noise as he looked down at a card with The Lovers written underneath two very naked people.

“Well?” she asked.

Glancing up at her from over the rim of the last card, he raised his eyebrows and tried to hide what emotions he was feeling.

“Hm?” He set the card facedown with the other three.

Her smile was fast. “Are you going to tell me what you saw?”

“Nothing.” He tried to put the cards back in the stack, but she stopped him by placing a hand over his.

“Show me. Tell me what you think they mean.” She motioned for him after removing her hand.

He swallowed, closed his eyes, and then took a deep breath.

“Okay, sure, why the hell not.” He flipped over the first card.

“The Maiden.” He looked up into her eyes. “You.”

She tiled her head, her smile firmly in place. “Go on.”

He flipped the next card. “Strength, again, you.”

“Was it facing me or you?” she asked.

“You,” he answered. She nodded. “Why would it matter?” he asked after a moment.

“Upright it would stand for strength, courage, control, and compassion. Reversed, it would mean weakness or self-doubt.” He nodded. “And the last card?”

He flipped over the card and remained silent.

“What do you think it means?” she asked, searching his eyes.

“There’s little to be interpreted,” he answered.

She smiled again. “It can have many meanings: blessings, protection, happiness, temptation, balance… it’s how you interpret the card. So…”

His eyes met hers. “My desire to take a strong, smart, passionate woman as a lover.”

She moved at the same time he did. They were locked in each other’s arms seconds later.

There was a whirlwind of hands reaching for clothes as the kiss went deeper.

He walked them backwards until they fell together on the sofa. He made sure to reach out and catch them so he wouldn’t crush her as he landed on top of her. Their lips didn’t break from one another.

Her hands grabbed at his shirt and untucked it from his slacks. When her hands touched his bare skin, he wondered how long he would last if she kept touching him. Her fingers brushed along the line of his slacks, then started tugging them lower on his hips.

His own hands were under the flowing shirt she’d worn that day. Pushing up, he tugged until the soft material landed on the floor next to them. The tight top she wore underneath was like a second skin.

She was driving him mad the way she was moving her hips against him. When her fingers moved up to grip his hair, he pulled back and looked down at her.

At that moment, looking down at the beautiful woman underneath him, he realized he’d never held onto anything so wonderful. Her long loose braid had come undone in his hands, and he rubbed the softness between his fingertips.

“You truly are amazing,” he said softly. Her blue eyes focused on him and she smiled, showing him that little dimple next to her mouth he’d seen a few times.

He reached up and ran a fingertip along the spot.

“Kiss me.” Crystal pulled him back down to her, but before their lips touched, her cell phone chimed and she frowned over at the table.

“That’s the sound it makes when someone enters the house.” She started to get up, but he rushed over to the phone and handed it to her.

“Stay here, call the police…” She sighed, looking down at her screen.

“It’s only Joe.” She shifted and set her feet on the ground.

“Joe?” He frowned down at her as he tucked his T-shirt back in. Just then, a thin tall blond man walked into the room. His smile fell away when he noticed Rory tucking his shirt in. The man’s eyes went to Crystal, who was still only in her tank top.

The flowers in the man’s hands told Rory everything he needed to know. The man was competition.