Once Upon Stilettos

“But your roommate wasn’t compelled to buy them for herself?”



I shook my head. “No. She loved them, but she said I had to have them.”



“Hmm.”



“Hmm, what?”



“It’s possible that the spell was specifically targeted at you.”



“You haven’t met Gemma. She would have gone ape over those shoes even without magic.”



“With the recent attacks on you and the activity within the company, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that you were being targeted.”



“So, what, someone was trying to undermine me by making me incredibly attractive? Please, torture me some more.”



“It made for a distraction, and as you saw with both Rod and me, it could have served to totally undermine your trust in us.”



“Oh,” I breathed, as the realization hit me. It was going to be difficult enough to face Rod after this, even knowing what I knew. If I hadn’t learned the secret of the shoes, if things had gone further with either Owen or Rod, how effectively could I have worked with either of them in the future? I was incredibly lucky that Owen was an even better wizard than he was a kisser.



I needed to get away from there. I needed to get back home where sanity prevailed, where I didn’t have to look at him and wonder why he couldn’t have waited a little while longer to figure out that my shoes were enchanted. “Thanks for the cocoa, and the rescue, and all,” I said, “but I probably ought to head home.”



“Have you looked outside? It’s nasty out there.”



“It’s only a few blocks.”



“And you’re going to make it in what shoes?” He looked mildly amused, which was an improvement on the borderline anger he’d shown earlier.



“Oh, right.”



“I have a guest room, so it won’t be a bother. You’ll probably be more comfortable than you would be at home. And then after we’ve both had some rest, we can tackle the problem of your enchanted shoes and see if we can get to the bottom of what’s going on.”



“I don’t know,” I hedged. Part of me was dying to accept his offer, while the saner side knew it might be a bad idea.



He headed toward the hallway. “Come on,” he said, gesturing for me to follow. Loony and I trailed him down the hallway to the living room. “Look out the window,” he said. I leaned on the desk to look and saw that snow was already drifting on the ground, and it was falling so hard I couldn’t see the buildings across the very narrow street. “That’s on top of a layer of ice and sleet,” he pointed out.



“You don’t mind?”



“You’d be making my life easier. If you decide to go home, I’d have to walk you, and then I’d have to walk back home in that. So please do me a favor and let us both stay inside, warm and dry tonight.”



How could I resist that? He was too cute for words. “Okay, if you insist.”



“The guest room has its own bathroom, and I keep some extra toothbrushes in there, along with a few other things. I’ve had enough occasions where people had to stay here unexpectedly when they couldn’t get off the island, so I like to be prepared.”



I nodded. “That’s good.”



“Not that I’m sending you off to bed if you’re not ready. But the guest room is upstairs and to the right when you are ready. You can lock the door from inside, if that makes you feel better. I should warn you that you’d better shut the door if you don’t want someone joining you in the middle of the night.” He suddenly flushed bright pink and hurried to add, “I mean, the cat. She seems to like you.”



I looked down to where Loony was wrapping herself around my ankles. “Better than clawing my eyes out.”



He grinned. “That’s how she greets Rod.” Then he winced. “Sorry, didn’t mean to bring that up.”



“It’s okay. I’m not going to faint when you mention his name.” I looked around the warm, cozy room. It was so inviting, with its fire and Christmas tree. I’d be happy to curl up for hours in a room like that, but I wasn’t sure I could stand being around Owen much longer. I might feel compelled to try that kiss again to see if it was as wonderful as I remembered. “If you don’t mind, I think I will go to bed now. Everything’s catching up with me at once.”



“Go ahead. I’ll see you in the morning.”



“Thanks again for the hospitality.”



He shrugged. “What are friends for?”