I looked up, and my mouth opened in surprise…
“C’mon,” said Zane, flashing me a big white smile. He slid his hand into mine. “Let me show you where to eat around here without getting poisoned…”
Eleven
ZANE
She was adorable, standing there in the middle of the swirling crowd. Long locks of her gorgeous red hair spilling everywhere, as she reached for what amounted to botulism on a stick.
I just couldn’t let her do it.
I pulled her away, enjoying the warmth of her hand in mine. How perfectly it seemed to fit. How soft and pliant it was against my calloused palm, as the meat vendor shot me a very disappointed and angry parting look.
“Zane!”
Even her voice was beautiful. Soft and feminine, like every one of her curves.
“W—What are you doing here?”
“Saving you,” I answered. “From a really bad lunch.”
I pulled her along, weaving my way through the crowd. I couldn’t believe it was actually her. That somehow, against all odds, I’d spotted her in this crazy sea of people.
And yet, it was impossible not to notice her. If there was one thing this girl did well, it was stand out among a crowd.
I found the vendor I wanted, in the long line of steaming food trucks. It took only a moment to catch Tommy’s eye. I held up two fingers and slid him a twenty. He grinned, and much to the dismay of his line of waiting customers, handed me two sandwiches in return.
“What are those?” asked Savannah.
“Meatball subs,” I said, smacking my lips. “Best you ever tasted.”
The nearby cluster of tables were hopelessly full. Instead I led her off to one side, where we were at least out of the main crowd. I was halfway done unwrapping my sandwich when she laid a delicate hand over mine.
“C’mon,” she said, nodding over one shoulder. “We’ll eat this back in my shop.”
I blinked in surprise. “Your shop?”
“Yes,” she smiled. “It’ll be quiet there, trust me.” Then, after looking me up and down: “I even have a job for you.”
I laughed. “But I already have a job.”
I held up my pamphlets, of which I’d only handed out about half so far. She glanced at them curiously, then pulled me back in the other direction.
“This job should only take a minute.”
Now it was her turn to pull me through the crowd, and she did a surprisingly good job. She stepped neatly and confidently, like she was used to it. Wherever she’d come from, I could tell she’d definitely lived in a city setting before.
Eventually we stopped before a nondescript storefont, in a busier section of the street fair. The door was locked though. Savannah opened it with a key, and secured it behind her.
I took three or four steps into the empty shop, then stopped dead in my tracks.
“Whoa…”
Everything was decorated in an explosion of patterns and color. There were elaborate tapestries, depicting everything from peacocks to sun and moon themes. A comfortable-looking couch rested along the side wall, with pillows in a dozen patterns.
I saw intricately-carved latticework, adorning the crown mouldings. Elaborate mandalas. A beautiful folding screen divided the main floor from a tiny shop area, where the walls were lined with fully-stocked shelves. Shelves full of trinkets and beads and all sorts of other—
“You’re a fortune teller?” I exclaimed, incredulously.