Maison Plaisir (Spirit World 1)

“Nifty magic.”

“I actually stopped by at a florist before I got here.”

Belle grinned and took the flower. She put it in a glass of water she had on her desk. The rose smelt fragrant. Her cubicle became redolently perfumed with the scent of romance.

Hervé studied her cramped workspace with curiosity. He looked fascinated with the computer screen, keyboard, stacks of printouts, and every little knick knack she had. “I want to take you out for dinner. If you’re up to it.”

“If I’m not?”

“Then I’ll come by tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day…”

“You and your cousin won’t leave me alone, will you?”

“No. Not until you choose between us.”

“What if I don’t want to choose?”

“That’s not an option. We’d have to court you until you choose one of us.”

Belle sighed. “Why? Why did you do this?”

Hervé paused long before he answered. “I wasn’

t proud of what I did, lying to you to be my cousin’s replacement. Forgive me. But I have a good reason why I did it.”

“Not that. Why do you…?” Belle looked around and lowered her voice. “It’s because I’m human, isn’t it? You two got a kick from dating a human?”

Hervé leant towards her, eyes glittering, “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

She jerked backwards, blushing. “Oh, come on…”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, love.” Hervé straightened his posture. “Shall we go? I know a great restaurant you’ll like.”

Belle hesitated. “I’m not dressed up for a froufrou place.” She was late this morning because Armand had practically kept her awake all night. When her alarm rang at five forty-five, Armand had shut it off and teased her for a morning quickie until she was really late for work. She showered frantically and came to the office in mismatched clothes. Her laundry had piled up because she hadn’t had a chance to do anything since that dinner party fiasco.

“The place I had in mind isn’t fancy at all. It’s more like Jimmy’s,” he said.

“You eat peasant food?”

Hervé smiled. “Food is food. And even the worst meal tastes like a king’s feast if you enjoy it with your friends and people you love. Let’s go.” He grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. “It’s Friday night after all. I thought you might be interested in doing something different.”

“Where are we going?”

“Seventh Realm.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not, love.”

Hervé herded her out of the cubicle under the nosy looks from her co-workers. Lisa motioned for her to call later, but before Belle could respond, Hervé had dragged her out of the front doors.

“How do we get there?” Belle asked him while they were in the elevator, going down to the ground floor.

“Walking.”

“How far? My shoes aren’t comfortable for a long walk.”

The elevator shuddered. The doors whispered open.