Falling for Fangs

“I don’t need to. I can tell,” Julia said, sounding irritatingly superior.

Chloe tugged her hair into a ponytail, balancing her phone on the edge of the sink. “I don’t know,” she said. “And once this curse is broken, it’s not like he’s planning to stay in Crowley Lake. He’ll be back off to his old life. I don’t want to let myself get involved and then have him up and leave in a month.”

“I don’t think that’s likely,” Julia said, and Chloe picked up the phone, taking the stairs one by one. Each step made her head throb. She flicked on the office lights and frowned. She could see something on her doorstep through the glass.

“Did you send something to me?” Chloe asked as she made her way to the door. There, on the doorstep, was an enormous coffee and a breakfast sandwich from Well Bean, accompanied by a bunch of tulips from the local florist. “Because you knew I’d be hungover?”

“Uh, no,” Julia sounded confused. “Why, what’s happened?”

Chloe picked up the flowers and looked at the card. Her cheeks went very pink indeed.

Just thought you might need a pick-me-up this morning. Thank you for letting your hair down for me. M.

“Oh,” Chloe said quietly, all the breath going out of her. Suddenly, her head didn’t ache at all.

“What’s happened?” Julia’s voice was almost deafening through the phone. “Chloe!”

“Sorry,” Chloe said, collecting herself. “Just, Maxwell sent me flowers. And breakfast. And coffee. Because he thought I might be feeling a little tender this morning.”

And Chloe could hear Julia, Harriet, and even Jude, make a sound of collective excitement.

“Oh, Chloe, that’s so sweet. Are you seriously still questioning whether he likes you?”

Chloe picked up the coffee and took a sip. She couldn’t even remember telling Maxwell how she liked it. “Maybe he does,” she said slowly. “That still doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to—”

“I refuse to hear you say it’s a bad idea to tell a man that thoughtful that you’re crazy about him,” Julia said. “So I’m hanging up on you. Don’t speak to me until you’ve confessed your undying love, okay?”

The phone call ended. And Chloe stood there, biting her lip, the coffee warm in her hands. Undying love. Well, that was half the problem, wasn’t it? Even if Maxwell really did like her, he was a vampire. And she was very much mortal. It couldn’t really work out between them, could it? After all, it wasn’t like he’d want to turn her so they could be together forever. And it wasn’t like she’d want to. Would she?

But as Chloe sat at her desk, munching on her sandwich, sipping her coffee, and enjoying the sweet smell of the tulips, the thought of undying love with Maxwell didn’t seem quite so crazy as it might have just twenty-four hours before.

A full day of work, a brisk run, and a very hot shower had successfully vanquished Chloe’s hangover, but it hadn’t helped her decide what she ought to do about Maxwell. She had a sneaking suspicion that Julia was right; for him to send her breakfast and flowers like that, he must like her. At least a little bit.

And Chloe was way past pretending that she hadn’t caught feelings for her partner in curse-breaking. The thought that Maxwell might like her – truly like her, not just like the way she looked – made her stomach tumble over in a series of flips that would have impressed the Romanian Gymnastics Team. And she couldn’t deny the increasingly urgent desire she felt every time he so much as brushed his fingers against her own. Should she say something? Do something? And if she did, what would happen next? It was enough to make her headache return, and now she couldn’t blame the Yellowglen.

But before Chloe could think about it any further, the phone rang again. Tilly. She quickly answered it.

“Hi, Tilly,” Chloe answered, a little breathlessly. “Have you got the final ingredient?”

“Almost,” Tilly said. “That’s what I was calling to tell you. I’m like, really close. I know it’s something personal this time; I just don’t know quite what.”

“Something personal?” Chloe frowned. “What, like hair or fingernails? Blood?”

“Maybe,” Tilly sounded thoughtful. “But I just thought you’d want to know it isn’t going to be something you’ll have to go on another adventure to find.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Chloe said, remembering the cave with a shudder. But she also remembered Maxwell’s strong arms around her, his voice so close to her ear, telling her how proud he was of her. Telling her that she was a good girl. There was a rush of heat between Chloe’s thighs at the memory, and she had to struggle to stay focused on what Tilly was saying.

“Yeah, I thought it might be,” Tilly agreed. “We’ll definitely have this bad boy cracked wide open by the New Moon. So, no poisonous spines!”

“No poisonous spines,” Chloe repeated. “That’s good.”

“It is,” Tilly said. “So, should I call Maxwell to let him know, or will you?”

“I can let him know,” Chloe said. “I need to speak to him anyway, about—” She paused. She didn’t want to tell Tilly about the coffee and flowers. That seemed too personal to share. “About his poker night,” she finished.

“Oh yeah, he does that, doesn’t he?” Tilly said. “Charles says it’s a whole lot of fun; he wished he had thought of it years ago.”

“It was fun,” Chloe admitted. “Maxwell’s been telling me I need to let loose every now and then, so—” She paused again.

“I’d say he was right,” Tilly said. “You sound a bit more relaxed, you know. The first time I met you, I thought damn, Jesse sure wasn’t lying about his sister being a stress head.”

Chloe cringed but managed to force a laugh. “Well, I guess I can get caught up with my work,” she said. Did Maxwell think of her that way too?

“But I get it,” Tilly went on. “You feel like you need to prove yourself, huh?”

And that was surprisingly insightful.

“I guess.”

“Well, you shouldn’t apologise for working hard,” Tilly went on. “But you need something other than work to look forward to in life. Maybe someone.”

“I suppose I do,” Chloe said, wishing that Tilly wasn’t so damn perceptive. “Um, I’ll call Maxwell about the final ingredient.”

“Thanks,” Tilly said. “Hope I’ll have good news soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

The call ended, and Chloe held the phone in her hands for a few moments longer, thinking.

There was no reason why she shouldn’t go over to visit Maxwell when she finished work. After all, she needed to thank him for the flowers. And a phone call simply wouldn’t suffice.