Under Witch Aura (Moon Shadow Series) Read Online Free

cautiously.
    Mat’s eyes lit up and her
shoulders relaxed. Ah. She wanted to introduce us, but with the
unspoken rules, didn’t want to overstep. She rushed to fill in
the gap. “Adriel, I’m so glad you stopped by. Jim, this
is Adriel, my friend.” She batted her eyelashes at him, but in
a subtle flirt rather than her usual flamboyant show.
    He offered his hand over
the clothing
rack that marked the middle of the store. “Nice to meet you.”
    “You too.” Since the cat
was out of the bag as far as us being friends, I added, “I’ll
wait in the back. I stopped in to ask Mat about getting together for
dinner later this week.”
    Jim smiled and returned his
attention
to Mat. “Oddly enough, so did I.”
    It was hard to keep from
giggling at
the pleased expression on my friend’s face. Since I hadn’t
come about dinner, and we could eat together any old time, Mat’s
happiness certainly wasn’t on account of my suggestion. I
ducked through the scarves that separated Mat’s living quarters
from the store. It was impossible not to eavesdrop, especially since
her couch faced the shop.
    There was no point in
pretending
disinterest. Giggles overtook me the second the shop door closed
behind him.
    Mat appeared in the
doorway. We both
waited until the bell at the front door stopped jingling. Mat even
checked over her shoulder to make sure he was gone before saying
anything. Then, we both talked at once.
    Mat said, “I met him at the
Small
Business Association meeting. He didn’t know I was a witch, but
after we went out twice, I mentioned it in passing, and he didn’t
bat an eye!”
    “Niiiice,” was my comment.
    “This was his first visit
to the
shop. He was in the middle of checking everything out when you came
in. I wasn’t expecting him or anything!” She wrung her
hands for a half second and then said, “Hang on, I’m
gonna close the shop for fifteen so we can talk!” She raced to
the outer door, glanced outside, put her sign up and threw the locks.
    I asked from the doorway,
“What
if he returns, and you just closed for a break?”
    She skidded to a halt, but
then she
gave me a chiding glance. “Oh, stop it. He won’t come
back right now.” But she did double-check the walk outside,
which prompted a stifled laugh from me.
    “I’d ask what you think,”
she said, “but it isn’t like it matters.”
    “Of course not.” I shook my
hand and blew on my fingers. “Hot.”
    “He is all of that, isn’t
he?” It was her turn to giggle. “We’ve only been
out a couple of times. I figured once he got a bead on my business,
he’d drift off, but he doesn’t seem to care.”
    “Awesome! It’s hard to find
a good man, and it’s almost impossible to keep one after you
come clean.” Normals came in three types: They either didn’t
believe in witches, they believed, but were drooling groupies, or
they thought all witches were loons. “What does he do?”
    She shrugged. “He’s an
engineer.”
    “At Los Alamos?” My heart
gave a nervous flutter. The engineer status wasn’t the problem.
When White Feather wasn’t helping Gordon, he consulted on wind
projects, but unlike the majority of engineers in Santa Fe, White
Feather wasn't employed at Los Alamos. My limited experience with
scientists there hadn't been all that positive.
    “No, Jim works with
computers.”
She smiled reassuringly, because she knew about my recent experience.
    “Ah. That sounds safe.”
    We chitchatted for a couple
of minutes,
but once her nervous energy dissipated, I said, “I wanted to
ask you about Sarah Damico.”
    “Sarah? Up on the hill?”
She waved in the direction of the eastern mountains.
    I nodded. “What was she
into? Did
she mess with wind?”
    Mat shook her head, but
then clarified,
“Well, aromatherapy and spiritual healing could be considered
air arts.”
    “Did she sell much here?”
    “Oh, yes. She’s exceptional
with aromatherapy potions. You bought some of her stuff for that big
party you went