Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

" B everly!" Bella runs over to Beverly and gives her a big hug.

"Hey there, princess," Beverly says, giving her a hug and kissing the top of her head. "What have you been up to?"

"I just watched a bunch of cat videos with Lisa at the police station. Can I show you?"

"Sure thing, sugar plum." Beverly doesn't have a computer in the shop, so she hands Bella her cell phone.

"We can't stay long," I say. "It's already…" I look at my phone. "Oh, it's only 4:30. Still, I have to run by the store and get some stuff for dinner and take Dash for a walk and catch up on some work—"

"Calm down, dear," Beverly says. "You sound like you just ran a marathon."

"I feel like I have, especially chasing after these two," I say, indicating Bella and Damon. Damon has wandered away to check out one of Beverly's bookshelves.

"You should take a night off," Beverly says.

I let out a humorless laugh. "How, exactly?"

"Well, I can take care of Bella. I'll take her home later. You should go out. When was the last time you had a sit-down meal at a restaurant and a nice, strong cocktail?"

"Cora and I had brunch just the other day."

"That was three weeks ago!"

"It was?" I sort through my mental calendar and realize that she's right. "Huh, I guess so. Still, I have a lot to do. I'd appreciate you watching Bella while I run errands and get caught up on work, though."

"Ugh, no! I'm not going to give you a night off just for you to waste it on work. Bella, phone!" Bella hands Beverly the phone.

"What are you doing?" I ask as Beverly makes a call. She holds a finger up to quiet me.

"Hello, Rachel. Yes, it's me. How are you?" Beverly listens for a moment and then lets out a big laugh. "Oh my. I'm sure he deserved it. Listen, I'm calling to make a reservation for Tamzin Jones and a guest. Uh-huh. Uh-huh." She lets out another laugh. "Okay, yes. All right, dear. Seven o'clock. Talk to you later." Beverly ends the call and hands the phone back to Bella.

"I wish you hadn't done that," I say.

"Too late. It's on me. Now, you can do a few errands and go home and get yourself cleaned up."

"I am clean—"

"Bup-bup-bup," Beverly interrupts. "It's all on me. You know the time and place. You and Damon can go and have a nice night out. Take a break, have a drink." She starts to usher me out of the shop. Damon follows us.

"What's going on?" Damon asks once we are outside.

"Toodles." Beverly gives me a finger wave and then locks the door to keep me from going back inside.

"Apparently, we are being forced to go to dinner at The Eat tonight. Beverly's treat."

"Well, I'm looking forward to it," Damon says. "I've heard the spareribs are to die for."

"And Rachel does make good cocktails," I say. "Okay, fine. We will go."

"You were thinking of not going?"

"I was trying to figure out a way out of it. I mean, it's not like she is dragging me there by my ear. Though, I wouldn't put it past her. I could just not go. But I'd hate to face Beverly tomorrow if I did that."

"Come on," Damon says, shaking my shoulder. "We can make a night of it. Just think about how much you could drink on Beverly's tab. And since demons don't get drunk, I can be your designated driver!"

I let out a sigh. The night wasn't sounding so terrible after all.

I decide to make an effort. After I shower, I blow dry my hair, wear makeup, and put on a little black dress and heels. I know I'm just going to dinner with Damon since I can't be very far away from him, but it's my first night out in months. And it's a Friday night; the place will be packed. I can at least try to look like a normal human being and not the depressed, housebound introvert I usually am.

"Wowzah," Damon says when I walk into the kitchen. He looks pretty much the same, since he always wears a suit, but he still looks pretty amazing.

"Thanks," I say. Dash dances around my feet, bouncing on her hind legs. "Does someone want a treat?" I reach into the cabinet and grab a dog bone for her. Mr. Darcy meows at me from where he is perched on the counter. I get a bag of cat treats out and pour them into a little bowl for him.

"Seriously, Tamzin," Damon says. "You should dress up more often."

"I don't usually have much of a reason to dress up," I say, grabbing my purse and making sure I have my phone. "It's not like I date."

"You don't have to date in order to take care of yourself," Damon says.

"Well, if I'm being forced to go to dinner, I'm glad it's with someone who knows how to give a compliment."

"I can do a lot more than that," Damon says.

My body warms up and my stomach turns to jelly at his innuendo. I know he doesn't mean anything by it. He was sent here to torture me, after all. But still, I look up into his smokey eyes and see waves of heat radiating from him. I lick my lower lip as my mouth is suddenly parched.

"Can you…?" I try to ask to end the moment.

Damon takes a few steps closer to me and looks down into my eyes. For the first time, he's close enough that I can smell him. He smells like a roaring fire in a winter cabin, far away from anyone else.

"Can I…what?" he asks, the warmth of his breath wafting over me.

I fumble with my purse looking for something, anything to bring this longing I'm starting to feel come to an end.

"Can you…drive?" I ask, grabbing my keys and holding them up between us.

"Umm." Damon takes the keys from me and chuckles. "Yeah, I can drive."

"Let's go, then," I say. "Ribs and cosmopolitans await!"

"Why don't you want to drive all of a sudden?" Damon asks, using the key fob to unlock the doors.

"Umm…" I try to think up an excuse. "I'm a lady of luxury tonight."

"Well, if anyone deserves it, it's you," Damon says.

It's a quick drive to The Eat, the restaurant owned by local werewolf Rachel Holland. It's one of the few nice places in town to eat with a restaurant and full bar. It's right by the ocean, so there is a great view year-round. It's off-season right now, though, so while the restaurant is busy, it's not too crowded. As I suspected, it's mostly full of locals.

"Hey, girl," Rachel says when she sees me waiting at the hostess stand. "Long time no see." She then notices Damon and takes a long look up and down. She then wrinkles her nose in a sniff. "Not a vampire… What are you? Because you are definitely not human."

Damon takes Rachel's hand and kisses the back of it. "Damon, at your service. I'm Tamzin's personal demon."

"A demon?" Rachel looks from Damon to me. "Nice," she says.

"Nice?"

"Yeah," Rachel says. "Hey, we don't judge here, and I'm sure Beverly knows exactly what she's doing. Follow me." She grabs a couple of menus and walks all the way to the other side of the restaurant, to a table by the windows. Along the way, I feel like everyone's eyes are on us, taking me in and wondering just who I'm with. Damon seems to drink in the attention, waving to people he has already met and strangers alike. I give a small wave to Cora and Beckett and Sophia and Jacob, who seem to be on a double date.

"I'll be right back to take your drink orders," Rachel says as soon as we are seated.

"This was so nice of Beverly," Damon says, perusing the menu.

"Spending the evening at a nice restaurant with my demon is not exactly my idea of a good time," I say as I unfold my napkin.

"Oh? And what is your idea of a good time?"

"Probably spending the evening at a nice restaurant on a date," I say. And that's when it hits me. "Oh my gosh." I put my head in my hands, lamenting what an idiot I am.

"What is it?" Damon asks.

"Beverly," I say. "She tricked me. Tricked us."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm on a blind date with a demon!" I stage whisper. "With my demon. With a demon sent to make my life a living nightmare. Oh, this is just perfect."

"Can I get you something to drink," Rachel asks sweetly, practically appearing out of nowhere.

"Can I just start with a cranberry vodka?" I say. "And make it double."

"Sure. And you, Damon?"

"Scotch on the rocks," he says. "Top shelf."

"Of course. I'll be right back with your drinks and to take your food order."

"What do you mean?" Damon asks as soon as she is out of earshot.

"Beverly, she's the town's infamous matchmaker," I say.

"Yes, I know," Damon says. "But what does that have to do with…" He motions between us. "This?"

"It's a date," I say. "We've been set up."

"Really? How do you know?"

"Believe me. I've lived in Mystic Cove my whole life. Stories about Beverly's matchmaking skills are legendary. She probably set up half the couples in this restaurant."

"What does that mean, though?" Damon asks.

"It means… It means Beverly made a mistake. My soulmate can't possibly be a demon. Do you even have a soul?"

"Wait. Soulmate?"

"Apparently, when Beverly makes a match, it's supposed to be the real deal," I explain. "Like your one true love. The one you're meant to be with. But she must have made a mistake."

"Does Beverly make mistakes?" Damon asks.

I pause before I admit, "Not that I've ever heard."

"So…what do we do now?"

"Nothing," I say. "We do nothing. We just have a drink, eat some food, go home, and pretend this never happened."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," Damon says, clearing his throat. I notice that he looks a little pale."

"Are you okay?" I ask him.

"Sure," he says. "Just waiting for that drink."

"Here you go," Rachel says, breezing up to us and setting our drinks down. We both drink eagerly, as if we are completely parched. "Whoa, slow down, you have the whole night."

"Oh, I can't stay too late," I say. "Gotta get home to Bella."

"She's with Beverly, right? I'm sure she's fine. What do you want to eat?"

I haven't even looked at the menu yet. Damon orders the spareribs and I just ask for whatever the special of the day is. As soon as she is gone, I go back to my drink.

"Well, it could be worse," Damon finally says.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on," he says, some of his swagger coming back. "You can't say you haven't enjoyed at least some of our time together. As far as possessions go, you could have done a lot worse."

I give him a small smile. "Well, I guess that's true. But, come on, admit it. You shouldn't be here. I don't deserve to be possessed and tortured."

"I don't know. You haven't experienced my brand of torture yet."

"And I'm glad I never will."

"I don't know. Things have a way of working out."

"What, are you still hoping you'll get your chance?"

"I'm just saying, our adventure isn't over yet. Let's just wait and see what happens next."