Page 37 of Hot Zone
He froze mid-bite and looked at me. “How do you know aboutthe Daddy thing?”
I shrugged. “Steven knows, and what he knows, I know. But I can call you Daddy if that’s what does it for you.”
“No, Mars. You see, that’s the problem. I don’t just want you to call me Daddy. I want you to mean it when you say it. It isn’t just a game for me. It’s part of who I am. I’m controlling, bossy, and demanding, and I need a partner who wants those things, or it would just be a heartache waiting to happen.”
I’d known a couple guys over the years that had Daddies. I’d always considered it a game of sorts like role play, not really something that was a part of their everyday life, but it sounded like it was anything but a game for Samuel.
I didn’t plan on giving up now that I knew he wanted me, but this gave me something to think about. I wanted him, but the question was, did I want a Daddy?
Chapter 12
Mars
The only thing more awkward than having to share space with someone who had the nerve to kiss you and then reject you was hanging out with that person’s son—who just happens to be your best friend. Lucky for me, I was too busy with this year’s Samhain event to be sociable, so Steven would most likely chalk up my behavior to that. The last thing I wanted was to be like,Forgive me for being a pouty brat, but I kind of kissed your dad, and while he was totally into it at first, he completely put a halt to things.
As much as it annoyed me that I was still bothered by what had happened, I was really pleased with the turnout for this year’s event. I had posted on social media, explaining that I wanted to make sure the participants had plenty of time to do their normal Halloween stuff earlier in the evening. I’d been afraid that would result in a low turnout. This was only the third year I’d done the Samhain event, and it was the first time the holiday fell on a weeknight. I was starting to understand why my aunt had always held her celebrations the weekend before instead of on the actual day. She always made it clear that this was a family event, and kids were welcome, so in order to be mindful of that, we were determined to end the event earlier than usual this time.
I’d spent the day making a harvest stew, as was my aunt’s tradition. I’d made a fair amount of changes to the shop since her passing, but there were certain aspects I refused to let go of. So far, about 15 people sat around inside my workshop, the space where we held classes, and I was more than pleased with that number. We would stay inside to eat and build community, which was the real point of this event. After everyone had had their fill and time to talk, getting to know anyone they hadn’t met before, we would go outside for our ceremony.
I took some extra time to make sure that Roxy had everything she needed. Normally, Steven had the absolute worst luck when it came to women, but Roxy was so good for him. As people wandered in, I found them a seat and made sure they had something to eat and drink. A couple had just walked in that I’d never met before, so I took a few minutes to introduce myself.
“Hello, welcome to The Chrysalis Moon. I’m Mars, and it’s lovely to meet you.”
“Thank you,” the younger of the two women said. “I’m Amethyst, and this is Poppy.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Amethyst and Poppy. Have you ever attended one of our events before?”
“No,” Poppy said, much quieter than Amethyst. “We’ve never even been to your shop. We just saw the event onFacebookand were so excited to learn that you’re even here. We had no idea! We’ve been traveling all the way to San Antonio to buy crystals and things.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you’ll come back on a quieter day to check out the shop.”
“Oh, we will. We saw the pictures on your webpage, and it looks like just what we need.”
“I can’t wait to see you. Hopefully, when you come, you’ll have plenty of time to sit down and have a cup of tea, and you can tell me about yourselves.”
“Your website said you mix your own tea blends?” Amethyst asked.
“I don’t mix them myself, but someone local does, and they’re delicious, if I do say so myself. She uses a very discerning mix of ingredients, most of which come from organic or locally grown sources at a ranch not far from here. If you enjoy the teas and are curious about the ingredients, you can always visit the ranch and see where they come from.”
“Your ranch?” Poppy asked.
“No, it’s not mine, but my family lives there.”
“Well, that sounds amazing.”
“I hope to see you soon. Help yourself to a bowl of stew. Most of those ingredients came from the ranch as well.”
I turned to walk away and almost ran into Holly Thomas. She was a regular at the shop, and while I appreciated all my customers, I could admit—at least to myself—that she wasn’t one of my favorites. Not that I’d ever discourage her from coming; as I’ve said before, these events are all about community. When you live in a place like Vesper, it isn’t easy to find your tribe if you’re different. And Holly was definitely different.
“Mars!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been trying to catch your attention, but you’ve just been flitting around from person to person.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty busy here tonight.” I moved to go around her, but she sidestepped right in front of me.
“I really needed to see if you had a few minutes to do a reading for me tonight.”
“Tonight? I really don’t think—”
“But, Mars, you have to! I have a really big decision to make, and you know I can’t make those decisions without you doing a reading for me.”