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cheesy tinkly music on the speakers overhead, he was pleasantly surprised to hear the local classical station. “Could I get a tour?” he asked as he set the pizza and manila folder down on the marble. He also shrugged out of his suddenly over-warm suit jacket and hung it on a hook behind the counter.
    “Of course!” she agreed immediately, linking her arm through his and taking him to the first glass cabinet.
    Nico asked questions, a lot of questions, as they proceeded through the store, and for every answer Nahia gave him, he had three more. It was a habit that made him a thorough investigator, but he could see where it would get annoying quickly. “I’m sorry for the third degree.”
    She shrugged and the smile never left her lips. “No worries. I’m going to assume a good Catholic boy like you probably has had very little in the way of pagan education.”
    Wow, she’d pegged him but good. “You’d be right about that.”  When she turned to open another glass cabinet, the streak of chalk caught his attention again. “Hey.” She turned to face him with a raised eyebrow, and he took her chin in his hand. “Hold still.” With his thumb, he gently rubbed her cheek until the chalk disappeared. And he was paying absolutely no attention to how soft her skin was or the way her lips parted at his touch. None whatsoever.
    Nahia stepped away when he finished, rubbing the back of her wrist against her cheek once more for good measure. She looked as affected by his nearness as he felt by hers. “Thanks. Sorry. It gets everywhere.”
    “So if not ants, what’s it for?”
    She leaned against the closed door of the cabinet and dug in her pocket, coming up with a small leather pouch with odd writing on it and chalk streaks. “It keeps the peace here. This and salt have a long history of magickal uses, including sealing an area from outside influences and attacks, as well as binding. I keep it handy due to the nature of the store and the customers. Not to mention the ghost hunts. It’s a lot easier to keep them out than to get them out, you know?”
    “I’ll take your word for it.” He looked at a few more things, finding an odd beauty in the crystals, runes, and tarot cards. She kept the store immaculate and extremely organized, given its smaller size, and he could appreciate her attention to detail. They found their way back to the counter and she disappeared into the back of the store only long enough to come back with another wooden stool for him to sit on.
    “It’d be a shame to let the pizza get cold,” she said with her ever-present grin. It seemed to him she was always happy and smiling, and he had to admit he found it kind of endearing.
    While he dished up the plates, she got into the mini fridge for the beer. Looking at the top with a frown, she said, “You know, I could actually open these with my teeth, but I don’t want to upset you.”
    He blinked at her, not sure what to do with that information, and more than a little concerned. “Thank you? I think? Regardless,” he dug out his keys and jingled them until he came up with what he was looking for, “I came prepared.”
    “I do like a man who plans ahead.” She perched on the stool regally, posture perfectly straight and dignified as hell, even with her silver toes curled over the lower railing of the chair. The crazy thing was she looked like that was her natural pose.
    “And I’m sure your dentist will be thankful as well.”
    She winked in response and they both fell into their pizzas. He was actually quite pleased overall, since he was able to show off a bit by getting a gourmet pizza from a place up north that he loved, and she seemed to enjoy the food.
    “So are you a witch?” he asked after wiping an errant spot of grease from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.
    She blotted her mouth with a napkin he’d brought, though her full lips were still a bit shiny. “Not actively practicing. Kinda like a Christmas/Easter Catholic, you