Celestial Bodies (4 page)

Danger, she thought suddenly. That was it. Despite his flirtatious smile and a certain boyish charm, there was a poised alertness about him, as if he were accustomed to danger.

Or as if he’d brought it with him.

She paused beside a small table set under the big oak tree that shaded much of the courtyard, and she offered him a seat. He slipped into his chair smoothly, without waiting for her to sit down first—he obviously wasn’t a southern gentleman. His gaze dropped from her face and slid over her body, subtly and quickly. He gave nothing away, but Diana felt something quicken inside herself.

Definitely dangerous, she concluded. She sat down, folded her hands, and fixed him with a businesslike stare.

“Felix and I—-Felix is my father—have decided that we need a reliable employee with flexible hours now that our business is growing so fast. Felix casts horoscopes and reads astrological charts and tarot cards. I do everything else, and that’s where our new employee will come in. I teach yoga, book Felix’s clients, run the shop, and serve drinks out here.”

“That’s obviously too much work for one person,” he said, his eyes moving over her gleaming hair and creamy skin. Were those freckles? he wondered. If he scooted his chair a little closer, he’d know for sure. “I’m glad I stopped by today.”

She stared at him for a moment before she said, “The job would entail helping me when I’m here, and running things while I’m out or busy teaching my yoga classes.”

“That sounds fine.” His blue eyes glinted at her from beneath his sooty lashes. Diana had always wanted lashes like that.

She cleared her throat. “I’m afraid the salary is very small. Just pocket money, really. But we’re including room and board. There’s a bedroom with a small bathroom on the second floor of the building, right next to my yoga studio. That’s why we thought this job would be ideal for a college kid.”

“It sounds ideal for me,” he said cheerfully.

“May I ask, Mr...”

“Tremain,” he supplied. “But call me Nick.”

“Nick. Why are you interested in this job?”

“The subject fascinates me.”

“What subject?”

“Astrology. The stars. Destiny.” He gazed at her meaningfully and had trouble suppressing a grin when she glared in return.

“Oh.” This man sounded convincing, but Diana didn’t believe him for a second. He was too glib. “But don’t you think—”

They both turned as the shop door opened and Felix entered the courtyard. “Here you are. We’ve been expecting you,” he said to Nick.

Diana shot Nick a sharp glance. He looked stunned for a moment, then covered it. “Really?”

“Yes.” Felix complacently held up the Knight of Swords card.

Diana saw the perplexed look on Nick’s face.

“A young man of courage and skill,” Felix said.

“Oh. Yes. Of course. How silly of me to have forgotten,” said Nick brightly. “But then, I have such a limited, unfocused, layman’s knowledge of the tarot.”

Diana looked him over. He was rugged and handsome, seemingly intelligent and capable. “You’re interested in the tarot?” she asked with open skepticism.

“Absolutely. I was called here today, I can feel it. This is my chance to change my life, to abandon the meaningless struggle for wealth, and to study the mysteries of the universe under a true master!”

Diana thought he had gone too far and was annoyed to see Felix beam with pleasure.

“Exactly how much do you know about the tarot, Mr. Tremain?” she asked testily.

She could tell she had caught him off guard. His eyes shifted briefly to her, meeting the open challenge in her expression for just a moment. Then he looked at Felix with wide-eyed admiration and said, “I would never presume to answer questions about the deeper mysteries of the cosmos in front of a renowned, uh, person like Felix Stewart.”

Diana rolled her eyes, then she looked at Felix. The pleased expression on her father’s face told her she would get no help from that quarter.

“What’s your name, young man?” Felix asked.

“Nick Tremain.”

“No time like the present to begin reeducating yourself, Nick.”

“Felix—” Diana began.

“The tarot cards have been much maligned,” Felix said earnestly to Nick as he sat down at the little tea table. “They were introduced into Europe by Gypsies in the Middle Ages and have suffered ever since from abuse by insincere practitioners of every sort.”

Nick Tremain leaned forward and listened as if this were the most fascinating subject in the world.

“You may already know,” Felix continued, “that the tarot deck consists of seventy-eight cards, divided into the major and minor arcanas.”

“
Did
you know that, Mr. Tremain?” Diana asked archly.

“Call me Nick,” he said.

“The minor arcana consists of fifty-six cards, divided into four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. The major arcana consists of twenty-two trumps, each of which represents the larger, archetypal forces at work in human existence.”

“Felix, I’m trying to interview this man for his suitability as a—”

“But I thought you were an astrologer.”

Diana was certain that Nick had interrupted her just to keep Felix talking.

“I am,” Felix said serenely. “I cast astrological horoscopes and make up charts recording the movements of the celestial bodies—the stars, the planets, the sun, and the moon. Through my scientific reading of the heavenly bodies and my spiritual reading of the tarot as it relates to the zodiac, I help make my clients aware of the forces at work in their lives.”

Nick slapped the table with one hand. “I knew I had come to the right place!” His tone was so full of drippy sincerity that Diana wanted to give him a shove.

“Nick, let me show you your room,” Felix said.

“Wait a minute!” Diana exclaimed. “I haven’t hired him!”

“But you will,” said Felix with certainty. “He’s the one.”

“Will you
please
stop saying that?” She glanced at Nick coldly. “This is, after all, a business decision, and there are a number of things I need to take into consideration. References, for example?”

“My only local reference is a lovely old lady, Mrs. Milne,” Nick told her.

“What kind of work did you do for her?” Diana persisted.

“It was highly confidential,” he said solemnly.

She regarded him suspiciously.

“Would you like her phone number?” he asked.

“Yes. I would also like to know why you’re so determined to have a low-paying, unskilled job.”

“I told you,” Nick said. She was certain his smile was meant to infuriate her. “I need to change my life. I was
called
here.”

 
“See? He was called here.” Felix was obviously satisfied.

Diana wished she felt more certain. Nick Tremain would have access to their house, their business, and their cash box. She had intended to investigate all candidates thoroughly, but she was being overwhelmed by Felix’s conviction and Nick’s personality.

“Wait a minute,” Diana repeated as Felix showed Nick Tremain back into the building. The two men turned to took at her. “I will give you a trial period of three days, Mr. Tremain.”

“Call me Nick.” His expression told her the trial period didn’t worry him a bit. And why should it? He had Felix eating out of his hand.

“Don’t pack your bags and move in until I’ve made a decision.” Diana wanted him to know he was mistaken if he thought he would have the same effect on her within three days.

He grinned at her confidently, and she had the feeling that she might as well not have made her protest. Felix was adamant that Nick Tremain was their destiny, and Nick knew it. Perhaps he had also already guessed what a soft spot she had for her father.

Three days later Nick arrived with a duffel bag full of his belongings. Diana led him up to the humble but clean bedroom on the second floor, just above Felix’s consulting room. She listened dubiously as Nick told her it would be just fine for him.

In the three days that he had worked with her in the House of Ishtar, Diana could not fault him. He caught on quickly, worked efficiently, and charmed the customers into spending more money than usual. He was humble about his lack of knowledge about health food, yoga, herbal tea, crystals, and New Age literature. He hung on Felix’s every word and was already dutifully plowing through the stack of books on astrology that Felix had assigned to him.

Normally she would have found his presence enjoyable. But for some reason, Diana couldn’t shake off the nagging feeling that everything Nick Tremain said was a lie. Moreover, he was too distracting. Every time she felt his eyes upon her, her skin tingled. Every time he brushed by her, she felt his body heat, noticed the smooth bunch and flow of his muscles, wanted to touch his silky, black hair. And something about the glint in his eyes made her suspect he knew she couldn’t help noticing him.

Her involuntary responses to an employee whom she didn’t trust made her annoyed with herself—and short-tempered with everyone else. Particularly with Felix, who had overridden her objections to letting Nick move into their building. Now Diana felt an unnerving combination of uneasiness and excitement as she showed Nick his room and listened to his cheerful expressions of approval.

“You really like this room?” she asked doubtfully as he examined his surroundings.

“You were hoping I wouldn’t?” he said.

“Of course not. But all of Felix’s predictions aside, you’ve got secrets, Mr. Tremain.”

“Call me Nick,” he said, as usual.

“I’ve seen my fair share of astrologers’ acolytes, and you don’t fit the mold. What are you really doing here?” she challenged.

He turned to look at her. His gaze traveled over her body, clad in a short, denim skirt and a celery-green blouse. His eyelids drooped sensually, and he took a few steps closer to her.

“Why do you call him Felix?” he asked huskily.

“Huh?” she said, suddenly aware that he stood between her and the door. His shoulders were as wide as his hips were narrow. Every part of him looked as tough as granite.

Nick came to a stop right in front of her, so close that his body heat burned her senses. “Why don’t you call him Dad or Pa or something like that?”

She backed up a step. He took another step forward. She shrugged and felt her breasts rise and fall with the movement. “We just got into the habit as teenagers. I guess we thought it was cool or something.”

“We?” His warm, sweet breath fanned her face. She could see the tiny laugh lines feathering out from his eyes. “My sister and I.” She felt his eyes rove over her face, her hair, her collarbones. Did he notice her, too? she wondered with a sudden thrill of desire.

“You’re very fair.” His whisper melted over her like warm honey. His tanned hand lightly brushed her pale arm.

His touch went through her with a jolt of excitement. His palm was warm and smooth, hard where she was soft. She shivered. Embarrassed that a simple touch could make her quiver like a schoolgirl, she jerked her arm away.

“Stop hovering over me,” she snapped. She shoved him aside, refusing her hands the pleasure of lingering on his muscular chest, and walked to the door with long angry strides. “I expect you to be unpacked and downstairs, ready to work, in exactly one half hour. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She slammed the door with a satisfying clatter and stormed down the stairs. It was only when she let herself into the shop that she realized he had made his move on her quite deliberately and purposefully. He had wanted to change the subject, to get her attention away from asking about his past and his reasons for coming to her shop.

Diana flung an organic sponge across the shop as she realized she had fallen for his ploy. What was Nick Tremain trying to hide? She had telephoned his reference, Mrs. Milne, the first evening after meeting him. Mrs. Milne had spoken of him in glowing terms, confirmed that he had done work of a confidential nature for her, and said she had known him for nearly four years. It was little enough information, but Mrs. Milne possessed some quality, even over the telephone, that had made Diana believe her to be trustworthy. Moreover, Nick had given her his social security number that morning, so she assumed that whatever he was hiding, he wasn’t a fugitive from justice.