Shadow of the Moon Read Free Page A

counter, where we kept all the essentials for the beverages we provided. I focused on my task. Two scoops of chocolate powder. A dab of marshmallow cream. Hot water from the spigot. Stir briskly. I watched the contents swirling, melting. Focus. Focus. Don’t look around. Don’t let him know you’re aware that he’s watching you.
    But I was acutely aware of him watching me, the way an animal in the forest knows it’s been targeted. The hairs on the nape of my neck prickled and rose, sending an icy shimmer skittering along my spine. I handed the mug of chocolate to the customer and took his money.
    In spite of my best efforts not to, I slid my gaze to the side. Daniel sat unmoving, his eyes lasering in on me. He was the storm, the thunder and lightning that turned the blue sky to gray. Not literally, of course. Metaphorically. But if ever there was a guy who emanated danger, he was it.
    “Hey, Hayden—”
    I nearly jumped out of my skin when Lisa placed her hand lightly on my shoulder. Her short-cropped black hair stood at various angles as if she’d just crawled out of bed. Black kohl lined her cobalt-blue eyes. She had a diamond stud in the side of her nose. I’d pegged her as harsh and radical when I’d first met her. But she was actually sweet and fun. The closest thing I had to a friend. Best of all, like everyone else here, she kept her emotions to herself.
    “I noticed you and hot guy seemed to connect,” she said. “I’ll handle the to-go orders if you want to wait on him.”
    Lisa had been taking care of the customers who were seated at the counter and at tables. I took an order for a mint chocolate and a mint chocolate mocha from a tall guy who had his arm slung around a short girl’s shoulders. Even before I turned to the preparation area to begin mixing the drinks, he’d planted his lips on hers.
    “That’s okay, I’m busy here,” I muttered to Lisa.
    Her eyes widened as though she thought I was a total loser not to jump at this opportunity. “Did you not see the way he looked at you? And he is apparently alone. Hello? This might be your chance to do something besides curl up with a book at night.”
    I liked curling up with a good book. Lisa tended to curl up with any available guy after work.
    “I don’t want to break my routine,” I said, working to keep my voice flat. I turned the milk frother on, focusing on my work, and trying to drown out Lisa’s cajoling. I took a deep breath, confused by my own feelings. I was slightly grateful to know the elders cared enough to send someone to find me and bothered by the fact that he’d succeeded in finding me. Panic made my voice want to warble. I hated it. With the milk sufficiently frothy, I shut off the machine. “If you want him, go for it,” I told Lisa.
    “Seriously?”
    “Sure.”
    She grinned, her blue eyes sparkling. She bounced as though she had springs in her shoes. Sometimes it wore me out to watch her. Where did she get so much energy? She was a freshman at college, working here over winter break. This resort was a popular retreat for college students—whether to play or work. I’d created a fictitious background that resembled everyone else’s true story. I was a university student looking for work during winter break. When the students left, I’d probably move on as well.
    Spike had hired me without asking for references. Maybe I had an honest face. Or maybe he’d been desperate for the help since students had arrived en masse to enjoy the slopes. Because he was dependent on seasonal employees, and most of the ones he hired didn’t live in the town, he provided rooms in a couple of condos he owned. Lisa and I lived in the same one, our bedrooms across the hall from each other. It was the reason we’d become close. We saw a lot of each other.
    “Wish me luck,” she said with a wink. “I so want a winter romance, and he looks like the type to give a girl a good time.”
    Funny how she saw him as a good time, and I viewed