Page 30 of The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games 1)
"Oh, yes. The hysteria had made it all the way to Red Grove, and his parishioners insisted he weed out the witch. They got more than they bargained for from Monk though, as legend has it." Rick smiled and shook his head. "I'm boring you with my stories. Let's enjoy our lunch and this beautiful afternoon."
"I'm not bored," I said. "The Salem witch trials are super creepy. I had no idea they extended all the way to New Hampshire. But I'm hungry and more than curious about what's in the picnic basket. Save the story for later?"
"Of course."
The spot we chose for lunch was under the shade of an elm tree. Rick spread out a gigantic burgundy blanket made of plush velvet. We removed our shoes and sat cross-legged in the middle. From the picnic basket, he pulled two wine glasses and a bottle of Shiraz.
"Your favorite, if I remember correctly."
I nodded. "But I don't think I should have any."
"Why not?"
"It's just...I'm coming out of a complicated relationship." I cleared my throat and twisted my fingers in front of me. So embarrassing. I had to give it to him straight though. "Ah, I'm out, actually. Completely, out of the relationship. But I've found I have a pattern of rushing into things and then suffering the consequences of losing control. And, well, I think, last time we were together, I moved too fast."
I'm not sure how it happened, but in the blink of an eye, Rick had placed the glasses down and was by my side, my hands wrapped within both of his. Logically, I knew the process was a series of movements, but he was so fast it all happened at once. I never even saw him get up. My brain tried to make sense of it, but his touch was more than distracting, and soon the thought floated away from me. How could I care how fast he'd moved when his face, his delicious smell, was so close to mine?
Remember Gary! Love at first sight is never right. Remember the blonde paradox.
He raised my fingers to his lips and kissed them gently. "You could never be too forward. Your heart is safe with me. More than you know. What happened that night was because we are kindred souls, kindred souls that found each other."
"Kindred souls?" I laughed, temporarily breaking his spell over me. "Come on, you've known me for three days."
"But already I know you are an old soul, much older than your twenty-two years. When you say you have a pattern, I suspect it means you've experienced this more than once, probably with both men and women. As your kindred soul, I must suggest you are a wanderer, not of places but of people. And if you don't mind entertaining my opinion, relationships have been hard for you, not because you rush in, but because no one understands who you really are."
"And you're saying you do?" He was right about the relationship thing. Besides Michelle, I didn't have many close friends, and I had suffered a series of devastating romantic relationships. I wondered how Rick knew, if he could smell the failure on me like some sort of bad cologne.
"Yes. I do."
I tilted my head to the side. "Hey, how did you know how old I was?"
He laughed and looked away. "You told me. You don't remember?"
I didn't remember telling him my age, but then I'd had a lot of wine. "Well, I never thought of myself as an old soul, but the rest of what you say is true. I'm not sure that makes us kindred souls, though."
"Oh, we are, mi cielo. Ask me anything. I bet I know more about you than you think."
"Okay. I'll play. What's my favorite color?"
He grinned and rubbed his chin. Then he raked his eyes over me from head to toe, his gaze a palpable thing that made my skin tingle. "You tell people red because you think it's what they want to hear, but your favorite color is actually silver. You love it as you love the winter-cold, calm, and magical."
"What the hell? How did you guess that?"
"Kindred souls." His fingers motioned back and forth between us.
"What's my favorite food?"
"Lamb."
I shivered. This was getting creepy. Lamb was my favorite. How could he possibly know that? "My favorite music?"
"Metal."
"Finally you get one wrong."
"You don't like metal?"
"Its not that I don't like it, but it's just not my favorite. I mean, as older music goes, definitely, but lately I really like-"
