Page 55 of Stubborn as a Shadow

And now that I was reasonably certain most of my makeup was gone, I was happy to join him in the tiny little living room/dining room/kitchen/bedroom. I let him steer me to the couch in front of the fireplace. The only couch. Which meant it must also be the bed.

I hid my smile behind the towel.

“Do you need your contact lenses to see? Should you take them out?”

“I wear them to hide my eye color.”

“That’s a good idea, but your eyes are looking a little bloodshot now. That’s why I asked about them.”

I bit my lip. “I don’t have my lens case with me. It was in my suitcase.”

“Do you want to leave them in?”

“Not really… but my eyes are, um, unusual.”

If anyone saw my irises, they’d know I was different. If I slept with the contacts in, though, my eyes would be even more bloodshot and dry by morning. I racked my brain for a few seconds to come up with some way to save them, but nothing came to mind.

“It’s only the two of us here,” Nelson said.

He was right. And, even in Willow Lake, it sounded like people already knew I was a unicorn. So I plucked the contacts out and flicked them into the flames to destroy the evidence. They shriveled in the heat before catching fire.

After it was done, I groaned. That really did feel better. I glanced around to find Nelson staring at me. I didn’t avert my eyes like I usually did when someone stared. I wanted him to see me. The real me.

When he glanced away without comment, I was a little disappointed. I don’t know why. It wasn’t like he’d be able to see much in the firelight anyway.

But peoplealwaysremarked on the strange rainbow-like sheen of my irises.Always.

What did it mean that Nelson didn’t?

I pondered that as we settled on the couch and faced the fire. The moment had all the makings of a memorable scene in a romance movie. Without the romance, unfortunately. He wassitting at one end of the couch, and I was all the way over at the other end.

For a solid five minutes we didn’t speak. I’d heard people talk about how lovely it was to find someone you could be comfortable sitting in silence with. I wasn’t feeling it. But I also couldn’t figure out how to manifest what I wanted to happen.

Shouldn’t he want to cuddle so we could stay warm? Had every rom-com I’d ever watched steered me wrong?

“Did you want to get rid of the wig too?”

I patted the wig. “I forgot about that! My scalp must be frozen, because it was driving me crazy when we were at the hotel.”

I tugged at the edges, and it peeled away easily. Considering everything I’d put the thing through, from the sweaty helmet to the snow, it wasn’t surprising that the glue had abandoned its post. The wig cap and wig came away together, and I tossed them onto a small end table.

I scrubbed my nails over my suddenly itchy scalp. “This must be how women feel when they take off their bras, right? We had a cook once who said it was the best feeling in the world.”

Nelson swallowed noisily enough to draw my attention. He was staring at the fire as if it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen. His cheeks were darker than I remembered. He must be getting overly warm from the fire.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“Uh… No. Nope.” He shook his head.

Odd, but okay. I scrubbed my scalp a little more.

“Holy celestial sugar cubes. My head is getting all tingly now. I feel so much better with the wig off.” Maybe Nelson just needed a little more praise to help him come out of his shell. “What an excellent idea.”

“Great,” he muttered.

Since he wasn’t looking in my direction, I inched a little closer to him.

I’d barely moved when he jumped off the couch and scooped up the fireplace poker. I froze. He wasn’t arming himself against me, was he?