I’m gripping the table with so much force, I’m surprised it doesn’t break. And then, I hear a crash.
I spin around, just in time to see an ice block materialize in the middle of the cafe.
“Is that… what I think it is?” Chase asks from behind the counter.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Amber moans, burying her face in her hands. “Not an ice block. Please not an ice block.”
And, just like that, Amber transforms. And completely obliterates the table, and her chair, and her cappuccino mug. She expands, and ice slams into my side. Julian lets out a yelp, and the cafe’s front door explodes. There goes his wonky magic. And Wes groans, but I’m not sure if it’s because of the door, or the fact that Ice Block Amber just threw him into the wall.
I land on my ass and stare at the two seven-foot-tall ice blocks taking up half the room inside Jewels Cafe. Then, one of them starts to transform.
“Zoe? Are you all right?” Xavi cries. And he rushes to my side. He didn’t leave. He didn’t reject me. He falls on his knees next to me and starts running his hands up and down my arms.
“Xavi?” I ask, a little dazed.
“Are you hurt?” he demands, his hands now caressing my legs. Checking me for injuries. Turning me on.
I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from Xavi as I listen to Amber shift back and run to check on her mates. And when I finally glance at them, I find Amber astride Wes’s lap while the two of them make out. Julian joins them, threads his fingers through Amber’s hair, and urges her to kiss him instead. Chase rounds the counter, and I jump to my feet.
“We’re going to grab some Wobble Stoppers!” I shout and drag Xavi out of the cafe.
“Are they… always like that?” Xavi asks, his gaze locked on my lips.
“Pretty much.” And all of the sudden, I want to be like that too.
“Zoe,” Xavi whispers my name and starts backing me up toward the Cleanly Den van. And I want that. I want him.
My pulse spikes. My breathing turns ragged. And then Xavi trips. On the perfectly level sidewalk. And stumbles into me.
Lucky for me, unlike mermaids, Xavi wears pants. And shoes. So I can lock onto both with my magic and steady him before we both fall.
And then he’s spinning us around so his back is against the van, and my palms are flat against his chest, and we’re staring into each other’s eyes.
I move up on tiptoe, Xavi leans down, our lips touch, and I swear I feel sparks.
One touch from his lips, and I’m on fire. You’d think an ice block shifter would run cold, but everything about Xavi is oh so hot. His lips. His chest. The way he knows how to kiss.
I never want this moment to end, yet I can’t seem to get enough. I need more. So much more. I need Xavi.
“Get a room,” a woman mutters behind me, frustration evident in her voice.
Xavi and I pull apart. Both out of breath. Both flushed. And then he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a tight hug.
“This is nice,” I whisper against his chest.
“It is.” He plants a kiss on the top of my head. And I suddenly want to cry.
I honestly don’t know what’s gotten into me. I guess I’m just not used to sweet. One-night stands, sure. This? Not so much.
“We should fix the cafe,” I tell him cheerfully and spin around to find Peppermint from the post office standing in front of Jewels Cafe.
“You don’t happen to know an Amber Kopieren?” she asks, holding up a letter that has strange runes on the envelope.
“Sure, I’ll make sure she gets this,” I tell her, slipping it into my coat pocket. Then I smile at Xavi like I wasn’t about to start bawling in his arms. “I’m going to grab some spells to fix the cafe.”
I rummage through my van and grab everything I need. When Xavi and I head inside the cafe, there’s no sign of Amber. Or her guys. Okaaay then.
“Where did they go?” Xavi frowns.
I snort. “Do you really have to ask?”
“Never mind.” Xavi’s cheeks flush an adorable red. For a second, I think he might shift again, but he takes a few deep breaths and seems to relax.
“So how does the whole ice block thing work?” I ask him.
“What do you mean?” Xavi pushes his glasses up his nose, and I get the sense it’s more of a nervous tic than anything else.
“Can you shift when you want? Or just when you’re…” I trail off.
“When I’m anxious?” Xavi chuckles. “Yeah, I can choose to shift, too. Most shifters from Shifter Bay can.”
“There are other ice blocks?” I ask in surprise. “I thought Shifter Bay shifters were one of a kind. Not that I know much about you guys. Just what I learned… in school.”
Well, actually, at the agency. But it just doesn’t seem like the right time to talk about my past.
“No, you’re right. Every Bayan is unique. And I’m definitely the only ice block,” Xavi says. “A woman down the street from where I grew up could shift into an ice cream cone. And my high school English teacher shifted into an ice sculpture. Of a penguin.”
“Really?” I snort. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make fun of her.”
“Him,” Xavi says. “And it’s fine. We all shift into something that stood out to us around puberty, but sometimes that thing can be really weird. Like the penguin. He saw it at a wedding, and it inspired some poem he was really proud of at the time. So when he shifted. Penguin ice statue.”
“So why an ice block?”
Xavi grins. “My granddad had a cabin by the bay. We used to drive out there on the weekends, and the winter before he died, we’d spend hours watching the sun glisten off the ice. There was just something so beautiful about it. Peaceful.
“After he died, I kept going out there. And one winter afternoon. I shifted. Right near the bay.”
“Do you miss home?”
“Sometimes. But I wouldn’t ever want to leave Silver Springs.”
I smile up at him. “Neither would I.”
Xavi and I finish fixing up Jewels Cafe. Technically, I do all the work, since the cleanup requires magic, but he entertains me with funny stories instead. Like the first time his brother shifted into a cake—and burst into tears because he realized he couldn’t eat it. And how he ice blocked at the beach and shifted back coated in sand.
I love hearing about his childhood with his two moms—who shift into a Coke bottle and an old paperback copy of Moby Dick. And then he floors me by promising to bring me home to meet them this Easter.
I know that we’re mates. I get it. But that’s more commitment than I’d expect after a year of dating, and we’ve barely known each other for hours.
“I’d love to meet your family,” I tell him anyway. And realize I really mean it. Because who cares if we’re going fast or slow if it feels just right?
“I can’t wait.” Xavi grins. “And maybe I could cook for you tonight? Unless you have plans? I totally understand if you have plans! I’m sure you’ve got tons of places to be. You—”
“I don’t,” I quickly interrupt. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”
“And I’d love to help you find something to wear,” Amber calls out, and I find her and all three of her guys standing by the stairs, grinning at us.