“With the door closed,” Bliss said.
“Sure.” Angie gave her a funny look as she scooted around her.
As soon as Angie’s door closed, Drake and Bliss stared at each other.
“Poor Angie,” Bliss whispered, then sat on the couch. “What did she tell you?”
“Not much. Just that she thought you were losing your mind.”
“Is that all?”
Drake settled next to her and leaned in for a kiss. Bliss met him halfway. When their lips parted, they weren’t alone anymore.
“Vulcan,” she blustered in a loud whisper. “Will you ever learn to knock?”
“Sorry.” He disappeared.
A moment later, a knock seemed to come from the air in front of them.
Bliss rolled her eyes. “Oh, for the love of—”
“Vulcan, buddy,” Drake said, “come in.”
The god appeared in front of them again. Drake couldn’t help being amused by how easily Bliss ordered the god around and how he obeyed. She probably still didn’t know he was a god. To her, he was part of a TV-show race, and that’s how he and Vulcan wanted it to stay.
Bliss folded her arms. “What are you doing here?”
“You called me, remember?”
“Oh. That was so long ago, I’d forgotten. Where were you?”
Vulcan strolled around the living room, looking at the pictures on the walls and the books in the bookshelves. “I was engaged in a conversation with someone I couldn’t simply run out on.”
Ah, Drake thought. Mother Nature, most likely.
“Did you locate Zina?” Bliss asked.
“No.” Vulcan addressed Drake. “Did she locate you?”
“No. I made myself plenty visible too. Hung out right in front of the bar.”
Bliss rubbed his arm. “So that’s how Angie found you so fast.”
“Yeah. Why did she think you had lost your marbles?”
Bliss blew her bangs out of her eyes and hesitated. At last, she admitted. “She read my diary.”
“You keep a diary?” Drake asked.
“Not really. It’s just a little notepad I use when I get ideas for cards. This was the first time I actually used it as a diary.”
Vulcan raised an eyebrow. “And what did she read?”
Bliss grimaced. “Look, I needed to talk about all the craziness of late, but I couldn’t. I swore I’d never tell anyone, um… other things existed, and certainly not that I had one of them for a boyfriend. But after Drake’s little confession the other night, I was a bit unsettled.”
Drake rubbed her back. “That’s putting it mildly.”
Vulcan paced with his hands clasped behind his back. “I understand, but how did your roommate discover it?”
“She went into my room to see if I had any laundry she could do for me. She’s always trying to be the perfect roommate—unfortunately. I think she misses the close friendship she had with her old roomie and wants us to become just as tight.”
“She seems to be quite considerate,” Drake said. “I don’t see that as unfortunate. Well, except in this case.”
“True. I tried to tell her it was all a dream and I’d jotted it down before I forgot the details. I figured she’d think I was going to tell you later so we could laugh about it.”
Drake took her hand. “That was smart. Why didn’t she believe you?”
“Because in the diary, I said I
“Hmmm…” Vulcan seemed deep in thought. Hopefully he had an idea that could undo the damage. “Drake. You should tell Anthony about this.”
Bliss shot to her feet. “Anthony? Why should he tell my boss? Do you want to get me fired?”
“Not at all. I think he might be able to help.”
Drake rose and held Bliss’s shoulders. “He knows how to hypnotize people. He could make Angie forget the whole thing.”
Bliss raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
“Yeah. Just one problem… He never arrives before seven and Angie’s shift will start a couple hours before that. Do you think she could keep quiet about it until he gets there?”
Bliss sighed. “Probably not. I sure wouldn’t.”
“Who would you tell?” Drake asked.
“Claudia. But she’s my friend. That’s how I got the job. Maybe Angie could be convinced to avoid worrying her and go straight to Anthony.”
Drake thought it over and realized it was risky, but it might work. “If I could convince her to talk to the big boss privately in his office, she’d be right there so he can… do his thing. I can call him first and explain.”
“How? Won’t he wonder why I was writing crazy stuff in my journal?”
“Bliss, honey, Anthony is aware of my secret.”
“He is? And he’s okay with you hanging out in his bar?”
“Yes. He’s… um… very understanding.”
Bliss was silent for a few moments and appeared to be mulling it over. “I guess it could work. I still don’t understand why you told Anthony. I thought other than Zina and Vulcan, I was the only one who knew.”
Drake gave her a charming smile. “You’re one of a very select few.”
“Huh. Well, whatever. How do we proceed?”
“I suggest you and Vulcan leave so I can talk to Angie alone.”
“Where will you say I went? To the booby hatch?”
He chuckled. “No, but it wouldn’t hurt to say you made a doctor’s appointment, just to get checked out.”
“Great. She’ll think I went to see a shrink about a dragon.”
“Or that you decided to get a blood test to make sure there wasn’t some kind of physical cause.”
She jammed her hands on her hips. “I’m not admitting there’s something wrong with me when there isn’t.”
Frustrated, he said, “Fine. I’ll say you had a dentist appointment.”
Bliss dropped her hands by her sides. “I guess that’ll do.” She faced Vulcan and said, “Okay. Shall we go get root canals?”
“Not me, thanks. My teeth are just fine.”
“Then let’s go get some ice cream with sticky caramel sauce and make some cavities.”
Bliss stayed out of the way until it was time for her work shift. By the time she’d run upstairs to change into her uniform, Angie was already gone.
When she arrived at the bar, she gave Angie a jaunty wave, but her roommate just ducked behind the bar and grabbed a rag. Then she proceeded to polish the bar with unnecessary force.
She went about her usual duties until Anthony arrived and entered the office. A few moments later, Claudia exited wearing her spring coat and carrying her purse. Bliss wanted to talk to her friend, but she left the bar so
