Free Rylie Cruz 3 - How to Date a Demon by Rose Pressey

feeling well. Maybe you should go
back to bed,” I said.
    “ So you don’t like my
outfit?” she asked curtly.
    She wasn’t going to let me out of this
one.
    “ No, as a matter of fact I
don’t like your outfit. Why are you dressed like that?”
    She blinked in surprise. “Hey, don’t
you worry about what I’m wearing. My clothes look good. I’ll wear
what I want, when I want.”
    Okay, I wasn’t going to argue about
this with her. I had to talk with her about her behavior. “Honey,
don’t you think you’ve been acting a little bit strange? I mean you
know the way you’re acting and dressing isn’t normal for you. If
you dressed like that all along, fine, but this isn’t typically how
you are. It’s uncharacteristic. Can you see why that would worry
me?”
    “ There’s nothing wrong with
the way I’m acting or dressing. But there’s a lot wrong with you
and, in fact, I’m sick of your shit. Now leave me alone.” Jennifer
turned around, flung open the door and marched out.
    The door slammed shut, rattling the
walls. I thought the door might fall off the hinges. Yep. Something
was definitely wrong and I had to figure it out what it was before
I lost my best friend forever.
    I hurried out the door, down the steps
and out onto the sidewalk. I looked around the street for Jennifer,
but she was too fast. She was nowhere in sight. Where did I go from
here? How did I begin to find her? I couldn’t allow her to roam
around like this, not in her current condition. I had to do
something, but I had no idea what.
    I let out a deep breath and looked
from side to side. With Jennifer nowhere in sight, I turned around
and went back inside. I’d just entered my office and sat down,
tapping my fingers against the wood and trying to think of some way
to help Jennifer, when a knock sounded on the door. I rushed over,
praying that Jennifer had snapped out of it and returned home. It
wasn’t safe to leave Jennifer out there acting like Lily’s
slightly-less crazy relative. If she was still acting the same way,
well, I’d find a way to make her right again.
    When I opened the door, a man was
standing in front of me—another extremely handsome man. What was in
the water around here? Not that I was complaining, but it was
weird. The guy had blond hair and arctic blue eyes and he smelled
like oranges and spice. Had he been eating orange slices? Whatever.
I stared at him expectantly.
    “ Are you Rylie Cruz?” he
asked.
    I didn’t know whether I should answer
yes or no to that question, but I had to do something right today,
so I said, “Yes, I’m Rylie Cruz. What can I do for you? Do you need
an appointment for matchmaking?”
    “ No, I’m looking for
Jennifer Matthews.”
    He took me off guard with that
statement. It wasn’t what I’d been expecting him to say. No one
ever came in and asked for Jennifer. Was he the police?
    “ She’s not here. What do you
want with her? Is she okay?”
    I looked over his shoulder. I didn’t
open the door any further. I had to know who he was
first.
    “ I haven’t seen her, that’s
why I need to talk to you. Can I come in?” He gestured toward the
space behind me.
    I contemplated saying no, then finally
relented and said, “Fine.”
    He stepped inside the room and looked
at the chair. “Do you mind if I have a seat?” he asked.
    I gestured toward the chair. “No, go
right ahead.”
    I sat behind my desk and watched him,
waiting for this man to tell me what the heck he wanted with
Jennifer.
    “ So, you’re here for
Jennifer.” I stared him straight in the eyes.
    He was going to give me the answers I
wanted one way or the other.
    “ Yes, I need to talk to you
about her.” He looked at his wristwatch.
    “ Do you know her?” I
asked.
    “ I don’t know her.” He
didn’t even blink when he said this.
    “ If you don’t know her, then
why are you looking for her?” I crossed my arms in front of my
chest.
    What kind of weirdo had I attracted
this time?
    He folded