Mind Tricks by Adrianne Wood Page A

much
trouble?”
    “Thank God, no.” She looked at him
for the first time, really, since he’d come upon her. His heart rate picked up.
Was she going to say anything about him kissing her? No, probably not. It had
been a quick peck, after all, not a full-on, tongue-tangling kiss. Still, her
face looked a little pink—though that might’ve been merely an effect of the
setting sun poking red-gold beams through the trees.
    “Your pants are going to get
ruined,” she said.
    Ah, well. So much for hoping she
had the hots for him. “Hey, a dog is lost. More important than pants.”
    “I’d characterize him as ‘on the
lam’ rather than ‘lost.’”
    “Still, it’s getting dark. And I’m
hungry. Do you want to order pizza as soon as we get the beast back into his
lair?” Two meals together in one day. They were practically dating.
    “Pizza—perfect. Ian will love it,
too.”
    Ian hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“Uh, sure.” In for a penny… “Cynthia’s here, as well. Think she wants pizza?”
Maybe that invitation would encourage Emma to see him as generous.
    Surprising him, Emma made a face.
    Jake laughed. “Cynthia’s not your
favorite person?”
    “Ian likes her, so she must have
some good qualities. But they are remarkably well hidden. Plus—” She stopped.
    He had a feeling her knew what was
coming. “Plus…what?”
    “Um, I don’t think she likes you
very much.”
    “Then why are we sharing our pizza
with her?”
    “It was your idea, not mine. But we
can’t invite Ian and not invite her. So…so, I guess Ian’s on his own for dinner
tonight,” Emma concluded.
    Good. But he tried to mask his
satisfaction as he said, “Maybe he and Cynthia already have plans.”
    Emma didn’t answer, banging on the
dish again. “Brutus!” Then she lifted her head sharply. “He can see us.”
    “What?” Jake did a three-sixty but
didn’t see any sign of the dog. “How do you know that?” Ah. Her so-called
animal empathy. He grimaced. He liked her better when she wasn’t faking psychic
powers.
    “Brutus,” she called again.
    A crashing noise off to the left
and then a flash of black through the trees.
    Lucky guess? Or maybe her eyesight
was better than his, and she’d seen Brutus before delivering her dramatic line.
    Or…maybe she was the only genuine
pet psychic on the planet. The odds were astronomical—actually, it was
ridiculous to even contemplate—but the possibility was becoming easier to
swallow than the thought that she was a scammer or a kook.
    Emma started to pick up speed,
angling through the woods away from
the dog.
    Jake didn’t move to follow her.
“Shouldn’t we go after him?”
    “Dogs like to chase things. So he’s
going to get excited by our running and he’s going chase us—back to my house.
Understand?”
    Jake could see Brutus clearly now.
He was thirty yards away at most. “I think I can grab—”
    Jogging back toward him, Emma
juggled the dish and spoon into one hand. “Come on!”
    And she reached out her bare hand
and seized his.
     
    • •
     
    …I
can grab him—I know it…None of this chasing crap…though I’d like to chase Emma,
preferably naked around her bed…
    Whoa—too much information! Or maybe
not enough. What was he planning on doing when he caught her?
    “I really think I can grab him,”
Jake said.
    Grab
me, she almost said. A memory stopped her. In college, she’d accidentally
intercepted a similar thought from a guy in her biology class. She’d acted on
it, but he’d been so startled by her aggressiveness that he’d practically run
away.
    There was a difference between
fantasizing and planning a seduction. Which was Jake doing?
    She could touch him again and find
out. Apparently her telepathy was now working on him again…
    No. Each time she read someone, she
risked exposure.
    “Don’t grab him. Run with me.”
Keeping her hands to herself this time, she scrambled through the woods,
heading toward her backyard. Glancing over