They were still waiting for Todd, who'd gotten lost and had called Miranda and told her he was three minutes away.

"Shit what?" Della asked, but then said, "Oh, shit."

"What?" Kylie asked, obviously the only one in the dark.

Then she saw it, or rather him, and she completely agreed with the assessment. "Oh, shit."

"Hey," Perry said as he moved in. Kylie couldn't help noticing that he'd gotten his hair cut and wore a tighter-fitting shirt and jeans. Something about his haircut made him appear older, more of a man than a young teen. The way his shirt hugged his upper torso accented his broad shoulders. His eyes were blue, and the way they twinkled when he looked at Miranda had Kylie's heart melting. Confidence seemed to ooze from his smile. Even his body posture spoke of a coolness she'd never seen him exude. For the first time, Kylie spotted what it was that Miranda found so attractive about Perry.

"Looking hot," Della said, obviously noticing the same thing.

"Why, thank you." His blue eyes sparkled as he shifted his gaze back to Miranda. "But I'm not the only one looking good tonight. Really good."

"Thanks." Miranda looked at Kylie as if begging her to do something.

Kylie glanced at Della, who just grinned.

"Uh, Perry..." Kylie started talking, not sure how she would fix this. "We were just sort of talking, privately, about-"

"About Miranda's date," Perry said.

"Oh, shit," Della said again.

Ditto, Kylie wanted to say.

Perry focused on Miranda. "I know about your date."

Miranda shot Kylie a look as if accusing her of spilling the beans.

Kylie shook her head no and refocused on Perry. His eyes changed from blue to bright green, but if Perry was about to wig out on them and change into some kind of warlock-eating monster, he gave no other indication. "I just wanted to tell you that while I don't like it, I'm hoping you'll give me the same chance you're giving this asswad ... I mean, this guy."

Della chuckled.

"Go out with me tomorrow night," Perry went on. "Let me prove to you that I'm the guy you want."

Miranda opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Kylie couldn't talk either, because she felt a lump in her throat-a lump of emotion and pride for Perry.

"I ... I guess I could go out tomorrow night." Miranda sounded shocked and a little swept off her feet.

Then, from the corner of her eyes, Kylie saw something move at the office window. When she looked back, she spotted Burnett and Holiday standing there high-fiving each other. No doubt Burnett was listening to the conversation and sharing the details with Holiday.

Kylie should have guessed someone had helped out Perry. She was a little embarrassed she hadn't tried this herself. He so deserved his shot with Miranda.

Perry nodded, stepped closer, and then pressed a quick kiss on Miranda's cheek. It had to be the most romantic thing Kylie had ever seen.

If only the tan truck, with a personalized license plate that read TODD, hadn't pulled up right then.

"Oh, shit," Della said again.

Ditto.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Todd, a fairly hot-looking guy with sandy-colored hair, jumped out of his truck and frowned. He obviously didn't miss that Perry stood touch-me close to Miranda. From the look on Todd's face, he hadn't missed the kiss, either.

"Someone trying to steal my date?" Todd's words could have been meant in humor, but his tone told another story. He strode forward and dropped a possessive arm around Miranda's shoulders.

Kylie saw Perry's entire body stiffen. His eyes turned a bright red.

Todd, still studying Perry, tightened his brows to check out Perry's pattern.

The teen's jaw dropped a little when he realized exactly what Perry was. Kylie waited for the puddle to appear around the guy's feet.

The office door opened and shut behind them.

"Uh, Perry? Can I see you a minute?" Burnett called.

Kylie moved in close to Perry. "Don't screw it up, now," she whispered.

Perry, anger oozing from his pores, continued to stare at Todd. Kylie could feel the electricity start to buzz and hum around the shape-shifter.

"Don't do it," Kylie repeated in a whisper.

Perry looked back at Burnett, then at Kylie, and then back at Miranda. "I'll see you tomorrow night," he said, but his tone was so tight, Kylie knew what it cost him to keep his composure.

Then he turned around, transformed himself into his favorite bird, and flew up, making tight circles around them.

Della leaned over to Kylie. "He's going to crap on Todd's car, just watch!"

Kylie did watch and hoped Della was wrong. Okay, it would have been really funny, because as big of a bird as Perry was, that would have been a lot of crap, but Kylie didn't think it would impress Miranda. And that, she realized, was what this had been all about.

Still, Kylie didn't relax until Perry changed directions and flew back toward the woods.

* * *

"Hey, I know. Why don't we go to the swimming hole tonight?" Della suggested fifteen minutes later on the walk back to their cabin. "A bunch of campers have attached a swing to one of the higher cliffs so we can jump into the water. I'm dying to try it."

It was the word dying that had Kylie catching her breath. She'd mostly blocked Jane Doe's warning from her mind and had no idea why she suddenly felt so overwhelmed by emotion. "No." She blurted out the answer so fast that Della made a face.