Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
“You’d like to get dinner at The Cat’s Pause?” the devil asked as the spider-mech’s cab rose into the air, taking us with it. “Why?”
“Because it’s close to the shop, and afterward, I need you to try all my desserts and tell me which ones taste best before we open. Can we open tomorrow? I want to, but how would that work? Would it?” I gazed up at him while he wrapped his arm around my waist and the spider-mech leapt into traffic.
“I believe tomorrow might be too soon since your sign isn’t finished.”
My stomach lurched from the movement, but also from the warmth of his hand on my waist.
“My sign?”
“Yes. I ordered it. It’s quite cute, a white rabbit and a donut. You will make donuts, won’t you? Because otherwise, I’m afraid the name won’t quite land the way you intend.”
“Do you date ogres?” I gasped when I realized that I’d said that out loud and clung to Divinity, trying not to notice the way we were careening down the street around and over cars.
His expression was mystified, but not at all bothered by the near-death ride on the spider-mech. “Do I date ogres? No. Do you?”
I gave him a shocked look before I turned away. “No. Of course not. I don’t date anyone.”
“We have something in common. Whenever I try to date, inevitably there comes a time when they ask for a deal. I can’t give someone a good deal, a fair deal is as good as it gets, so they end up feeling betrayed.”
“Why would someone date you and ask for a deal?” I frowned at him, trying to think what a romantic deal would look like with him. “That you’d have a heart so you could love them back? That you’d give them immortality so you could live together forever?”
He blinked at me. “Immortality, yes, also beauty, wealth, the usual things people want. Revenge is also quite popular. No one makes a deal to live forever to be with me. That would be silly.”
“Oh. And people are never silly.” I glared at him.
He smiled back, an almost sweet smile. “You’re a romantic. I suppose being raised by your parents and constantly witnessing their absolutely ridiculous love would do that. You would ask for immortality to be with someone you loved.”
I sniffed and tried not to notice the cars honking at us, people leaning out of windows to yell and possibly cast curses. “No. Immortality doesn’t interest me any more than money. I just want to bake. I could probably bake myself immortal, you know, live on in people’s memory.”
His brow crooked. “You’re that good?”
I hesitated. I’d always kept my baking under wraps, like my identity, because some people could taste magic and know its origin. “I don’t know. I want to try, to see how good I am. I like my baking, and most other people do, too, but I don’t have enough experience.”
“Now’s your chance. And here we are.”
The mech cab dropped down at those words, but he had his arm around me this time, so when the restraints relaxed and he helped me out, I wasn’t weaving all over the place.
“All right?” he asked, looking down at me with that slight curve of his luscious lips, eyes alight, amused, but warm. He had a much warmer personality than you’d think a devil would have.
Not that he was actually warm or kind. I forced my spine straight and nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
I pushed through the door, sending the bell jangling, and stepping into the steamy, rice-and-sushi scented goodness. I walked past the multi-seasonal decorations and went to the counter where they served elixirs.
A middle-aged, dark-haired woman who smelled of herbs and looked like Lieutenant Sato leaned on the bar and frowned at me. “How can I help you?” Her expression was guarded. If she was stalking my shop, she must know who I was.
“I’m Kesty Charles. I just moved in next door, and we’re opening a bakery. I wondered if you had any favorites that I should add to the menu. I’m so delighted that there’s such a great sushi shop so close where I can get lunch. Baking magic takes so much energy.”
She sniffed then leaned closer, actually sniffing before she pulled away. “You’re really a fairy-goblin? How does that work? I thought it was an impossible combination.”
“Oh. Well, my mother was a big believer in doing impossible things. Of course she’s dead now.” My stomach lurched and my heart constricted. Feelings welled up that I’d pushed away while I’d been so busy working. Not thinking. Not dwelling on the past.
Philius moved closer, slipping his hand around my waist, lending me comfort and strength before nodding at the woman.
“We’ll take a large sushi boat. Feel free to use your discernment.
If the rumors are true, we won’t be disappointed.
” He led me past the mix of seasonal décor, from Easter Bunnies to Valentine’s hearts to an enormous pumpkin, past a large aquarium, and to the seating area, where you could watch the piano player and the singers who surrounded the bar.
“I’m fine,” I said to Philius even as I sniffled. My mother should’ve been here. She would’ve known all the songs they were singing and what I should do about how much I liked the devil.
He handed me a handkerchief with blue butterflies embroidered around the edges.
See? Like that. What could I do when his handkerchiefs were as adorable as his rabbit?
“She’s very rude. She was trying to push your emotions, to get an honest reaction out of you so she’d know exactly what she’s dealing with.
I suppose it’s good to be cautious with a new neighbor, but to talk about your blood like that was absolutely ill-mannered.
And to press your emotions when you’ve been through so many recently…
” His face was stern. Maybe he’d go give her a lecture.
My mother had been an excellent lecturer.
I smiled at him as I wiped my eyes. “Thank you.”
“What for?”
I opened my mouth to say, for understanding, but instead, “For paying for dinner. There are definite perks to this contract.”
He leaned back and inclined his head so his cheekbones were extra gorgeous. “Indeed. I can’t have you fainting after you’ve poured all your energy and soul into your baked goods and the rabbit. One would be quite enough. I don’t suppose you bake croissants.”
I hesitated then smiled. “Do you think I should?” This was the first thing he’d said he liked. I’d make him the best croissants he’d ever tasted.
He hesitated. “You should do whatever you want, but I do tend to like croissants with strawberries.”
“I’ll need to source some good strawberries.”
“I can do that, if you like. I have an excellent strawberry provider.”
“Did you make a deal with him?”
“Yes. It’s shockingly extortionistic of him. Berries for money? You’d wonder if anyone in this world has ethics. Wonderland makes quite a bit of the stuff.”
“Ethics?”
“Money.”
“Ah. But you still need to make deals. You must like it.”
“I wouldn’t say I like it. Making deals for me is like baking is for you.”
“A compulsion?”
“An obsession.”
“You think about making deals all the time?”
He studied me, a slight smile playing on his soft mouth. “Not all the time. You’re quite lovely, Miss Charles.”
I stared at him, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, trapped, and then the witch stepped up with an enormous sushi boat.
“I got one for you to share. You’re welcome. Wouldn’t want to waste sushi or money when you aren’t able to eat two boats.” She set it down on the small table and walked off without a backward glance.
“Shall we?” he asked, gesturing at the enormous thing.
I nodded and got to work, eating the amazing array of sushi and not looking at the devil who’d suggested that he thought about me sometimes instead of thinking about deals.
Nonsense. He probably thought about me and our deal, or other possible deals we might have if I was stupid enough to make another one.
What would it be like to date someone who could give you anything you wanted?
Probably like dating anyone, but I didn’t have a lot of experience with that.
None. And I wasn’t going to start now. Unless I dated that nice police officer, but who would date someone who had dinner with a devil every night?
Only a crazy person. And with a devil, a rabbit, and a goblin in my life I didn’t have room for any more crazy.
The following days fell into a similar pattern, minus the crazy spider-mech ride to the police station, plus my efforts to bake rabbit cakes that would be good for my rabbit.
It was hard to remember that he belonged to the devil when he was always with me, keeping me company so I never felt alone.
It was almost as nice as getting a hug from my mother when he snuggled against me, soft, sweet, and smelling better and better all the time.
In fact, sometimes it seemed he smelled like caramels.
A few days later, the bakery’s sign came along with a crew of men with ladders to install it.
I stood outside on the sidewalk with my father and watched them hook up the large doughnut dripping pink frosting, a rabbit head sticking out the top with big white ears.
The Rabbit Hole was written across the center of the empty donut hole in swirly script neon bulbs, so during the day it looked just like floating wires, but at night it would glow along with the rest of it, a subtle shimmer to the whole thing.
“So basically, it’s an oversized lightbulb,” I said to my dad.
“It’s art,” he corrected, squinting at it. “Woven with delicate spells to combat the unsee spell on the shop and to ward away evil.”
I beamed at him, snuggling Divinity under my chin. “It’s a sign that I get to open my shop.”
He sighed. “Yes, the sign is a sign. Very funny.”
Before Mom got sick, he would’ve laughed. I squeezed his hand. “It’s kind of elaborate. Don’t you think that means the devil doesn’t want the shop to fail?”
He studied me for a long moment. “He personally made the sign.”
“What?”