Chapter 8 #2
“It has his fingerprints all over it. Not literally—I don’t think devils have fingerprints—but the story is that he made a deal with someone a long time ago, their art for immortality. He kept it instead of passing it on.”
“Good story. Or he could just be a devil who likes making weird lightbulbs. It’s possible that there’s more to him than the deals he makes.”
He gave me a hard look. “Don’t go humanizing him.”
“I would never. I’m just saying that there’s more to him than deals, like there’s more to me than baking.”
He gave me a dangerous grin. “Is there? I wasn’t aware.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed his shoulder. “But if the devil did personally make this, he probably doesn’t want it to fail. Right?”
“I’m sure he wants your shop to make him a profit, and you’re more likely to work hard if you don’t realize that it’s futile.”
“But Divinity is doing better. That’s what he really wanted, right? Also to not waste a shop in such a great location.”
“What he really wants is a mystery. Don’t ever forget that he’s a devil who put me in a cage in feathers during your mother’s funeral.”
I winced. “Of course I’m not going to forget that he did that along with releasing a psycho killer. Although he did that for me.”
“So what is it he really wants with you? You’re one-of-a-kind. He’s seen a lot of things, but you’re the only one of you. Maybe he collects one-of-a-kind people, like Rawley. There’s no one else like her, either.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t be skeptical or the baked goods would suffer.
I needed to imbue everything with optimism and hope.
Also delight. Which meant that I needed to channel my delight and pleasure in my life into my baking down to each and every donut.
That was this day’s mission: to stock everything that couldn’t be frozen. Tomorrow, we’d open the shop.
As I turned to go inside, the enormous spider-mech leapt down the street, strewing fliers right and left, so they floated down like leaves.
I caught a fluttering paper, and there on the front was a decal of the rabbit and donut with Grand Opening!
printed in bold letters across the front.
There were cute gold decals in the background of macarons, donuts, and croissants.
I’d better get on those then. Not for him.
I hid my smile while my dad looked at me, a crease between his brow as I fought my manic smile.
The devil was advertising for me, and the flier was really pretty.
Like the sign. Cute. Charming. Utterly perfect.
I couldn’t help but have light steps as I made my way into my shop, filled with the energy and excitement that would make desserts that truly dazzled.
I baked and baked until it was time for dinner, and the devil came for me, walking down the stairs like he’d come from Wonderland.
I handed him a croissant filled with berries on a plate then looped my arm around his as I dragged him to the front of the shop, where we’d sit at a table and enjoy the pizza I’d ordered from my favorite place, with stuffed crusts and spicy peppers.
We’d no sooner gotten there then the delivery guy knocked on the front glass door.
I quickly went to open it and handed him bills, shut the door in his face, and turned to the devil.
“So, we’re opening tomorrow! I saw the flier.
It was so pretty. And the sign was basically perfect.
Did you really trade immortality for lightbulb art skills? What an excellent deal!”
He smiled and lounged back on the chair like he’d never been so comfortable.
“Absolutely. Not my immortality, but someone’s.
To be honest, the art skills were mediocre at best, but he thought they were fabulous, and everything is about perception when you think you’re making a sacrifice.
It’s about what you value, not what I do. ”
“So what does that mean? How are you so good at lightbulb art?”
“I’m interested in magic and tech. Like the pocket watch. I traded for that original one, but I’ve made an entire collection of pocket watches that can do all sorts of interesting things. Would you like one?”
“That sounds dangerous.” Like him. He was so dangerous, looking so at ease when my whole body was shivering with excitement.
I was opening my bakery tomorrow! I’d dreamed about this moment for years and years, and it was actually happening!
I’d wake up early to bake then spend all morning and afternoon behind the counter with my dad.
Was I pretty enough? I’d worked on my baking but not my outfit.
I’d just wear the fluffy tea-party skirt with a pink apron.
“You don’t seem to mind danger.” He picked up a piece of pizza with flowers on it. “A fairy pizza? Does that mean there’s no cheese?”
I bit into a piece of deliciosness and sighed happily. “I’m not great with dairy. I should’ve gotten one you’d like, but I didn’t think about it.”
He raised the croissant filled with strawberries and gave me a slight smile. “No, you didn’t think of me at all.” He bit into it, snap, snap, snap, and it was gone.
I froze with my piece of pizza halfway to my mouth while I stared at him. He’d just devoured my croissant like it wasn’t something to savor and enjoy one tiny bit at a time. “You didn’t like it?”
“No. I don’t like your croissants. That would be like saying I like deals and pocket watches. Your croissants are works of art that I could spend years lacking sufficient artistry to properly reflect. That is, you are a dream, and your croissants are dream’s heaven.”
I blinked at him then shook my head and bit into my pizza. The devil was weird, to be sure.
He nibbled on a piece with an expression of boredom, not the intense fierceness when he’d eaten the croissant.
He’d snap, snapped with teeth that seemed almost as sharp as mine.
Why had that made my heart beat so fast?
Why did it make my skin feel hot and weird?
Why did I want to feel his teeth on my skin?
I inhaled and straightened. I didn’t. That was why.
He was a devil, so beguilement and seduction were part of his repertoire, along with pretty words and pretty teeth that devoured my baked goods the way I might like someone to want to devour me.
But that wasn’t reality. Reality was that I had a bakery and the grand opening was tomorrow!
That was the magic, the delight, the happiness.
“Can I have another one of your dead mistress’s dresses to rip to shreds for my grand opening?”
He blinked at me. “Dead mistress?”
“Divinity’s dead mistress. Not yours. Unless she was. Not that I want to know. I definitely don’t want to know. But can I have her clothes? It doesn’t seem like anyone’s using them, and I kind of want to have more magical options without spending more money.”
“Of course. You may have Divinity’s dead mistress’s dresses. Divinity not Pavlov? I suppose it’s more ironic.”
“Right. The other was too on-the-nose.”
His brow furrowed slightly. “How so? I would’ve thought irrelevant, not too blatant.”
“Because he’s your rabbit, and the mouth-watering effect you have on people is one of my least favorite things.”
He stared at me for a moment before his expression cleared.
“Ah. I’m mouth-watering, and therefore my rabbit couldn’t be called Pavlov, because that would be a reminder of how delicious I am, even when I’m not here to be delicious in your presence.
” He leaned his elbow on the table and gazed at me, luminous eyes intense and wicked.
“If you like, I could be mouth-watering in your presence all the time.”
I pushed his forehead so he fell off his elbow and looked almost ungraceful for a moment. “If you were here all the time, I’d put you to work. I’d have you man the front while I baked. That would be delightful and delicious! Are you up for it?”
“Do you think people would come to see me?”
“The ogres certainly would.”
“Is that jealousy, my fair fairy?” He gave me the most deliciously devilish smile. “I’ll be certain to be less delicious in front of ogres in the future. I wouldn’t want you poisoning my croissants.”
“They’re not your croissants.”
He raised a brow. “No? When the shop opens, I’m buying every last one of them.”
I rolled my eyes but smiled. The shop was opening tomorrow, and it was going to be amazing!