“Right. But if wedidgo see her, what kind of cake would you bake?”
“For you?”
“You already baked for me. For yourself. What would you bake? Something you love. Doesn’t have to be cake.”
She shrugged. “Something easy.”
Not helpful.
“Let’s say it appeared by magic,” I said, casually. “No work involved. What cake would you want?”
“Magic cake?”
“Pretend.”
“You want me to eat magic cake?”
“Sure.” I leaned forward and propped elbows on the table. “Any cake in the world. Which would you want?”
She opened her mouth then shut it quick, eyes narrowing. “Why cake?”
I shrugged, working to give off the right signals.
This wasn’t important. I wasn’t sweating her birthday. Wasn’t sweating trying to make it something special. Something unforgettable. Something she deserved after all these lonely years.
I spread my fingers. “Maybe it’s just cake.”
The man wiping the table next to us snorted.
“Then any cake’s fine.” The eyebrow lifted again. “Since it’s not for something special or anything, right?”
She wasn’t on to me. Not yet. But if I opened my fool mouth, she’d know. Then my plan (which was to plan to have a plan) would be shot.
“But if you had a choice?”
“Red velvet,” the man said.
Lu’s eyes widened. He was behind her, but she didn’t turn, watching my reaction instead.
Medium built, he wore a dark gray T-shirt printed with black feathers—no, with crows in wild flight, their grey and gold eyes just a glimmer amongst all the black. There was something about him and those crows, all those wings, all those clever eyes, that twigged my fight, flight, freeze instinct.
Then he turned and met my gaze.
His dark eyes were filled with a universe of power that crackled and glowed. He suddenly seemed more—bigger, massive, made of energy instead of flesh.
“God,” I breathed.
Lu twisted to look at him.
“Or,” the god said, still washing the back of the vinyl seat that didn’t need washing, “maybe devil’s food?” He studied his handiwork as if wiping off furniture was the important thing here. “That’smyfavorite cake.”
I made to stand, but he shook his head. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Except you did mean to,” Lu said.
He hadn’t moved closer, not one step. But his presence grew, making him shimmer with that heat-wave light only gods carried.
No one else in the diner noticed because the god didn’t want them to notice.
