CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
MERRY
Three days later,I talked Marcus into taking me into Austin for lunch. And for a stop at The Magic Bean for coffee and pastry.
At first, he didn't want to go anywhere, but I'd talked him into it. I pointed out that we were no longer being watched by the humans and Ava and Macgrath were on good terms with Dumont, so there was no reason we couldn't go out.
When he still resisted, I might have mentioned that he'd never even taken me out on a date.
So, we went into town, had lunch at a cafe near SoCo, and then went to Ava's shop for a caffeinated beverage and dessert. Marcus had difficulty relaxing at first, but by the time our food arrived at our table, he wasn't swiveling his head to watch every person in the cafe.
The last bit of tension drained out of him when we entered The Magic Bean. Harrison and Savannah were there, but the store itself was empty for now. Savannah looked pretty and fresh in a light green dress and her hair in a thick braid down her back.
"Hey!" Savannah said. "Long time no see."
"Hey. How are you?" I asked, walking to the counter.
"I'm good. How are you doing? Ava told me about what happened a few days ago. I can't believe it."
I shrugged. "It's scary when I think about it but I missed the entire thing because they zapped me with a stun gun and then drugged me."
Savannah's eyes shifted to Marcus. I could feel him next to me, doing his best imitation of a thundercloud. "Uh, well, I'm glad you're okay."
I nudged Marcus with my elbow. "Quit staring at her like that."
"Like what?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Like you're ready to rip her head off."
Savannah giggled when Marcus frowned at me. "I wouldn't categorize it as that. More like he's annoyed with me."
"What?" Marcus asked again, this time sounding more bewildered than irritated.
I imitated his stance and put a scowl on my face, scrunching up my lips and lowering my eyebrows into an exaggerated approximation of his facial expression.
Savannah laughed outright and tried to cover it up with a cough. "Uh, sorry. I, uh, choked on my own spit." She continued to cough so much that I was genuinely worried about her.
Harrison sighed and went to the fridge. He took out a pitcher of water, grabbed a cup, poured out some water, and brought it over to Savannah.
"Here," he murmured. "Have some water."
"Thanks," she said, her voice hoarse. "I actually did choke after I said that."
He rolled his eyes and went back to the fridge to put the pitcher of water away.
Marcus was no longer scowling, but staring at both of us with astonishment.
"I don't look like that," he said.
Savannah and I both smirked at him and he grunted.
"Maybe just a little," I said, holding my index finger and thumb close together.
"Sorry I laughed," Savannah said, her cough finally under control. "You don't look exactly like that, but you do frown a lot."
Marcus dropped his arms as I laughed. "I do not. I just don't smile very often."
"That's true, too," I said. "But you still frown a lot."
