“Yes,” he answered.
If my cheeks were capable of flushing, they would’ve had my skin turning a deep crimson. “Don’t care to tell me what it is?”
The man sucked in a breath and pointed at a tray of vanilla cupcakes with blue frosting. “Can I get one of those?”
“I thought you said you didn’t have a sweet tooth?” Grasping the silver tray with my fingertips, I dragged it across the counter, holding it captive between us.
He stepped closer, pressing his palms to the countertop. From this angle, I could tell how truly tall he was—hetoweredover me. “Call it curiosity.”
“Sure.” Keeping our eyes locked, I slowly pushed the tray toward him, but as he lifted a hand to grab one, I yanked it back. “If you tell me your name, I’ll even give it to you for free.”
When he reached for it, his arm lingered near a small candle I kept lit at the corner of the counter, and he winced, shifting away from it. “Do names mean that much to you?”
Eyeing the bouncing candle flame for a moment, I shifted my gaze back to him. “In a small town like Arcane Cove, names areeverything.”
A devious smirk curved his lips, and he drummed his fingers on the counter. “Jack.”
Fireflies danced in my stomach. I gulped down a snowball forming in my throat. “Just Jack?”
Jack’s eyes lowered to my throat, bobbing and lazily brought his gaze back to mine. “For now.”
Keeping true to my word, I picked up one cupcake and sprinkled my white-and-blue magic over it, swirling dust and sparkles until it settled into the frosting. I held it out to him. “Here you are.”
His upper lip curled back, and he circled a finger around the treat. “What did you do? Drug it somehow?”
Gasping, I dropped my hand, the cupcake coming with it. “What? No. It’s magic. That’s what I do here. It’s not just baked goods. I lace them with spells to cure what ails customers.”
Jack squinted at me and combed his beard with his fingers. “And you think you know what ails me?”
No one, not a soul, had ever questioned my aptitude for working spells. I flicked my fingernail on my apron strap. “It might not be some cure-all or something, but I promise if you take a bite, it’ll make you feel better.” Offering the cupcake again, I managed a tiny smile.
Jack stared at it for a solid beat before taking it between two fingers. He didn’t eat any, however, and tossed it in his palm with a nod. “I’ll save it for a rainy day.”
Disappointment deflated me. I wanted to see him take a bite. I desired to see him relax in front of me because I’m the one who made him feel good. And I barelyknewhim.
Clutching my apron straps for dear life, nearly choking myself with them, I shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Jack stepped toward the door, still staring at me like I was the world’s most mysterious enigma. “I’ll be seeing you, Sylvie.”
“Will you?” I asked, scoffing at him.
Jack snickered and bumped his ass against the door. He paused before exiting, saying, “It’s Frost, by the way.”
A breath hitched in my throat. “Frost? As inJackFrost?”
Jack didn’t answer me and winked, a twinkle sparkling in his eye before he left, the door chiming closed behind him.
I stood frozen with my mouth open, staring at the door like I expected him to waltz right back in. Marching, I locked the door and flicked off the open sign, fully prepared to close until my night shift assistant showed up in the evening. I was flustered, irritated, and still somehow wrapped up in how attractive astrangerwas.
All because Jack Frost had to come aroundnippingat my nose.
Wasthis the universe’s idea of some cruel joke? Itpulledme to her like a celestial tether I couldn’t have ignored even when my mind tried to protest. I’d never felt anything like it in the centuries I’d been searching. Thishadto be it, but how would it work? Not only did she hide her fae ears, but she worked in an inferno that might as well have been hell itself. Visions of her light, voluminous hair bouncing as she twirled in the shop infiltrated my thoughts. As if that wasn’t enough, this beautiful, adorable woman also sang like a damn songbird.
“Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath. The cupcake was still in my grasp. I’d wanted to eat it, but at the same time, what if it was good? Like, really good?
“Sounds to me like you could use a drink, boy,” a gravelly male voice said.
Searching for the source, I spotted a shorter, older man with bowed legs. He wore a ten-gallon hat, dark blue duster, bootswith spurs, and a silver sheriff’s star pinned to his blue filigree satin vest. “Oh? How could you tell?”
