“They need to use another café,” Emma announced. “We have a bunch now! Pick one!”
She waved her arms, indicating all the cafés tucked between the chocolate shop, the flower shop, the bakery, the bookshop, and that goddamn skincare shop, which always kept the sign out overnight despite Emma constantly telling the old woman who owned it to bring it in.Thensomeone’s dumb teenager had stolen it and returned it with several of the sign’s letters blacked out to spell a word that none of them wanted to be affiliated with.
Luna sighed. “So, unfortunately, you’ve already signed the contract—”
“Fuck the contract!” Emma said, loud enough that two passing harpies glanced over. Then they saw who they were looking at and wisely looked away. Nobody wanted to be on Emma Curt’s bad side.
“You didn’t say it was him,” Emma continued. “I was expecting some B-list minotaur who made a bunch of fur care ads! If I’d known, I wouldnever—”
She stopped, throat closing up. She averted her eyes, scrubbing her thankfully dry cheeks. She wasn’t about to cry in front of Luna Musgrove. She only did that in front of her parents, who had seen far worse. Besides, Luna looked like she would rather throw herself into traffic than watch her cry, which was coincidentally also what Emma was feeling.
Then Luna’s panicked smile turned soft. She took a deep breath, reaching up to squeeze Emma’s arm.
“Nope,” Emma blurted.
“Still no touching, okay!” Luna held her hands up in surrender. “Let’s get some coffee.”
Emma sniffed. “Some assistant guy is bringing me an iced coffee.”
“Right. I forgot you’re one of those people who drink iced coffee in this weather.” Luna dragged her puffy jacket tighter. “They’ll give it to the crew. Come on, my treat.”
Emma considered. It was this or go back to the café—and she couldn’t face him again. She needed time to get her head on straight, to—
She stopped, staring behind them at a long, sleek vehicle parked in front of Cozy Grotto Café.
“Is that alimo?” she asked disbelievingly.
Luna twisted to look at it. “Guess so. Seems like a fellow drama queen.”
“You have no idea,” Emma muttered.
A cold breeze blew through the street, making Luna shudder and Emma sigh. Luna was from California, so she spent most of the coldest months with her werewolf husband around, ready to duck into his arms and get warm. Even with all those layers, her teeth started chattering if she stayed out in the cold for more than thirty seconds.
“Fine,” Emma grumbled. “Let’s go before you turn into a Popsicle.”
* * *
They picked a corner table in Creature Comforts. Other than her own café, it was the only spot on Main Street that did iced coffees the way Emma wanted them: no ice cubes, extra whipped cream on top, and extra chocolate sauce.
Luna nibbled on a minotaur-shaped chocolate that had come with her drink. Prickles, the hedgehog-owned chocolate shop, was yet another business that was booming thanks to Luna’s marketing expertise. Emma had to give it to her—turning Prickles into the supplier for all the local cafés’ chocolate needs was a smart move. Stellar chocolate, too. She’d gotten more than a little addicted to all these little goodies that came with her coffees.
“I really am sorry,” Luna said. “Daisy gave me the short version before you came in. Sounds like there’s some tricky history there.”
Emma laughed bitterly. “You could say that.”
Luna dropped the rest of her chocolate into her latte and leaned forward. She had that coy smile on, the one that made it easy to believe she’d been the go-to girl to spice up a party back in LA. She did the same in Claw Haven, but she usually tapped out with her werewolf husband before too long. Emma was surprised that Oliver Musgrove wasn’t around. They’d renewed their wolf bond at their wedding, and it usually meant that they had to keep each other on a short leash or risk an impressive amount of pain—for a while, anyway. Apparently, it had been longer than Emma thought.
Emma braced herself. “We dated in high school.”
Luna nodded eagerly. “And?”
“Stop looking like you’re watching reality TV,” Emma scolded. “This is mylife.”
“Right,” Luna said. “Sorry.”
Emma leaned back in her chair, folding her arms tightly over her chest. Arthur used to tease her for it, showing her how to look more relaxed.You catch more flies with honey, he’d say. He probably still said it. It sounded like the stupid sort of thing he’d say, convinced that all of life could be solved if you hid everything behind a bullshit smile.
“That’s the whole story,” Emma said. “We dated in high school. He abandoned me to be a movie star. Looks like it worked out for him.”
