“Don’t you have school?” Seth asked. He didn’t sound as stern as he would have liked. The familiar, cheery sound of the bell ringing over his bakery door had put him in a weird, giddy state.
“What time do you think high school starts in the morning, old man?” Violet asked, arching a brow. She definitely dyed her hair black—her eyebrows were practically blond. Or maybe she bleached her brows and kept her hair natural? What was it the kids did these days?
But anyway, she was right, it was only just after six. But how unnatural for a teenager to wake up so early by choice.
Violet shot Riley a suspicious glance and marched up to the counter. She was wearing her heaviest boots today, so the effect was pretty impressive. Her gaze ran over Seth like she was checking for hidden wounds. “Thought you were bones in the woods by now.”
This girl. Seth cocked his head. “And how fast do you think bodies decompose, young lady?”
“Touché.”
Seth grinned at her. He had a strange urge to give her a hug, but he’d probably be treated to a kick with one of those monster boots if he tried it. “You wanna work here?”
Violet crossed her arms. “Yeah. Weekends?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I want to learn how to make brioche buns.”
“Eventually. You’re starting up front.”
Violet nodded and held out her hand. Seth shook it.
Riley spoke up from his table. “I’m the boyfriend.”
Violet shot him an unimpressed look over her shoulder. “Good for you.”
Seth set her up at a table with a black coffee and a plain bun, although he added one of the pear Danishes so she could start getting a taste for his other flavors. He’d started to think maybe she was allergic to fruit, but she accepted it with a gracious nod.
A few other regulars showed up shortly afterward—no Luke and Colby yet, but it wasn’t their usual day. Seth’s sign had claimed he was ill, apparently, and everyone was touchingly concerned over his health.
It wasn’t quite like back at Seacliff, where Seth had known everyone so well that a lie like that wouldn’t have held in the first place. If nothing else, Seth would have had Matty’s demon husband busting down his door the first day he was closed, looking for key lime tarts to feed his beloved.
But still, it was…nice. Seth could sense it, like a shift in the air—this could be the start of a real community, if he let it.
After closing the bakery, Seth went into the back to give Benny a call. Seth had left him in the lurch after their last talk, and now that he was feeling seminormal, the guilt was eating Seth alive.
“Seth! I’ve been, like, worried.”
Seth’s stomach sank. “You have?”
He hadn’t had any missed calls from his cousin, so he’d beenconvincing himself his silence wasn’t that big of a problem. But then again, Benny was the type of person whose worries didn’t stick in his head for long. They were like passing clouds, easily drifting away on the wind.
“Yeah. Helio said I dropped a bomb on you.”
“Oh. Well, I talked it out with Sascha though. And then I was…” Seth coughed, lowering his voice even though there wasn’t anyone but Riley out front. “Slightly kidnapped?”
“Ohhh.” If anything, Benny sounded even more chill than before with that news. “Private island?”
“Um. No. A cabin in the woods.”
“A magic cabin?” Benny asked. “Did it give you an Xbox?”
Seth held the phone away from his face, as if that might give him a clue what Benny was talking about. When that didn’t work, he pressed it back to his ear. “No. Just—just a regular cabin. Nicely decorated though.”
“Sweet. Did you bargain your life away? ’Cause they might hold you to it. It’s not so bad though. Dream sex and whatnot.”
“Did who—? What?” Seth shook his head. “Benny, it was vampires. I’m someone’s fated mate, so they claim.”
