“I said, stop, Braxen!”
“No.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Someone cleared their throat.
I turned to see Kaleo Chang standing in my doorway. “Mr. Chang!”
“Oh, it'sMr. Chang now, is it?” Kaleo grinned and then slid that smile toward Braxen. “I get it. Hi, I'm Kaleo.” He held out his hand.
Braxen glared at the hand, then the man it was attached to.
“Braxen!” I hissed.
“Hello,” Braxen said as he shook Kaleo's hand.
Kaleo suddenly frowned, staring harder at Braxen. “You look familiar. Have we met before?”
“No!” I hurried to say. “No, you haven't. This is Braxen. He's my . . . uh, how may I help you, Kaleo? Is there something wrong with the mask?”
“No, not at all.” He refocused on me. “The mask is beautiful. I showed it to a friend who lives here, and when he heard how much I paid for it, he was shocked.”
“My prices are extremely fair,” I said.
“No, I know!” He held up his hands and frowned again at Brax when he started to growl. “That's what my friend said. That it was a really good price for that type of mask, especially with the current relevance.”
“Oh.” I elbowed Braxen. “Good. I'm glad you're happy with your purchase.”
Brax stopped growling.
“I am happy,” Kaleo said. “So happy that I wanted to see if you had gotten any new inventory before I leave.”
“You're going home?”
“Tomorrow night.” He nodded. “The red eye to Honolulu.” He winked at Braxen. “So, no worries, bradah. I'm not here to steal your girl.”
Braxen just grunted.
“I do have some new pieces,” I said. “I haven't even unpacked them yet. I've been, uh.” I glanced at Brax. “Busy.”
“No, kidding.” Kaleo widened his eyes at me.
I smiled at him. It was nice of him not to mention our date, even if he was teasing Braxen a little too much for my comfort. For his comfort too if he wasn't careful.
“This way,” I said.
“Yup. I remember the way,” Kaleo said.
I groaned as I heard Braxen make another predatory and distinctly unhappy sound.
