Moving on, she peeled a piece of banana off the top and dangled it into her mouth, enjoying the deep, sweet caramelized flavor, the undercurrents of rum and vanilla and cinnamon and something else she couldn’t even pick.
“Mmm,” she sighed. “That issogood. I think I need to revise my food rating system for this place when I write my review, because five Fillmores isn’t going to cut it. I think I’ve just discovered six-Fillmore food.”
“That good?” Henry said, looking impressed.
“Better, even.”
The more that she thought about it, the more that the name Sylvie rang a bell – she thought she might have read an article a few years back about a small-town baker named Sylvie who made absolutely incredible cakes, but she’d completely forgotten about it until now. This had to be the same one – there was no way there could be two bakers called Sylvie in mountain towns who were this good!
She bit into the tart properly this time, possibly making slightly inappropriate noises as the whole flavor experience hit her full-force. The satisfying mild crunch of the pecans, the rich taste of the banana, the warmth of the vanilla, the crumbly butteriness of the crust, the sweetness of the goo that bound it all together…
Note to self: find better word than ‘goo’ before you write your review.
It took a long moment for her to remember that she had an audience, and she looked up, slightly chagrined, to see Henry watching her with hunger in his eyes.
Is that for me, or the cake? I wouldn’t blame him if it was the cake.
His expression was intense – not in a scary way, but in a way that made her feel like there was something way more important afoot than just eating some cake. Even if the cakewasamazing.
She laughed, trying not to let her nerves show. “Is it your turn now? I can pick one out for you, if you like.”
“I’d love nothing more,” said Henry honestly. “But you remember how earlier I had something I wanted to explain?”
“… Now?” Luna said. She didn’t mean to sound rude, but the timing was odd. Still, she supposed that if he had something on his mind, he might not be fully able to enjoy their… was this a date? Itwasa date, right?
“If that’s okay,” Henry said seriously.
She wondered what more he could possibly have to say after his whole ‘I can turn into a giant slavering beast’ confession. Surely it couldn’t be anything too terrible?
Luna swallowed, before nodding. “Sure, that’s fine.”
I guess I’ll just have to see what he says.
Chapter 9
Luna watched intently as Henry fiddled with his napkin, obviously trying to think of the best way to tell her whatever it was that was plaguing him.
And she felt for him, she really did – she knew that it could be hard to work out exactly how to break difficult news. But she had a feeling that whatever it was he wanted to tell her wasn’t half as bad as he thought it was.
“I already know that you can turn into a hellhound,” she said quietly. “Is there really anything you could say that would shock me more than that?”
Henry smiled a little. “True. I wouldn’t say it’sbadnews, per se. In fact, I’d say it’s good news… but that’s from my perspective. You might feel differently.”
Luna set her jaw in determination. “Try me.”
If it’s good news for him, then surely it’s good news for me. Unless it’s something about how being a hellhound means he has to eatallof this cake, and I’m not allowed to share?
Henry took a deep breath, before obviously steeling himself and looking her in the eye, his gaze unwavering.
“Okay,” he said. “There are other things about shifters that I haven’t told you. One of these things is that we each have what’s called a fated mate.”
Luna nodded, though she didn’t quite understand. It sounded serious, though.
I mean… fated? Fate isn’t real. We all just kind of make it up as we go along.
“It means that every shifter has someone out there who is meant just for them,” Henry went on, voice low, and Luna shivered, blinking.
Where’s he going with this?she wondered, looking down at the cake, the scent of which she could still smell wafting delicately up to her, tempting her to just…
