I’ll only get answers if I ask him directly. I don’t think I can do that. I’m brave enough to administer medical aid to what I thought was a wild fox in the woods, but not brave enough to tell Amazra I have feelings for him. I might never be.
Downtown is its usual level of moderately busy when I enter one of my favorite shops, Perfect Fit. Who am I kidding—all the shops are my favorite. And right now, shopping counts as very necessary self-care.
Terra, my friend and the owner, waves from the changeroom area, where she’s passing things into two occupied dressing rooms. “Be right with you, Lilah!”
“No hurry here,” I return. “I took the afternoon off.”
“Ooh, sounds like someone’s free to join us for spa treatments,” a familiar voice calls from inside one of the changerooms. Then the curtain slides open and one of Fate’s Falls’ other human residents emerges. Yes,emerges. Rosetta isn’t someone who actively tries to get noticed, but it inevitably happens. The petite redhead is as outgoing as she is sassy, and that level is at the max.
The other dressing room door opens and a woman I haven’t met steps out, holding whatever she just tried on behind her back. “I don’t think these are for me,” she says to Terra, attempting to pass the items off subtly.
But Rosetta’s not having it, snagging the pieces from her shopping partner’s hand. Lingerie. The skimpy variety, based on how little fabric is hanging from Ro’s fingers. “Did they fit?”
The brunette’s face was already soft pink when she exited the changeroom. Now it’s fuchsia. “Yes, but?—”
“And did you look sexy as hell in them?” Ro points a finger at her. “No lying. No being modest, either.”
Her friend gives a pained sigh. “They’re…flattering.”
Rosetta snorts, handing the items to Terra. “She’ll take them. And I’ll take these,” she says, having zero fucks that I can see the risqué panties and bra, if they can even be labeled as such when there’s little more to them than some black ribbon held together by stitching.
Apparently, it’s my turn next because Rosetta waves me over. It’d be rude not to go. Plus, hanging with Ro is always a good time. I could use a dash of her conquer-all-the-things spirit.
“So, what do you think?” she asks when I reach them. “Join us for spa stuff after you’re done shopping?” Before I can answer, she wiggles and jiggles on the spot, her wild red curls bouncing. “Oh, but first, introductions! Natalie, this is Lilah, one of your future best friends. Lilah, this is my cousin and lifelong, number-one bestie, Natalie. Nat’s here for my wedding, but she’s never going back to Toronto if Constantine and I have anything to say about it.”
A renewed blush floods Natalie’s face as Rosetta elbows her playfully. “Very nice to meet you,” Natalie says, ignoring her cousin’s comment while extending her hand.
“Same.” Smiling at both of them, I shake Natalie’s hand. Having girlfriends in my life is one of the best things about living here, and I’m more than happy to gain another. “So, does Rosetta have it right? Did Cupid get you and everybody’s favorite Minotaur?”
Natalie’s hazel eyes nearly pop out of her head. “Oh my god, Cupids are real, too?”
Rosetta snorts another laugh, rubbing her cousin’s back while looking at me. “Nat’s only been in town a few days, and Ididn’t warn her that monsters are real before she got here. She’s still adjusting to the new normal.”
“You could’ve told me, Ro,” Natalie says, shooting her the side-eye.
“And risk you not coming? No way. Besides, look how perfectly everything’s working out.” Rosetta tilts her head toward the sales counter where Terra took their future purchases. “You wouldn’t be out shopping for skimpies to be ripped off later if you’d stayed holed-up in your Toronto shoebox of an apartment, working around the clock and having no life. Ooh, and speaking of shoes, we should stop at Sole Mate and get you some of those sexy bedroom sandals with the clear heels and feathery poofs. Not that you need any extras to drive Constantine wild. He’s been waiting fifteen years for you, after all.”
I don’t think it’s possible for Natalie’s face to get any redder. With the little gurgle she makes, I’m not sure it’s possible for her to speak at the moment, either. Since I contributed to the embarrassment, shifting the focus is the least I can do.
“To answer your Cupid question,” I say, “I haven’t met one, but that doesn’t mean anything. I’ve only been in town a few months, so I’m relatively new to the whole monster society thing. But everyone here is awesome. I know we just met, but I hope you’ll consider staying. This truly is the best place on earth to live.”
“It really does seem idyllic,” Natalie says as the deep blush fades from her complexion. “How did you find your way here, Lilah? Was it for love, like Rosetta with Dak?”
“Oh, no, not at all. Sort of the opposite. After a miserable divorce from an asshole I married when I was young and dumb, I got the cockamamie idea to go on a solo camping trip to ‘find myself again.’ Just saying that out loud now makes me realizehow unhinged I was. What twenty-seven-year-old woman with a lick of good sense goes camping in the mountains alone?”
Natalie is obviously a sweetheart because instead of agreeing, she places a hand on my arm and gives a gentle squeeze. “You were obviously very hurt and needed the space to heal. Did you get lost and end up in Fate’s Falls?”
I shake my head. “While hiking, I came upon a badly injured fox. I’m a veterinary assistant, so it’s second nature to help animals, and that’s what I did. Then the fox changed into a man, right in front of my eyes. He was still in rough shape, so I helped him get home, which is here. His pack welcomed me and invited me to stay. I wanted a fresh start, and I got one better than I ever could’ve imagined.”
“That’s incredible,” Natalie says. “What did you do when the fox shifted into a man? Did you know about nonhumans already?”
“No, I totally freaked out! But seeing is believing, and once you’re aware that humans aren’t the only free-thinking species around, accepting the scope of what else,whoelse, is here, isn’t really so hard.”
Rosetta nods. “Perfectly put. You know whatishard to believe? That you’ve been herefor monthsand you’re still walking around a single woman while surrounded by so many sexy beasts, and I do mean that literally.”
“Never mind her,” Natalie says, rolling her eyes. “Ever since Ro connected with Dak, she’s had nothing on her mind except sex.”
“Not true, I also have love on my mind. Iloooovemy big, green, sexy orc. And yes, I also want sex all the time. Literally, all the damn time.” She snorts. “You would too, trust me.”
