“Absolutely!” I jump a little as I say it. I can’t begin to describe how much I love cheese.
“You are American?” the shop clerk asks.
“Yes, I guess it’s obvious.” I laugh.
“I have three cheeses for you to try.” He slides a small plate across his counter. “Emmental, Gruyère, and Appenzelle. You tell me which one you like.”
I try each one slowly. “I like them all. The Emmental is nutty, the Gruyère is so creamy, but I think my favorite is the Appenzelle. I like the tanginess of it.”
His eyes sparkle like I’ve passed an oral exam. “Very good.”
“Please send a wheel of Appenzelle to Cloud Rift,” Kieren says.
I’m still humming about how good it is when I notice there’s a crumb of the Appenzelle on the plate, and I pluck the small piece up and savor it.
“Better make that two wheels.” Evander grabs me around the waist.
“Adieu,” we say as the cowbells on the door ring us out.
“If you liked the cheesemonger, I know exactly where to take you next. It’s not as impressive this time of day, but still.” Evander hurries us past a butcher and a flower shop to a place with a sign out front that says Bäckerei. The window is full of cakes and pastries.
Bells ring as we enter here too. Unlike the cheese shop, there are tables in the back. And the smell...Oh, I’m dead—it’s heaven. Chocolate, but you can tell from the way its scent lingers that it’s quality chocolate, not the cheap stuff. And under the chocolate is the tantalizing aroma of good coffee. Other than an art exhibit or museum, this is my perfect date. Not date. They’re my...I have no idea. Boss and potential mate—mates. It’s all of them or none of them.
“Have a seat. I’ll place an order.” Kieren steps up to the counter.
“You’re wearing an interesting look,” Evander says as he guides me to the back of the room.
“Am I?” I turn back from where Kieren’s talking to the clerk. “It’s just I didn’t think he’d ever ordered from a bakery counter before,” I say as Evander pulls my chair out for me at one of the four tables, all of which are empty.
“The prince? Oh, he’s able to do a few practical things.”
“Prince. I know it’s his title, but the way you use it sounds like a nickname. Do you have a nickname for Roark, too?”
Evander cocks his head to the side. “I call Roark a?—”
“That’s not something we say in public, Evander.” Kieren sits down across from me, his chair pulled all the way out a good foot away from the table, his ankles crossed out to the side away from me.
Evander laughs. “True. I suppose you’ll just have to wait to hear what it is, Raine.”
“I can only imagine.”
A server places a large tray of pastries in the middle of the table and three cappuccinos.
“Ladies first. I recommend the almond croissant.” Evander turns the tray to me, and I take one. It’s sweet, crisp and flaky. It melts in my mouth. And the drink, it has my eyes rolling into the back of my head. “This is better than Tarmart.”
“Tarmart?”
“Oh, it’s a large store. My... ex used to like to take me there on Friday nights when they gave out samples.”
“Yourfriendtook you on a date to get free food?” There’s a puff of smoke coming out of Kieren. The clerk behind the counter grunts.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t talk about the inadequate boys you’ve dated while inside a public building,” suggests Evander. “They have strict fire codes in the village now.”
I nod. “But this is lovely.”
“Yes,” Evander says.
But Kieren has pulled back into himself. He eats a small scone while Evander chatters to me about the history of the village.
