“You think I leave her here alone when you and I are away? No, one of the Pack members is always here,” he says. He furrows his brows at me as if I should’ve known better, and maybe I should have, but who is here in my house when I’m not here?
“How? Where?”
“With... a key.”
“Where did they get a key from? I only have two?”
“From... Layla. Did you not know this?”
“No, hold on. She asked you guys to stay here with her? Oh my gosh, how many favors has she racked up?”
“Willow, we don’t charge favors from kids.”
“She’s twenty.”
“Yeah, a kid. Now let’s go. Leo’s already on his way.”
“Leo?” Oh my goodness, I can’t remember who Leo is. My face sets aflame, and my stomach fills with the ickiest form of goo. Oh, man. I really can’t remember.
“Yes—”
“Hi,” a man who’s way too tall with lightly tanned skin and wavy black hair says as he walks past us and straight into my house. Now that I see him, I remember meeting him back when I first met the Enchanted Pack, but names and faces get blurry after a while. Gosh, I am such a jerk for forgetting his name. Do I apologize? I should, I definitely should, but that would also lethim know I forgot him, and I don’t want him to be mad at me or let him think he’s forgettable.
“Let’s go, Buttercup.” I turn to face Eddie, who’s dragging me to the front door, then out to his car. I follow silently. Watching Eddie in the sunshine and the green trees covering parts of the sky and the gravel trail to our parked cars is a sight I would pay to see. This gorgeous man is taking me on a date. Is this our first date? I don’t think the trip to the fairy village counts.
This is my first “first” date in eight years. I’m going on my second first date ever. Milo was my first love; I know that will never change. I couldn’t change that even if I wanted to, but this warm bubbly instinct to follow Eddie anywhere on this planet beats any love I’ve had before. Eddie Enchanted is a gut feeling, an instinct that is unignorable. Is this what it truly like to find your mate?
He takesme to the new puppy café in Rainfall Avenue, one with reservations that have to be made months in advance. My brows furrow as he pulls into the parking lot. The café is downtown, on the human side of town, in a line of other shops circling the park that centers the downtown area.
Rainfall Avenue has two distinct sides, one for paranormals and one for humans, and we typically stay on our sides out of fear mainly. We fear the humans finding out who we are and the Council finding out that the humans know. The humans’ fear is more instinctual, they fear the sense of predators on this side. It’s why we don’t stick our hands into a lion’s cage. Not everyone’s instincts have the warning not to stick their hands where they shouldn’t be, but most do.
The spring breeze is getting warmer, and more people are to venture from their homes now that the winter months are officially gone; the grass is more lush, and the sun shines brighter.
As we walk down the sidewalk to the little café, humans part like the red sea. As if they know we are different but can’t tell how and are too embarrassed to ask. It puts us on display, and it makes me flush, but Eddie drags me along. As much as I hate the attention, which is why I rarely go to the human side, seeing this pup café outweighs my discomfort.
“Are we window shopping? I don’t mind window shopping, Flora and I do it all the time.” I ask, walking up to the window of the shop and seeing all the adorable puppies walking around. I have no idea how it isn’t a health code violation, but I sure as heck don’t want to question it. I’ve been waiting to come here since the shop opened about a year ago.
“I helped design Pup in a Cup.”
“Wow, really? What did you design here?” I ask, noticing I barely ask anything about him. I have been so wrapped up in my own mess, I haven’t been able to get to know Eddie Enchanted. Can I be mates with someone I barely know?
Did I let someone I barely know eat me out...
I would do it again, in a heartbeat.
“For this project, I was on the inside. I worked with an interior designer, and together, we created what the inside of this building would look like: the walls, the flooring, the flow, the windows—the works. I make the plans that the construction crew follows.”
“Ohh, interesting,” I say, pulling his hands in mine and walking towards the café door. We are seated quickly, and I can finally take in Eddie’s work. “Now that we’re inside, what did you design?”
“The cutesy interior wasn’t me. But keeping the designer in line with the laws of having pets within a food service establishment was me. I designed that dog pen over there. The dogs can’t roam freely where food is served, but they can roam freely in the pen. High net walls cage them in, but also cage people out.”
“Did you make that wood trim around the net pink too?”
“No, I would’ve chosen green,” he says with a deep chuckle.
“Green would’ve gone with the white metal swivel chairs and the dark gray tile flooring,” I say, picking up my mug. Even though summer is nearing, hot tea is always my go-to. The steam warms my face as I stare at Eddie’s side profile. His eyes gaze around the café with a small smile on his lips.
I love staring at him. His eyes light with a joy that I crave. I could bite him, he’s so darn cute. I watch as he scans the room, seeing his work being brought to life instead of watching for potential dangers. I like this look on him.
