“Are you Aunt Sophie’s boyfriend?”
“What?” Both Sophie and I turn toward an adorable faerie child with delicate tipped-up eyebrows, teardrop-shaped ears, and small purple-and-silver wings. I’m assuming she’ll glamour her features once the doors open.
Cassia rushes over. “Olivia, that’s not a polite question. Mr. Barker is part owner of the Rhyme ’N Riddle bakery.”
“But Aunt Sophie was touching his hair… a lot.”
Cassia quirks her brow at Sophie, who blushes.Maybe Sophie liked the feel of my hair in her fingers as much as I did. “I was helping Mr. Barker tie back his hair,” she explains.
“Oh,” says Olivia, who promptly dissolves into giggles. She points at the long counter that runs along the café’s back wall, which is supported by five stone gargoyles mounted on corbels.
The gargoyles are smoothing down the tops of their heads with their three-fingered hands, slowly blinking their stony eyes as if in ecstasy, and grinning wickedly. Even though they’re making fun of me, I can’t help myself; I burst out laughing.
“Oh, please don’t laugh; they crave attention. It’s best to ignore them completely,” says Cassia under her breath.
But Sophie has other ideas; she stomps over to them, crosses her arms, and growls, “I’m keeping a record of your misdeeds for my mother. Every time you act up, I’m writing it down; so far you’ve earned one good spanking from her. Want to make it two?”
The gargoyles immediately drop their act, shuffle their feet, and shake their heads. “That’s more like it. Now stand up straight and stop goofing around. We have work to do.”
The stone creatures listen to her! My chest swells in pride at Sophie, who can command a troop of gargoyles without using magic.
I feel a tug on my apron and glance down to find a pair of bright green eyes staring up at me. “Yes, Olivia?”
“I’m hungry.”
Cassia, who’s reviewing the daily specials withSophie, looks up. “Uncle Nash is making you breakfast. I’ll go check?—”
“I’ll make sure Olivia has her breakfast,” I tell her. “Finish what you’re doing.”
Cassia nods her thanks, and Olivia takes my hand, leading me over to the counter. “This way, Mr. Barker.”
“You can call me Teddy.”
Olivia giggles at me.
“What’s so funny?” I lift Olivia onto one of the counter stools just as Nash delivers her a short stack of strawberry pancakes, two slices of bacon, and a glass of orange-mango juice.
“I’ll call you Teddy Bear!”
“No, Olivia, you may not call him that,” scolds Cassia. “Please address him as Mr. Teddy or Mr. Barker.”
“Okay.” The little girl sighs. “But he reminds me of a great, big teddy bear.”
Sophie snorts and then turns away, while Cassia compresses her lips to keep from laughing out loud. I suppose I ought to be offended, but I think it’s kind of cute, even if it hits a bit too close to the mark. Even this little faerie realizes I’m as harmless as a stuffed animal.
Sophie decides the best way for me to learn my way around the café is to shadow Cassia, who knows all the regulars by name and recites the menu from memory. I’m surprised at the number of non-supers who stop in for a meal, but Cassia explains that a lot of human tourists vacation in Door County during the summer season.
My original plan was to head over to the bakery after the breakfast rush, but the café is still full as noonapproaches, so I stay on to bus tables and refill beverages. A platinum-blonde faerie named Spectra picks up a chicken-veggie wrap to go and tells me to stop into her salon anytime; the first trim will be on the house. The takeout line is long and comprised mostly of women, who introduce themselves to me and want to chat. Nash is struggling to keep up with all the orders, but when I offer to give him a hand in the kitchen, Sophie glares at me and stomps off to help her dad.
I stare after her, unsure why she’s mad at me again. Cassia must notice my confusion because she whispers, “Sophie’s just mad because I was right, and she was wrong.”
My brow furrows. “What were you right about?”
Cassia chuckles softly. “I told Sophie you’d be good for business—and clearly that’s true. Besides, I don’t think she likes all those women fawning over you.”
“Are you sure about that?” I cock my head to the side. “Because Sophie is constantly pushing me away.”
“Well, that’s between the two of you,” says Cassia. “But if you like Sophie, then you need to make sure she knows. Sophie isn’t very good at reading signals.”
