Roan rose. He pinched my shoulder between his fingers. “We’ll be back. Pepper, you want to come?”
She tossed a long, glossy strand of hair over one shoulder. “No thanks. I’ll keep Blissful company.”
As soon as they slipped down the stairs, Pepper shot me a mischievous grin. “Think if I locked the door, that would keep them down there a while?”
I laughed. “They’re men. They’ll find all sorts of excuses to stay away from us for a while.” I reached for the wine bottle. “More wine?”
She nodded eagerly. “And what about dessert?”
“I almost forgot. All my friends in this town are old women. They eat dessert all day long because they don’t care about their waistlines anymore. I have memory lapse when it comes to how real people treat dessert.”
Pepper laughed. “I have a grandmother who’s sort of like that. If it isn’t fried, has gravy on it or is mixed with cornbread, she’s not eating it.”
I grabbed a tray of chocolate truffles from the counter. “Roan can bake anything.”
She gawked. “He made these?”
I nodded.
“Honey, you need to keep him. Chain him to your feet. Whatever you do, make sure he stays, even if it’s only for the food.” Her teeth pierced the confection. Pepper closed her eyes and moaned.
Not wanting to miss out, I tasted mine. Rich velvety chocolate exploded on my tongue. The taste of raspberries followed in a perfect union.
“Why can’t chicken taste like this?” I complained.
“I don’t know, but it should.” Her eyes sparkled. “If you were a witch, you could make chicken taste like that.”
I laughed. “That’s okay. Talking to spirits is enough weirdness for me.”
Susan eyed the truffles. “Too bad I can’t taste those.”
I nodded toward Susan. “And there’s that.”
Pepper’s head whipped around. “There’s what?”
I sighed. “Just a spirit talking.”
“I think it would be kinda cool to talk to spirits. With as complicated as my life is, that seems like the easiest thing in the world.”
I pushed back my chair and kicked my feet up into one the empty seats the men had left. “Tell me about it. I never get to hear real-girl problems anymore. Most of the problems I deal with have Bengay as the solution.”
Pepper laughed. “Stop. You’re killing me.”
“Not joking.”
She tapped her hands on the table as if looking for a distraction.
“I’m serious,” I said.
She swallowed loudly and pulled a thick twist of hair over her shoulder. Pepper’s neck flushed red.
Poor kid. She was embarrassed. That was one thing an orphanage made you get over—embarrassment. Not too much embarrassed me. Unless it was the idea of Roan seeing me in my panties. That embarrassed me.
Pepper glanced behind us to make sure the door and the men were still gone. “It’s the craziest thing.”
“What is?”
“I barely know you and I’m about to tell you this huge thing in my life.”
