“Hm.” I nod slowly, pretending as if I’m genuinely considering his words. “Well, if you hear anything, do mea favor and tell him to be more respectful.” I hold his gaze. “I’d hate to have to come back and cause a scene because some asshole couldn’t take a fucking hint.”
He swallows and nods his head emphatically.
“Of course. Name for the cup?” He asks.
I flash him a smile. “It’s for my wife and her friend.” I say, tasting the word on my tongue again. “Dahlia and Fallon.”
I watch his face as recognition moves through it like a current. He uncaps his marker and scribbles their names on the cups without another word.
The girls’ drinks are ready a few minutes later, and when he sets them on the counter, he refuses to look me in the eye.
I smile to myself as I reach for them.
That should take care of that.
When I stepthrough the door of Better Than Fiction, Fallon is the first to see me. She’s perched on the counter, legs swinging, talking to Dahlia while she stocks her best-sellers shelf. Her eyes land on the drinks in my hands, and her face instantly brightens.
“No way.” She says, shaking her head in disbelief. “Please tell me one of those is for me.”
I give her a nod as I step closer and set the drinks on the counter beside her. “Even has your name on it.” I say smoothly. “Anything to stay on your good side.”
Bambi turns around to look at me, and when our eyes meet, instead of smiling, like I know she wants to, she bites the inside of her cheek and shakes her head.
“I see you’ve resorted to bribery.” She quips, cocking a brow at me. “You know you can’t just buy our friendship, right?”
Fallon reaches for her drink and takes a long sip. “Don’t listen to her.” She says, waving her hand dismissively. “I’m not above being bought.”
Dahlia picks up her drink without looking at me, then pauses when she notices the contents.
“You brought us pumpkin cold foam chais? How did you know?”
“You mentioned it this morning.”
I don’t say the concerning part out loud. That it wasn’t technically me she mentioned it to.
The look she gives me sits somewhere between outrage and resignation. She wants to be upset about the violation of her privacy, but I think by now she’s learned that there’s no boundary I won’t cross to make her happy.
She takes a sip, and the smile that spreads across her face makes the corner of my mouth twitch.
That.That alone right there made this trip worth it.
“So...” Bambi drawls, setting her cup back down on the counter. “What are you doing here? You know, besides being our magical pumpkin chai fairy?”
“I need book two.”
“You actually finished it?”
“I did.”
Surprise briefly flickers across her face before she quickly smooths her features again.
“Finished what?” Fallon asks, eyes flicking between the two of us.
“Darkfever.” Bambi says, tilting her head at me.
Fallon stifles a laugh. “D, you did not make him read faerie porn.”
“I actually had no hand in it. Echo picked it out himself.”
