He handed a five over to Morgaine, and she handed him a plate of cookies.
“Where’s my change?”
She gaped at him. “You want change?”
Nathan stared at the plate. “Five bucks for eight cookies?”
Roz placed a hand on her hip. “We’re doing this for our friend and neighbor, Nathan. Don’t be a cheapskate.”
He stared at the cookies. “Fine. But they’d better be good.”
Gwyneth smirked. “Oh, they’regoodall right. Don’t be surprised if y’all come back for more.”
Nathan sniffed and examined the cookies. “I don’t see anyspecialingredients.”
Gwyneth returned to the opposite side of the table. “They were baked with love, silly. We wouldn’t put any wacky tobaccky in them.”
He sniffed them again. “Hmm. Well, they sure smell good. I guess I’ll just have to take my chances.” He peeled back the cellophane and stuck the plate under Konrad’s nose. “Here, try one.”
Konrad laughed. “Sure, buddy. Don’t mind if I do.”
Gwyneth looked over her shoulder at the street. “Oh, another red light! I’ll take the oatmeal ones this time. They smell too good to pass up, even without a spell on ’em.”
She grabbed the plate and sidled up to the car window, calling out, “Y’all want something delicious?”
The guy in the car grinned like a love-struck teenager and rolled down his window.
“Spell?” Nathan dropped the cookie in his hand back onto the plate.
Morgaine waved him off. “Don’t worry. It won’t work on you. I worded the spell so that only human beings who could afford them would be susceptible. At first we were giving one free with every purchase.”
Nathan smirked. “Good idea.”
“Well, it was until the same cars drove around the block and wanted more every five minutes.”
Nathan held the plate in front of her. “Can you add a few words to make my boss give me a raise? Then I’ll bring them into work.”
Morgaine whirled on him. “Oh, just eat the damn things.”
Roz patted her on the shoulder. “Relax. I’ll get back inside and make another batch ofnormalones. Gwyneth’s sales pitch seems to be working just fine without a spell.”
Morgaine pouted. “Yeah, her sex appeal’s in overdrive. But we’re making boatloads of money, so it wouldn’t be right to complain.”
“You don’t need to complain. You’re every bit as pretty as she is,” Nathan said.
Everyone stared at him in shock.
He shrugged. “What?”
Morgaine recovered first. “I think I heard you give me a compliment, and it wasn’t followed by some kind of smartass remark that negates the whole thing.”
“You seemed to need one.”
She rolled her eyes. “And there it is.”
***
Roz and Konrad were making out on her sofa when she heard a knock on her door. They reluctantly broke their lip lock. “Before I answer it, would you mind closeting yourself in my bedroom again, just in case it’s my dimwit stepfather?”
