“What’s this?” he asked, sniffing.
“A thank you. If you like it, I’ll pack up the rest of it for you.”
His forehead furrowed, like he didn’t understand why I would bake for him. Had no one made anything for him before? Damn it. Now I just wanted to bake more things for him.
I really needed to get into that bakery space soon. I couldn’t do everything I wanted in this apartment-sized kitchen.
A short while later, we were downstairs in the pub. Az had a box of the fresh cornbread resting on the bar top beside hiselbow. He’d gone straight to his usual stool, so I’d followed and grabbed the seat beside him.
When Gideon came out of the kitchen and saw me, a smile shot over his face. I loved how he always seemed happy to see me. I jumped off the stool and rushed over to kiss him. He greeted me with open arms, then he tugged me close, and our mouths met in a quiet kiss. A few patrons groaned. A few awed.
I grinned against his lips, not caring that our PDAs had become a regular spectacle.
“Hey, baby,” he said when we pulled apart. “How did it go?”
“Az is brilliant,” I said. “You have the best friends.”
“Good. I’m glad he could help.” Gideon looked up and nodded at Az.
I returned to the stool while Gideon went behind the bar.
“I talked to Elwood this morning,” I said, running my finger along the edge of the bar as Gideon poured Az a glass of red wine.
“Has a decision been made about Nadia?” the demon asked.
“Her magic will be bound for a year.” I shivered. I hadn’t known about my magic for long, but the idea of having my connection to it severed was discomforting.
“A lighter punishment than I’d expected,” Gideon said. “But I guess her hexes didn’t physically harm anyone.”
Az nodded. “It could have been worse. She’s lucky.”
“At least we have a bit of a break before the next festival, right?” I said, eager to move on to a different topic.
Gideon wiped the bar top. Az took a sip of his wine.
“What?”
“There are a few small events, but the next big one is the shifter conference.”
“Already?” I thought back through my conversations with Leon. “I know people were talking about it, but I haven’t beenasked to post anything about it yet, so I thought it was still a while away.”
Az gave me a look like he thought I was being particularly clueless.
“There’s nothing to post on social media about it,” Gideon said in an even tone.
He didn’t sound happy about the event. If we were alone, I would’ve pressed him about it. Hopefully, he’d open up to me about it later, but I suspected he was uncomfortable about all these shifters coming to town because he couldn’t change into his wolf. If any of them made him feel bad about that, they’d have to answer to me…
Not that I could do much on my own, but I was sure the misfits would help.
“Oh! Right,” I said when I figured out what they were saying. Of course a shifter conference wouldn’t be advertised on social media for all the world to see.
“Mellgren has put in a lot of overtime since everyone checked out,” Az said. “Humans, with all their obnoxious perfumes and stinky shampoos, reek. The whole place needs to be aired out before the shifters arrive.”
“That sounds like a lot of work,” I said, ignoring his opinion about humans being smelly. I didn’t usually see much of Mellgren except when he attended the misfit meetings, so I hadn’t realized he’d been working extra hours. “Hmm… I wonder if I have enough time to set up the bakery before then? No, that’d be pushing it.”
“Speaking of your bakery, now that you’re one step closer to having a signed contract, you should have a celebratory drink,” Gideon said.
I eyed the various bottles lined up behind the bar, then the taps. “All sold out of the winning beers?”
