“Nope! I work here.”
Everyone looks to Lark as if he’ll spill my secret. My brother holds up his hands.
Gabe tips his head and his glossy black hair shines in the fluorescent lighting. “I didn’t think courtesans were allowed to hold other jobs.”
“They can’t,” I say, trying to keep a smile on my face, but it starts to twitch. “I got banished from the Fae lands for wanting out of my contract.”
“Banished?” Sparkle gasps. “That’s so rude of them!”
I let out my breath and laugh. “Right? Here I was getting fucked every day and night and they decide to just really fuck me.”
Lark snorts as he shakes his head.
Sparkle squints at me, and I know what he’s going to say. His shoulders slump and he casts his eyes down. “You didn’t trust us with this bit of information?”
I slide a hand through my hair and try to figure out how to answer the question. “I do, but it’s embarrassing. I got thrown out of my world. It wasn’t a possibility I even considered, so I’ve been nursing my feelings at Lark’s the last three weeks.”
“Three weeks?” Sparkle looks around. “Three weeks? We all could have helped you.”
“I didn’t wanna burden any of you. Sparkle, you help your mom raise six kids. I don’t want to take any of your time away. Gabe and Beau have their guys and lives and?—”
Gabe seems to have a halo glow around his head. It’s been happening more since he started working with his nephilim magic. “We’re friends. If you had said something, we would have helped. But we’re not mind readers.”
Sparkle nods. All of them look a little hurt.
Beau pushes his sunglasses back up his nose, probably to hide the emotions in his eyes. “All this time, we could have helped you feel at home in Hex.”
“Exactly,” Sparkle says. “I feel so bad.” He turns to Lark. “You’ve been hoarding him all to yourself.”
“We could take rotations!” Beau says.
Lark shakes his head. “We’re happy to host him for as long as he needs.”
“Does someone need someplace to stay?” Wick comes in from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dishtowel.
“Wren,” Sparkle says.
“Oh, I thought?—”
I raise my hands. “I’ve been staying at Lark’s.”
Wick shrugs. “We have the apartment above the shop available, if you’re interested.” He points above us. We all look up as if we can see the apartment through the ceiling. “It’s a cute little one bedroom bachelor pad. We always intended to rent it out. It’s all updated and everything. Yours if you want it.”
I look to Lark.
“Your decision. We’re still okay with you staying with us.”
Wick wipes his dishtowel along the counter and shrugs. “Just letting you know.” He shoots a look to Sparkle.
Sparkle sighs. “The kittens are still so young. I should stay with mom.”
I lick my lips. “You know what? I’ll take it.”
“Sweet! I’ll show you around after we close.”
“Perfect.” I didn’t know I’d want a place to call my own for a while, but now that it’s within reach I want it more than anything. “Now, my dearest friends, what can I get you? On the house.” I grin and Wick rolls his eyes. It’s not really on the house, I plan on paying with my first paycheck. I just want to treat my friends.
The shop gets busy, but not anything I can’t handle. I keep the coffee flowing and the treats stocked as Wick brings them up to me. This is so much better than I anticipated today going.
