Charming (Exiled Book 3) (14 page)

“So you know the high and mighty,” said Sher.

Ana looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Charming.”

“Oh, him.”

“Oh, him?”

“I just live with him.”

Sher almost choked on her tea. “What?”

Ana chuckled. “You sure you’re alright?”

“Yes.” Sher dragged in a ragged breath.

“I don’t live with him like that. He’s letting me stay as a favor to a mutual friend. It’s temporary. I hit a patch of bad luck. You know how it is.”

“So. Maybe you can introduce me to some yummy hybrids?”

Ana laughed and shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m sure you know a lot more of them than I do.”

Sher took a sip then said. “Maybe, but I’m not
living
with any of them.”

“Really, Sher. I don’t know any.”

Just then Dread appeared next to the table, smiling down at her like he’d won a prize. “Ana,” he said. “Nice to see you here. Charming let you out for good behavior? That’s what humans call it when they’ve been imprisoned and get out early. Right?”

“Dread. Hi. Uh, yes that’s what we call it.”

His smile grew even warmer and his eyes glittered. “You remembered my name.”

“Yes. It’s unusual. Well, where I come from.”

“And where is that?”

Farsuitwailians didn’t talk in terms of where they came from because everybody lived in or around Farsuitwail.

Sher was looking at Ana like she’d won an even bigger prize. She jerked her eyes toward Dread twice. Grasping the opportunity to change the subject, Ana said, “This is Sher. She’s helping me learn how to make cookies.”

His smile grew to a grin. His attractiveness seemed to grow in direct proportion to his amusement. “Cookies? I like cookies.”

“Everybody likes cookies, Dread,” Ana said. “Sher, Dread is Charming’s nephew.”

“Really?” She gave him the smile that she believed was her sexiest look.

He glanced her way. “Hi, Sher,” but brought his attention right back to Ana.

“We’d invite you to sit down, but…” Ana began.

“No. That’s okay. I have to get back to class.”

“What are you studying?” Sher asked.

“Criminal Justice,” he said without looking away from Ana. “So… hope to see you again soon.”

“Same here,” Ana said just to be polite.

“I’m all for justice,” Sher raised her voice so he’d hear her as he walked away. Her eyes didn’t leave him until he was out the door. “I think I hate you.”

“Why?”

“Because that heavenly hunk is completely into you. You’re already living with the sexiest male alive. And now you’ve got number two after you as well.”

Ana laughed. “You think Charming is the sexiest male alive?”

She scoffed. “It’s not just me, girl. Everybody thinks that.”

Ana couldn’t argue. In that case, she had to agree with majority opinion.

As they ate their sandwiches, Sher talked about how she was going back to school at the beginning of the next term. Ana told her she wouldn’t be back to work in the bakery again, but would like to maybe get together.

“I’m new in town and don’t have many friends yet.”

Sher blinked slowly and then laughed. “What do you mean you’re new in town? There isn’t any other town.”

Oops.

She couldn’t believe she’d managed to repeat the same dumb mistake in less than five minutes.

“Just an expression,” she covered. “I was sick for a long time and everybody I knew moved on.”

“Oh. Well, yeah. I wouldn’t want you to be stuck surrounded by hunky hybrids and no girl friends.” She chuckled. “Just kidding. We’d all love to be surrounded by hunky hybrids and would totally give up girl friends if that was the choice.” Ana was looking like she didn’t know how to respond. “Still kidding. I don’t work on Sunday. I’m doing something with friends around here. You should come.”

“Sunday. Okay.”

“Meet me here at nine.”

“Nine at night?”

Sher laughed. “Good one, Ana.”

“Well, it’s just that you work so early.”

“There is that, but I suck it up for fun.”

“Okay. Sunday at nine. At night.”

Ana worked at the bakery until one, thanked Charlie for his help, took a bag full of large and luscious oatmeal raisin cookies, walked back to the apartment and fell asleep. When she woke, there was just enough time to clean up and make it downstairs to the pub for dinner.

She had almost finished eating and was thinking that Charming wasn’t going to show up, when he slid in beside her.

“This seat taken?” he asked.

“Not since you began threatening everybody who tried to sit there.”

That seemed to put a twinkle in his eye.
Men
. He smiled. “What’s in the sack?”

She grinned. “Guess.”

“It’s not really.”

She nodded. “Oh, yes, it is.”

He started to reach. “Can I?”

“Go on.”

He opened the bag, took a whiff, and said, “You didn’t really make these, did you?”

She chuckled. “Yeah. Take a bite.”

He put half a large cookie in his mouth and made yummy sounds that were so gratifying they filled her up with feelings of delight.

“Like it?” She laughed.

“Yes. You have to marry me now.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Just as soon as I finish these cookies.”

She took the bag away. “You can’t have cookies for dinner, Charming. You have to eat other food first.”

“Why? I want the cookies.”

“And you’ll get them after you have some of the chicken and dumplings or the pork and beans.” He tried pouting. “That won’t work.”

“I could take them from you by force.”

“You could, but then I’d never make you cookies again.”

He gasped. “You’re mean. And you play dirty.”

She gave him a sinister smile. “That’s right and don’t forget it.”

He motioned to Scar. “I want a very small chicken and dumplings.”

Scar smirked. “You on a diet, Leader?”

“Hardly,” Charming laughed. “I’m saving room for cookies.”

“Cookies?” Scar looked interested.

“Yes,” Ana said proudly. “I know how to make cookies.”

“Well give me a sample,” Scar said. “I’ll tell you whether you know how to make cookies or not.”

“No,” said Charming. “You cannot have any of
these
cookies. These are
my
cookies. She can make some more for you tomorrow.”

Charming saw Scar eyeing the bag and knew he was going to go for it. They both lunged at the same time and wrestled over the bag of cookies with the bar in between them.

Someone yelled, “Fight!” People jumped up from their tables and rushed to crowd around.

“No! There’s not a fight!” Ana held up her hands to the growing audience. “Go back to your tables.” She glanced behind her at Scar and Charming wrestling over the bag. “Please!”

The sack tearing was inevitable. Five cookies fell to the bar. Miraculously three of them were mostly whole. The other two were in chunks and crumbles. Scar grabbed two of the ones that were mostly whole and shoved both of them in his mouth.

When Charming saw that, he got so mad he leapt over the bar with ease as if it was only six inches off the ground and put his hands around Scar’s throat. Scar was so huge that even Charming’s big hands couldn’t reach around. He began attempting to strangle Scar, who was laughing while his cheeks were puffed out with unchewed cookies.

“Those were
mine
!” roared Charming.

Scar freed himself from Charming’s grip and then said, “
I
paid for them!”

“She gave them to
me
!”

Charming lunged for Scar again.

“STOP!” Ana screamed. “IT’S COOKIES! I CAN MAKE MORE!”

They both did stop. When they saw her horrified expression, they looked at each other and laughed. For many of the people in the pub, it was the first time they’d seen Scar crack a smile, much less laugh.

Charming returned to the customer side of the bar with the same superhuman grace and said, “We didn’t mean to scare you. We were just having some fun.”

Ana’s eyes were still wide. “Fun?” She looked at Scar. “And you haven’t paid for
anything
yet.”

He chuckled as he was still chewing.

Onlookers had already returned to what they were doing. Ana looked at the crumbles of cookies left on the bar. Scar followed her gaze.

“Looks like you did it, little girl. I mean, Ana. And it took less time than you thought. Those are damn good cookies. When I told you to make cookies people would fight over, I really wasn’t picturing myself as the sort of fool who’d throw down over a cookie.” He chuckled. “Tomorrow you’ll make me a hundred of these.”

Ana’s heart rate was steadily slowing. “You don’t have the ingredients I need. Or cookie sheets. Or racks. And what about oven time? Aren’t your ovens already busy?”

He shrugged. “I guess you’re going to need to either stay late or come in early. I don’t care which. Work it out with the cooks.” Without waiting for a response he turned his back and moved toward the other end of the bar. He looked over his shoulder at Charming, who was sitting on his stool picking up the bits of cookie still on the bar and stuffing them in his mouth like he was afraid Scar would come back for them. “I should make you sweep up the crumbs.”

“In your dreams,” Charming said.

Ana sat down on her stool again. “I don’t know whether to be flattered or horrified by what just happened.
No
cookies are
that
good.”

Charming looked at her, eyes twinkling with amusement. “You underestimate your cookies, Ana. Once people taste these, you’d better make sure you always have enough on hand or riots might break out.”

She flushed prettily, not used to being complimented. “It’s just cookies,” she said quietly.

He leaned closer. “It’s more. It’s you doing something wonderful with your day.”

Like magnets, his eyes drew her in and made her lean toward him.

“How was your day?” She regretted the question instantly when he winced and berated herself for being masterful at mood killing. “That bad, huh?”

He nodded and looked away when Scar set a large bowl of chicken and dumplings in front of him.

“Here,” Scar said. “Since you didn’t get to eat all the cookies after all, I thought you’d need a bigger helping.” Scar gave him a menacing smile and walked away slinging a damp bar towel over his shoulder.

“Yeah. You’d better keep walking.”

The unusual sound of Scar’s booming laughter made everybody at the bar stop and look up.

As usual Charming went back to work after he ate. Ana spent the rest of her evening making a list of things necessary for efficient cookie baking then went to bed feeling good about herself and her new life. Joey and Ernesto were worlds away. She could reinvent herself. And be anybody she wanted to be.