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“Excuse me,” I murmured. “The pie. Don’t want to let it burn.”
“No, don’t do that.” Rath gathered the dishes and put them in the sink as I pulled the perfectly baked apple pie out of the oven. The crust was flaky and brown and shimmering with sugar crystals and the air was suddenly filled with the spicy-sweet scent.
“Mmmm!” Rath murmured, inhaling deeply. “Magical! That smells just like the pies your Grandma made!”
“No eating it yet,” I cautioned him. “It has to cool a while first.”
He laughed.
“That’s exactly what your Grandma always used to say. What should we do while we wait?”
“Well…I need to change clothes.” I was still wearing my oversized t-shirt and yoga pants. “And then, if you don’t mind, could I go ahead and get your Wi-Fi password so I can get my laptop set up? I have a couple of web design gigs I need to work on soon.”
“Do you like web design?” he asked, clearly curious.
I shrugged.
“I mean, it’s all right I guess. It pays the bills. What I’d really like to do is bake all day.” I nodded at the pie cooling on the counter. “It’s my favorite thing to do.”
“I know for a fact that Celia at The Lost Lamb is looking for some help,” Rath told me. “I can introduce you if you want. I bet she’d be glad to have you—she’s been overrun lately.”
I bit my lip.
“Let me think about it, okay? I don’t know her so it would be almost impossible for me to talk to her. And that would be really awkward.”
He gave me a sympathetic look.
“I can imagine how hard it must be. I’m just glad you’re able to talk to me. Do you know why you are?”
I shook my head.
“No idea. Usually it takes me weeks if not months to talk to a new person. And even then I have to start out texting and then progress slowly to FaceTime and zoom meetings before I can even think about getting together face-to-face.”
“Face-to-face, hmm?” he murmured, taking a step closer to me. He was looming over me because he was so tall, but I didn’t feel at all threatened. I did feel shy, though. When he cupped my cheek and leaned closer I could feel myself blushing. I wanted him to kiss me badly…but I had a sudden attack of nerves.
“I…I’d better go get changed and get my laptop,” I said breathlessly. “Um, excuse me.”
“No problem.” He stepped back, clearly giving me room. “I’ll be here.”
“Be right back,” I blurted and hurried out of the kitchen.
Upstairs, I wanted to kick myself. Why had I shied away from him when I was so incredibly attracted to him? Why was I so awkward and bumbling all of a sudden? Was it because I was still a virgin and I knew this relationship couldn’t really go anywhere—at least, not sexually?
I tried to push the negative thoughts away but they just didn’t want to go. This kind of thing always happened to me. I couldn’t help thinking of my last disastrous attempt at dating and losing my virginity. It had been a comedy of errors to say the least. Thank goodness the big Orc didn’t know about that or he would probably never want to see me again!
I took a deep breath and tried to think more positively. Rath wasn’t like the other two men I’d tried to date—he wasn’t even a man! He was an Orc and so far he seemed nice and kind and patient, which was also unlike the other two guys I’d been with.
Rath had also said that humans and Creatures could be compatible—that must mean there was a way for a much smaller woman to accommodate a much larger man. Maybe with some kind of magic? I wished I had that kind of magic—not to mention magic that would make me less shy, I thought ruefully.
I need something to help me loosen up, I thought, as I changed rapidly out of my baking clothes and into a pretty red dress with a low-cut front that I found in my closet. Something to make me less socially awkward.
Then I remembered the Valerian root tincture I had brewed earlier. The recipe had said it would “Loosen the Tongue and Gladden the Heart.” Would that do the trick?
I decided it couldn’t hurt to try. Maybe a cup of the tincture would loosen me up a little and make me more able to relax with Rath. It was worth a try, anyway.
I had no idea what a mistake I was making.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
