“Of course. That’s what friends are for.” She knocked my shoulder with hers.
The door opened, and the chime went off with a different tone as if to make each customer feel personally welcome. Elaine and I glanced toward it, but instead of Graham, Caleb walked through the door.
Elaine’s smile widened. At twenty-two, one year older than me, Elaine was passionate about three things: trying different cafes, watching old movies, and Caleb. She’d told me more than once she was “100%, totally, completely in love with him.” So when he’d broken up with her—briefly—two months ago, she spent a week in pajamas crying into microwaved popcorn. When they’dgotten back together, she’d bought matching maple leaf necklaces to celebrate since fall was Caleb’s favorite season.
She stepped out from our hiding space into the aisle, and Caleb’s long legs ate up the distance between him and his girlfriend. “Hey.” He leaned down and pecked her on the cheek. “Do you want to walk me to work today? I thought we could swing by and grab some tea from that place you love.”
“Oh, how sweet. I’d love that.” Elaine turned to me. “Is that all right, Kitty?”
“Sorry. Were you two in the middle of something?” Caleb pulled his hat off and ran a hand through his dark hair, which was a little long on top.
“No, not really.” I hid the cookie behind my back.
“Are you waiting for Graham?” Caleb’s mouth twisted. It was no secret that Graham worked here and that he and Caleb had never gotten along. Caleb had never said so explicitly, but it was the little things, like how he’d reacted just now or how he’d always been busy when Elaine and I had tried to plan double dates in the past. I wasn’t sure if it was just that Caleb didn’t like fox shifters or if therewas something specific between them. I’d asked Graham about it once, but he’d laughed it off saying it was nothing.
A book floated by to reshelve itself onto a nearby row, the spines of the series standing like soldiers in precise red uniforms.
“Just figured I’d say hi.” I tripped over something as I dodged another book.
“Are you okay?” Elaine knelt next to me.
“Yes.” I pushed away a lock of hair that had escaped my braid and gave a rueful smile to the cat that had wound around my ankles. “I just didn’t realize the cat was there.”
“Animals really love you, huh?” Elaine petted the cat. “Speaking of, I think Sir has been missing you.”
Sir Whiskers, or Sir as we affectionately called him, was what we’d named the abandoned cat we found last year. Elaine had made some joke about how cliche it was for Kitty to rescue a kitty and agreed to take the cat home since I couldn’t. After that, we’d become fast friends.
“I’ll have to come visit soon,” I said.
“Here, Kitty. I think you dropped this.” Caleb handed me the cookie and the napkin. “Don’t worry. It landed on the napkin, not the floor.”
“Oh, thanks.” I accepted it and climbed back to my feet, pushing away another strand of hair that had gotten caught in my lip gloss. A quick examination showed that the cookie was miraculously undamaged, so I didn’t switch it out with the one in my purse.
One of Caleb’s friends called to him from the front of the shop, and he walked over to say hello.
“Here.” Elaine rummaged through her purse and handed me a compact mirror. I grinned at the tiny “Drink Me” bottle in her bag, then put down the cookie to straighten my chestnut curls as best I could, containing them with my favorite orange headband. “Are you planning anAlice in Wonderlandcostume for Halloween?”
“It was supposed to be a surprise.” Elaine sighed. “How did you know?”
“The bottle in your purse was a big clue.” I laughed and adjusted my black sweater, then returned the mirror and picked the cookie and napkin back up.
“Don’t tell Caleb.” She flashed a quick grin at me. “He doesn’t know about my costume choice yet, but he’s coming over tonight so we can work on them.”
I held a finger to my lips as he came up behind her.
“Well, should we go?” he asked Elaine.
“Okay.” Elaine gave me a quick hug and whispered in my ear, “Tell me how it goes.”
At their departure, the enchanted paper bats hanging upside down from the rafters rustled and squeaked. I inched closer to the fireplace that was spelled to never stop burning during the fall and winter months. It filled the store with a cheerful crackle and the scent of cedar.
The bell above the door chimed again as someone else came in. I peeked around a shelf at the tall man with a buzzed head, dark skin, and sparkling brown eyes who came in. I watched him for a beat too long before jerking back to attention. What was I doing staring down a stranger like that? Albeit an attractive stranger, but still. He wasn’t why I was here.
I edged away from a carved pumpkin, leaned against one of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and closed my eyes, focusing on my fae magic to calm me. Unlike mysisters’ magic that they had to activate, mine was always on, and it wasn’t nearly as exciting. Dad called it “Breath of Balance” when he wanted it to sound cool, but really all it did was give me better balance, physically and emotionally. Which was exactly as boring as it sounded.
My fae magic tugged my attention toward a book on a top shelf leaning at a haphazard angle. It was like a tingle running down my fingers or like an itch I couldn’t scratch. I reached up, my fingers brushing against the book, and it slid to the side. A few other books on the top shelf tumbled around me, and I threw my hands up to protect my head.
“Look out,” a deep voice said before a pair of strong arms appeared on either side, while someone’s chest pressed against my back from behind. Books clattered to the floor around me and my mysterious rescuer. His arms cocooned me in warmth, and my nose filled with his unique scent. He smelled like coffee and the crackling fire. And something else. Cloves?
