“I know,” he answers sharply. Then he sighs. “Fae men are competitive by nature.”
“Competitive?”
“Word is circling that Ash stole your heart before you met anyone else, and now the entire male population of the town is determined to get their chance with the pretty new pixie.”
“You called me pretty again.”
“Would you rather I call you a troll?”
“No, I’m just worried.” I take a step closer, teasing him. “Are you competitive, Rowan?”
“I’m abird.”
Laughing, I continue down the street. “Come on. We have a dozen more shops to visit before noon.”
Ryder knockson the door three minutes after two, only five minutes after we get back.
“Did he run here?” Rowan grumbles.
I turn to the owl. “I thought you liked Ryder? Didn’t you say you were friends?”
“Wewere,” he grumps. When I raise my brows, he scrunches in on himself like the angry little thing he is, and then adds, “No, I do like him. I just don’t want him here for this. He can’t help us, Kit.”
“Would you please have a little more faith in people? Be nice.”
“Why do you keep saying that? I’m always nice.”
“Sure,” I laugh, and then I hurry to the front of the shop.
I’m nervous, not sure how this is going to go.
“As promised,” Ryder says when I open the door for him, offering me a small white box that smells like lemon heaven.
“Oh goodness.” I accept the gift, bringing it to my nose. “Let’s make some tea and share it.”
Ryder steps inside. Dramatically, he closes the door and places his hand on the knob. “Shall I…lock this?”
“You’re rather incorrigible, aren’t you?”
He chuckles, amused. Dropping the overly flirtatious act, he wanders into the shop, his manner becoming friendly. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I actually need your help.”
“Oh really?” He turns from the tea, intrigued.
“My friend is a mage?—”
“Is this friend a man or a woman?”
“A man.”
“Eh,” he says like he’s disappointed. “That’s all right, continue.”
“Okay, my friend who is a mageanda man turned himself into an owl, and he needs?—”
“I’m sorry, he did what?”
“He turned himself into an owl.”
