He acknowledges Ash’s sister as well, giving her the ’sup nod that seems a little out of place in this storybook village. Then he turns back to me. “Look at you being a social butterfly.”
“I’m trying, but there are so many people to keep straight. I still haven’t met half the shopkeepers.”
“Come to the town meeting on Friday,” he says. “They’re dreadfully boring, but most of the shopkeepers show up. Gideon usually buys a few platters of semi-stale cookies from the grocery store, and the cafe provides several carafes of lukewarm coffee. It’s a good time.”
“You’re really selling this.”
He grins, showing off his dimples. “Oh, come on. It’s going to be as dull as dirt. You have to come.”
“Will you be there?” I ask.
“I will. Shall I save you a seat next to me?”
“How many enemies will I create for myself if I say yes?”
He laughs. “You make it sound as though half the town is in love with me.”
“I’d be surprised if they weren’t.”
“You’re delightful.” Ryder pauses on the street, tugging me to a stop, his lips twitching with good humor. “I’m going to keep you—we’re going to be best friends.”
“Are we?”
He continues walking. “The kind with benefits, no doubt.”
“Idoubt, but the offer is flattering.”
“Your call, of course. Just let me know when you change your mind.”
“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” I ask as we near my shop.
“Because, apparently, I’m only allowedone.” He gives me a knowing look. “Or so my last girlfriend informed me.”
I shake my head, laughing despite myself.
“And this is where we part,” he declares when he deposits me at my doorstep. “A quick kiss goodbye, and I’ll be on my way.”
“Please tell me that’s never worked.”
“Oh, it has,” the elf laughs, already heading toward the street, catching the eye of more than one female tourist as he goes. “More times than I can count.”
Shaking my head, I open the door and head to the back to let Rowan in. He flies inside, landing on the back of a chair. “Ryder is a better option than Ash.”
“Still eavesdropping, I see.” I walk behind the counter and fill the electric kettle with filtered water. “I hate to disappoint you, but I prefer my men a little less…friendly.”
“I’ve noticed,” he says wryly.
I shoot him a smile. “If you were really looking out for me, I don’t think you’d try to shove me toward a self-proclaimed player.”
“Ryder is all talk,” Rowan announces confidently. “He fell in love with an elemental elf when he was in his early twenties. Shetried to kill him, and he’s never recovered. Now he protects his heart by pretending he doesn’t have one.”
“An actual elemental elf? Like one of the royal ones?”
“They met at his college.”
“To be fair, that would make anyone shy away from relationships.”
He gives me an owlish nod of agreement. “He hasn’t gotten close to another woman since.”
