Page 89 of The Flame Game

I laughed so hard I cried. “Sure, Sam. Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.”

On his quest to be the perfect husband, Quinn decided we needed burgers with fries, and he scoured Maine to find a takeout place suitable for my special needs.

The sad truth revealed itself upon our arrival at the fast food joint he’d selected.

My reformed fish-hating spouse had found a place with lobster rolls and burgers so he could indulge while pretending to cater to me. I raised a brow at the menu posted by the door. “If you think I’m getting a burger when sea bugs on bread are readily available, you’re insane. Oh! Clam chowder.”

“I wanted you to have the option for a burger if you wanted it, although I see my choice of making sure they also served sea bugs was sound. So, what would my beautiful like for lunch today?”

I checked the offerings again, and I gasped when I noticed the pet menu. “They have a menu just for pets!”

“We can dine in because it’s a pet friendly establishment. That was also a factor.”

I squealed and bounced in place, and Blizzard bounced with me, barking his excitement. Avalanche, as was her wicked way, pounced the husky’s tail. “I was already resigned to eating in the rental until we made it to the hotel tonight.”

“I thought this would give us a good chance to come up with a strategy.”

“How are we going to come up with a strategy without knowing what we’ll find?”

“I’m going to make some educated guesses.” Smiling, my husband took Sunny’s leash, and the instant he ordered her to heel and headed for the restaurant’s front doors, Blizzard and Avalanche followed, doing their best to heel with Quinn.

Laughing, I hurried to catch up so the poor animals wouldn’t try to strangle themselves heeling as ordered. To keep the pets happy, I shoved their leashes into my husband’s hands. “We need to teach them to heel with the leash holder rather than the person giving the order.”

“I find this oversight hilarious and endearing.”

While my husband juggled three leashes and the animals, I strolled to the counter, which instructed us to stand in one place to order or wait to be seated. As I expected trouble, I got out our permits for our pets.

The hostess, a young woman with her pale hair captured in a ponytail, gasped when she saw Avalanche. “Oh, what a cute kitty! What breed is that?”

“She’s an ocelot kitten.” I held out the paperwork the CDC had given me. “I hope she won’t be a bother?”

“Oh, absolutely not. Pets are welcome as long as they’re legal. We keep the animals on this side of the restaurant, and we use some practitioner magic to keep allergens out of the other half of the restaurant. Will you need the pet menu?”

“We absolutely will need the pet menu. This is their first time in a restaurant.”

The hostess smiled. “For two humans and three pets?”

“Yes, please.”

“This way.” The waitress led us to a booth, handed us the menus, and headed off, returning with three pet beds, which she put down on the floor at our feet. The puppies and kitten needed no other invitation and made themselves at home. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“Coffee, black,” my husband requested, and he stared into my eyes as he did so.

“Spiced minty grass of some sort.” Damn it. “Tea. I meant tea!”

“We have spiced grass, but it isn’t minty,” the hostess replied with a smile. “We have mint syrup if you’d like your spiced grass to be minty, however.”

“Hit me up with a pot of the regular spiced grass, and because I’m really curious, a cup of spiced grass with mint syrup,” I replied, meeting my husband’s challenging gaze with a raised brow.

“I don’t know what I just lost in that exchange, but take me for all your worth, because you won that without question,” my husband stated as soon as the woman left. “Also, for the record, she thinks you’re hot.”

“Wait. She thinks I’m hot? Not you?”

“Yep.”

I blinked, leaning over to catch a glimpse of the woman as she went to make our drinks. “You’re not upset, are you? Does this bother your sexy incubus self? She’s a woman. Didn’t you say rejection hurts your pride?”

“I am more delighted because she sees you like I see you, and that is very gratifying. My sexy incubus self is rather pleased with this. Really, I’m very pleased, and you will be rewarded for being so beautiful tonight. I have zero regrets about this situation.”