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“And . . .” I said, holding up my hand. I dropped it on the table, and in a blink, the bird transformed back into the phoenix who’d been eating when we arrived.
Kate shot me a wide-eyed look. “Wow,” she said softly. Her eyes widened even further. “He’s . . .”
“Yup, naked.” Rising, I tugged off my shirt to hand to him, but he held up his hand. One of them that is. The other cupped his package.
The phoenix tugged boxers out of a bag he’d left on the table. He sat and wrangled into them before standing. He stared down at his melting ice cream sadly before he left, striding across the parking lot with his bag slung over his bare back.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Kate said. “Does it hurt?”
“I don’t believe so.”
“A bit sad,” she said.
“Losing his ice cream or reappearing completely naked?”
“Both. I mean, he looked upset. I’m sure he’s embarrassed by it.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know much about phoenixes, but I imagine I’d be.”
We dropped our empty dishes in a barrel and started toward the counter to purchase containers for my aunt.
“We’ll zip over there and put them in the freezer,” Kate said. “I can’t wait to hear what she thinks.”
Since a line had formed again, I opted to kiss my fiancée. It was only when the young male server laughed that we broke apart, finding the line gone.
“We would like to order more,” I told him.
“You can have whatever you’d like,” he said.
Such a nice young male. He even added a large clump of paper face wipes to our order.
That was why I gave himtwogold coins after taking the containers.
Chapter26
Kate
Tylik insisted on going shopping after getting ice cream, so after we dropped the containers off at the estate, we headed back into town where he bought me enough clothing to triple my wardrobe.
After putting everything away, we had a snack and sat in his backyard, savoring the warm afternoon and just being together.
Then we went inside to get ready for dinner. And if it took us a bit longer than we’d expected to dress, that was okay. He’d been tasting me a lot lately, and it was time he had a turn.
As the sun started sliding toward the horizon, he drove us to the estate, parking out front.
Finni strode out the door held open by an elf, stopping on the big granite top step.
“You are operating an internal combustion engine,” she exclaimed, tapping her fingertips together.
“I have my learner’s permit,” Tylik said as he put his arm around me. We took the steps to the top. “I’m driving, and if your staff didn’t mention it, we collected ice cream for you and placed it in your cold storage. You must try Moose Tracks. Coffee’s my favorite, so we included that as well.”
“I can’t wait to try it.” She studied Tylik with heavy intensity. “I see changes in you, nephew, and I like them.” Her beaming gaze slid to me. “I believe I know why.”
Heat rose into my face. For a fake relationship, we’d done much better than could be expected. I couldn’t wait to get married to Tylik and . . . Did I dare hope this was a new and lasting beginning for us both?
I’d find out tomorrow.
“Have you made your decision yet?” Tylik asked his aunt.
