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The scent of heaven, as one well-known food critic had described in his blog, to which the café’s owner, Kalliope Athanas had gasped in genuine awe, exclaiming to her husband, ‘Does that mean this man has died and come back to life?’
On the second floor of the café, which was close for the day for a private function, things were no less fun, and the sound of their feminine merriment, which occasionally drifted below stairs, had many of the customers below exchanging knowing glances and sharing excited murmurs.
I saw on Twitter that Katerina Chariot’s here on vacation. I have her manga with me – I’m totally getting an autograph if I bump into her.
I wonder if MJ has her twins with her upstairs? They’re so terribly cute!
I’m just dying for a glimpse of any of their husbands – why are all the perfect men in this world already taken?
Even as interest in the café’s special guests continued to percolate below, those on the second floor remained perfectly oblivious, with most of them too busy groaning over Hallie's words.
“This is the last joke, I promise.” More groaning ensued at her words, but Hallie Athanas ignored this. Tonight was her night, and so they all had no choice but to go along with her wishes. “Here goes," she said brightly. "If Mario’s wife is Maria, and Bello’s married to Bella, then for North it would be...” She gave her companions an expectant look.
“Hanger,” KC answered right away, the result of being on an Austen binge since her arrival at Claymore several days ago. “It’s Northanger, isn’t it?”
Aria rolled her eyes. “Duh. It should be south. North is to south – always.”
“Unbelievable, you guys.” Lace threw her hands up in disgust. “It’s Carolina. As in NCAA Division I North Carolina.” She glanced at Hallie with a triumphant grin. “#amirite or #amirite?”
“Actually...” Hallie cleared her throat. “You’re all wrong. It should’ve been Narth.”
Everyone simply looked at her.
“You know, change O to A, so North...Narth?” Everyone’s faces remained blank, and Hallie frowned. She had watched someone crack the joke on YouTube, and she had tried to do it exactly as the guy did. So why was no one laughing?
Letting out a sigh, Hallie grumbled, “Oh, never mind—-”
That was when everyone doubled over, and Hallie glowered. “Very funny, you guys.” But the chiding message was lost on her so-called friends, with a series of heavy footsteps having drowned her words out.
An overrun of testosterone soon followed, and Hallie’s failed attempts at being a comedian were all but forgotten as everyone’s husbands and boyfriends came to join them after their meeting.
“Bromance session is officially over, I take it?” Aria asked archly as Kellion strode up to her.
“That’s just your way of saying you miss me, isn’t it?” And ignoring his pregnant wife’s protestations, Afxisi Inc.’s vice president, Kellion Argyros, simply lifted Aria off her chair to take her seat and have her sit on his lap instead.
“You’re late,” Lace said grumpily as her fiancé scooped her off her seat before placing her on his lap so she could straddle him. “Did you drop by S&L? Anything I should know about?"
"This may be hard for you to accept," Silver answered gravely, "but your baby won't go up in flames just because you’re not there every minute of the day.”
"It's not a crime to be worried, is it?"
"It is when the person you're asking is a man running a billion-dollar business, and you're worried about his ability to manage a sports bar."
"Mm..." Lace fought back a smile at the dryness of her fiancé's tone. "I guess I'm still having trouble remembering that you're more than a pretty face."
"Is that so?"
"Because honestly? You have this worrying tendency to spend too much time staring at yourself in the mirror—-"
“Now that you’ve mentioned it,” Silver cut her off with a drawl, “I was worried about my face. I had to double check it was still there after hours of going down on y—-”
Lace was about to slap her hand over Silver's mouth when Hallie, who was seated next to her, suddenly jumped to her feet, and Lace forgot her embarrassment in her surprise.
Hallie could only smile weakly as her abrupt movement had her chair scraping noisily against the floor, and all eyes were suddenly on her. "Um, sorry, I..."
Chikushou.
No way could she ever tell them the truth, which was how close she was to losing her mind if she were to spend one more second listening to everyone around her flirt like a couple of hormonal teenagers.
"Are you alright?" Katerina asked in concern.
"Yup." Hallie kept her gaze focused on her friend’s face as she uttered the lie. Yuki Himura was currently nibbling on his girlfriend's shoulder, and it was even more unwelcomed proof that everyone in the world seemed to be in love...except for her.
