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I stare at her. Is she playing a prank? Is there a hidden camera around here? That's just the sort of thing Lazy would do. "Saved his life? You nearly killed him."
She nods serenely. "I almost killed him, and then I rushed him to the vet clinic and saved his life. Therefore, our souls are bonded."
"By that logic, you and I would be soul mates, since I saved your life."
Her cool fades slowly as her eyes ignite and her cheeks redden. "You nearly killed me."
I cross my arms over my chest and wait for it to sink in.
She huffs. "Fine. On the surface, it would seem that you saving my life would mean we're bonded, but you and I are not soul mates. It didn't take with us or something."
"Agreed." I regret starting down this path of conversation. "Can I get one of each? I'm starving."
"Sure." She's clearly still flustered, but trying to cover it up. "One of each of what?"
"Of everything," I say. "I want to try everything."
She grins. "Sure. Just admit that Skidmark is a cat."
I don't want to give in and go along with this farce, but I really want those cherry flavored doughy bits of goodness. Without legs, the skunk can't be returned to the wild. He could be taken to a zoo or a wildlife rehabilitation center, but if there's no room for him, he'd likely be euthanized.
Not to mention the little guy looks entirely content, curled up near Dani.
"Skidmark is not a cat," I say. "And I'm not a liar. However, I am willing to overlook the obvious and ignore the crime occurring here in exchange for cherry-flavored breakfast pastries."
"Grant Rivers Holiday," a familiar voice says behind me. "I never thought I'd see the day you'd take a bribe."
Kaia steps up to the counter next to me, smiling like she's actually happy to see me. "Though if I had to take a bet, I'd definitely predict cherry danishes would be part of your downfall."
I force a smile, but my right eye has started twitching. God, she looks good. She's just wearing slacks and a pretty blouse, but it's the way she wears it. She's just so damn classy.
"Kaia. Our meeting isn't until nine."
"I ran into Lazy last night and he told me to come by and try out his new selection of bakery items." She pokes my stomach. "I'm surprised to see you buying pastries. Aren't you training for a race?"
"Carbs are great fuel after an intense workout." That's a huge stretch, and she knows it. If only because I might have been even more serious about trail racing five years ago and talked possibly more than I should have about calories and carbs and proteins.
"Hmmm." Kaia is clearly dubious. She's changed. The girl I knew didn't tease me or ever suggest I might make the wrong choice. The girl I knew was timid and kind and always agreeable. Kaia, as an adult, has a confidence and an openness the girl I loved didn't have. It looks amazing on her.
And I can't help thinking how good we could have been together if she'd stayed.
"Here's your order," Dani says, far too gleefully, as she plops an extra-large bag on the counter. "That'll be thirty-one fifty."
Kaia presses her lips together hard. "Must have been an incredibly intense workout."
"It was." Oddly, I can't look away from Dani, who's looking between me and Kaia like she knows there's a story here, but she's not going to ask. Her green eyes are bright with interest and her nose is still adorable, even when it's not scrunched.
"What can I get for you, ma'am?" Dani says to Kaia, not even waiting for me to pay before moving onto the next customer.
"Is everything cherry today?"
"Everything except the coffee."
Since Dani is ignoring me and I only have a debit card to pay her with, I open my bag and breathe in a whiff of the food inside. Holy pine trees, it smells delicious.
I glance over at Dani, but she's filling Kaia in on the nuances of flavor in her cherry muffins.
Reaching into the bag, I grab the first thing my fingers brush and pull out a cherry danish.
