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"He and I are soul mates," Dani says, laughter in her tone. "I'm sure the hero being linked with the new baker in town will overshadow your wicked ways."
I glare at Dani, but she's looking at Kaia, empathy in her gaze. The way she's jumping in to make Kaia feel better softens me toward Dani, but only for a moment. "We are not soul mates."
Kaia, wide-eyed, looks from me to Dani and back.
"Sure we are. Grant saved my life, so our souls are forever entwined, unless I save his life and break the bond."
"Soul mates," Kaia says softly. She knows what that means to me. She looks between us again. "I can totally see it."
"No, you can't," I say. "Because we aren't soul mates. We can't stand each other."
Kaia smiles fondly. "I'll wait for you outside, Grant."
I reach into the bag of pastries and pull out a cherry turnover as Dani runs my card. A curl slips out of her ponytail and across her face. She moves it by blowing out a puff of air, but it settles right back in place. I clench my fists not to reach out and push it behind her ear.
What the actual hell is wrong with me?
"You are not my soul mate," I say through gritted teeth.
She shrugs, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "I'm not proposing marriage, Ranger, but you can't deny our souls are bonded. That's just what happens when you save someone's life."
She thinks she's found the button to push to annoy me.
She's right.
I stuff the entire turnover in my mouth to prevent myself from saying anything that will let her know just how annoyed I am. I take the pen to sign the credit card slip, but have to pause as the unbelievably delicious flavors and textures of the turnover overwhelm me.
Also, because I need to concentrate on chewing so I don't choke.
"Good?" Dani asks.
I chew, swallow, and sign the slip. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be."
She laughs, not at all offended. Does nothing get to her?
It's not fair that she knows how to get under my skin and I have zero impact on her.
I study her for a moment, looking for a weakness, but can find none.
Taking my bag of treats, now far too close to empty, and my coffee, I leave without another word to her.
On the way out, I wave at Lazy.
"Good food, right?" Lazy asks.
I nod, pulling another cherry danish from the bag. She gave me two? What is she trying to butter me up for?
"Did you meet our bookstore cat?"
"Not a cat," I say around my bite of danish. Bribe or not, I'm going to enjoy it.
Lazy laughs as I walk out of his shop.
***
I find Kaia half a block from Lazy's bookstore, sitting on a bench and sipping her coffee. "Your soul mate makes great muffins."
Rolling my eyes, I stop in front of her bench. "What do you want to talk about, Kai?"
