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I smile. Lucy is going to love the wedding planning. Getting her involved like this will help bring all of us closer as a family. Argoss may be a bit rough around the edges, but he has the makings of a great dad.
His eyes widen a bit at the expression on my face as though he’s surprised, and then he turns back to Lucy. “You will be my left-hand man.”
Her face goes serious as she gives a solemn nod. “Yes, Argoss.”
“Not right hand?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.
“Left hand is more important to demons,” he replies with a wink. “Besides, as my wife, you’ll be my right-hand woman, of course. In this world, the only people you can trust are your family.”
We get to our feet and Lucy takes my hand, practically dragging me out the door in her eagerness to taste-test cakes. Though he wants to take us in his vintage Bentley, my car is the one that has Lucy’s booster seat, so he’s overruled on that.
The bakery, Magic Mooncakes, is deceptively quaint for its illustrious clientele. The owner, a werewolf named Lawrence Zheng, greets us at the door with a smile, revealing his long teeth.
“Come in, come in,” he says, and Lucy races past me to stare hungrily at the delicately decorated pastries on the counter. Argoss approaches her and whispers something in her ear.
“The cake testing will be in the back,” Lawrence says, leading us to a private room with a table of cake slices to try and a plate full of crackers to act as palate cleansers between tastings.
“Which one do you want to try first?” I ask, feeling slightly paralyzed by the choices around me.
Lucy grins and picks up the triple chocolate cake. “Chocolate is the best flavor.”
“Devil’s food cake,” Lawrence says. “Excellent choice.”
“Of course, it’s the superior choice,” Argoss says, forking a bite. “It was invented by demons.”
Lucy tilts her head curiously and wipes some cake crumbs from her mouth with the back of her hand. “Wait, Mr. Lawrence, you’re a werewolf. You can’t know it tastes good.”
Lawrence raises his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“Lucy,” I begin, letting a note of warning enter my tone. It’s my,‘I know you’re just curious but please don’t be rude voice.’
Her eyes ping pong between him and me and she shrugs. “Well, it’s just that my friend Bo is a werewolf, and he says all werewolves are allergic to chocolate, which is why I give him my gummies in exchange for his chocolate on Halloween.”
Lawrence grins. “Well, that’s because I’m not a full werewolf. I’m a witch on my mother’s side, and I didn’t inherit my dad’s allergy.”
Her eyes light up. “You’re a half-witch like me?”
“I don’t know,” he says, holding out bare palms before curling them into two fists. “Let’s test it out. Go ahead. Pick one.”
“Left one,” she says, tapping it. She looks over to Argoss. “The left hand is more important to demons.”
Argoss preens just a bit. “Excellent use of flattery, Lucy. Mastery of it will get you far in life.”
Lucy grins at the compliment, but I bite my tongue, not sure if he’s joking or serious. It’s not exactly a good lesson to teach a nine-year-old, but he’s not wrong, either. He makes it difficult to tell, but I think he’s genuinely trying to give her good advice.
“Left it is,” Lawrence says, uncurling his fingers to reveal a daisy. Her eyes widen with delight as he sticks it behind her ear.
“Will you show me how to do that?” she asks.
I pat her shoulder. “Maybe after the tasting.”
“Oh, right!” she exclaims, taking the plate Argoss is offering.
He winks at her. “I think you’re going to love this one.”
She forks a bite, her eyes widening with delight. “This is the best cake I’ve ever had.”
“Let’s not be too hasty,” I say. “We still have plenty to choose from.” I take a bite of my own, and it’s absolutely divine. The chocolate is sweet, with fluffy frosting and an airy cake. “Mmm, but this is definitely at the top of my list, though.”
