Page 33 of Little Etheldreda Riding Hood

I close my eyes. “Could I ask you…could you do me a favor?” I ask.

“Sure,” he says as the phone starts to vibrate.

“Could you just delete everything from that number?”

“All of it?” Zach asks.

I nod. “And block it. I didn’t realize he’d kept my number. I guess I’ll request a new one tomorrow.”

“Do you want a highlight reel of the funniest texts?”

I choke back a laugh at that. “Tempting, but no. Better to just let it all go. I wasted so many years, I’m not wasting another second on that man.”

He plucks the phone from Dolly’s grasp and wanders back off down the hall. I stand up and stretch, then start digging in my purse for a brush and hair tie. Zach comes back a few minutes later with clothes on and my phone in hand.

“I don’t know if this will make you feel any better, but from the looks of the text messages he was either incredibly drunk or you like your men a little dumb.”

“Well, duh, I like you, don’t I?” I blurt out loud before I can stop myself.

We both stop–me horrified at what I’ve just said, him, amused. There is a long moment where we just stare at each other, silently, then he frowns, and points at me. “I knew it. I’m only taking what I want from that, though. I knew you liked me.”

I sigh. “Yes, well, you can’t expect me to remain strong in the face of adorable kittens and dinner.”

He smiles. “I need to tell someone.”

I eye him. “Don’t go getting a big head, Zach Lamar. You promised we’d take things slow.”

“Who should I tell first?” he asks aloud, ignoring me.

“Whichever of your relatives that was there the other night and bet on how long it’d take you to convince me to go out with you.”

“We’re going out?” he asks.

And once he says it out loud, I realize it’s not a bad idea. “Yes. You should take me on a date.”

“Where?”

I shrug. “That’s for you to figure out.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow, early, because we’ll both need sleep.”

He nods in agreement. “Okay, tomorrow...early dinner?”

“It’s a date.”

He grins. “It’s a date.”

The delivery of wood and supplies is set for eleven a.m. the next day, so I decide to wait until one to head to the Wild Hare, just to give the driver some wiggle room. I haven’t even discussed my own fees for labor, which is stupid, but I’m honestly not expecting much. The bar doesn’t open until noon, so I get to sleep in surrounded by all the cats.

I can’t honestly say I’m over my fear of this whole thing with Zach being Morgan 2.0, but I can say I’m tired of pretending I don’t want to jump him every time his eyes meet mine. I swear I can be a normal human being and not get insanely attached. At least I can pretend to be.

I arrive at the bar promptly at one and to my surprise, find it already occupied with several men–some human, some creatures, including the Gobelin and frogman from my first night in town.

A thin older woman is tending the bar. She looks me up and down and shakes her head. “Honey, if you’re going to audition, I’d change clothes. It’s going to take a long time to strip out of that outfit.”

“Ginger, that’s not a stripper. That’s Red,” says the frogman. I really need to catch his name.

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