Page 89 of Magic and Muffins

I spoke a little bit about my encounters with her, except for the last one. I didn’t want to dwell on it.

“The bakery downstairs looks cool,” Piper said, switching the topic. She was always good at sensing when someone needed a break. “Are you and Vena finally going to get your dream?”

I smiled at her. “I think Vena’s dream might change after hearing about you two.”

Piper and Robyn left shortly after our conversation and told me to say hello to Vena for them.

“We’ll see you again soon,” Piper promised, giving me a hug.

“Text us when your opening day is, and we’ll be there,” Robyn said.

Cross stood to show them out.

“This is weird,” Piper said as she walked with Cross. “Normally, I’d be fighting a vampire, not walking civilly next to one.”

“I’ve heard of it before,” Robyn said. “But it’s uncommon. Why are you different?”

“A long, lonely existence made me willing to risk everything,” I heard Cross say.

Shepard wrapped his arms around me from behind.

“He’s okay,” he said.

“Are you a mind reader now?”

“No, I just know you worry about him. He has you, though, so he’s okay. Never doubt it.”

“And when he doesn’t have me?” I asked. “He’s very adamant that he doesn’t want any children to pass down the vampire gene, and I’ll eventually age and die, Shepard. What about then?”

“Is anyone meant to live forever, Everly? Even the fae, as long-lived as they are, die eventually. Death is part of life, and he knows it.”

“I just don’t want him to be alone.”

“He won’t be.” Shepard turned me in his arms and kissed my forehead. “But enough of this kind of thinking. We have decades to figure that out. What we need to think about now is what suit you want me to wear. I put Cross in charge of my wardrobe, which is frightening enough, and he has two options for you to pick from.”

Shepard led me to the closet and pulled out two suits that both looked nice. One was in a lighter brown that would complement Shepard’s skin tone, and the other was blue, which complemented his eyes.

“He didn’t want to do black suits. And I vetoed the burgundy, terra-cotta, and patterned suits. So this is what’s left.”

I bit my lip, trying to imagine Shepard in a patterned suit. It would need a lot of pattern to cross the breadth of his shoulders.

“Let’s go with the lighter brown. It looks less serious, which is what this live show is supposed to convey…the lighter side of your relationship.”

He thanked me, and I walked out of the closet to find Cross leaning against the counter.

“I preferred the lighter one as well. Thank you for convincing him.”

“I trust her taste, not yours,” Shepard called.

“If that were true, you wouldn’t have given me your measurements,” Cross said back.

“My estimation about his size was accurate, by the way,” Cross told me.

Shepard stuck his head out of the closet. “Out. Not you, Everly. You can help me with my tie.”

Helping involved a lot of sweet kisses and hugs, which I loved.

When he was finished, he styled his longish hair begrudgingly under Cross’ watchful eye in the bathroom.

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