Page 37 of Baking and Angels

“Yes, yes, my dear,” Scarlet said, fetching up her purse and standing. She then nodded to Rafferty. “Thank you for lunch.”

He wasn’t sure what to make of that. By all rights she should have pressed him to repay his debt to her, but she didn’t even give him a knowing look asshe left.

“Sorry that took so long. Was that really awkward? Did you guys talk about anything?” Helena asked, watching her boss leave, clearly sensing the mood, finally.

“No,” Rafferty said. “No, it’s fine. We’re fine.”

Chapter 15

My First Train in Ages

Helena would not stop grinning at him as she held his arm walking down the platform. They were both carrying overnight bags slung over their shoulders, looking like the dozens of other travelers boarding the train. He followed Helena’s lead as she led him into one of the cars. Having consulted her ticket, she let go of his arm so she could navigate down a narrow hallway until she stopped by the middlemost compartment.

“Here we go; this is us,” she pronounced, and slid the door to one side to enter. “What do you think?”

“It is not how I last remembered,” he said, following her in, sliding the door shut behind himself.

Plopping down on the gray two-seater to the left, she dropped her carry-on bag on a single seat opposite. “What were you expecting?”

Rafferty ran his hand over the top of the seat, all efficient gray vinyl.

“Jewel-colored velvet. Ruby red or sapphire blue, wrought ironfiligree.”

“Hmm,” Helena cooed. “That does sound moreromantic.”

He grinned as he settled down next to her, dropping his bag onto the floor, and she immediately cuddled into him, slipping herself under his arm, fitting against him as if made tobe there.

“This is nice too,” she said, relaxing in a way she hadn’t in the lastfew days.

He knew that they were headed to a possibly stressful situation, but there was something golden about this moment. That ecstatic feeling echoed inside him from the first time it hit him that he was alive. Running his hand along Helena’s back, breathing her scent in, as long as he forgot the new truth of her existence, he could justbe happy.

“So you didn’t just get summoned into kitchens, if you’ve ridden in a train before,” she said, picking up the conversation after a moment of blissful peace. They both gazed out the window, though there wasn’t much to look at yet except the side of another train waiting inthe depot.

“Yes, I’ve ridden in a train before,” he agreed. “A long time ago by your perspective.”

“It wasn’t for anything cooking related then?”

He shook his head. “No, that particular mistress wanted something very different from me. I’m not even sure how she got my name to summon me.”

“What did she want?” Helena rested a hand on his chest, brushing slow circles through the fabric of his shirt, slipping under the edge of his coat and out again. It felt so soothing. “If you want to talk about it. You don’thave to.”

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I will tell you anything you ask,” he assured, then took another moment to collect his answer. “Being a demon is more about being willing to say yes to anything than it is anything magical or mystical. The power of yes seems to be just as rare, if not rarer than anything I couldconjure.”

She snuggled into him as shelistened.

Rafferty cleared his throat and continued. “I don’t remember when it was, what year. People wore hats in public. I was dressed in a vest and jacket. It was hot, so probably summer. She…” He swallowed. “She was escaping her parents and their designs for her future. She wanted me to protect her as she journeyed out to the west and adventure.”

“Hmm, I wish I could see that, you in old-timey clothes,” Helena said, as the whole car jerked, shuddering into motion. “Did she fall in lovewith you?”

He twitched. “She… lust maybe… or at least… I wouldn’t have calledit love.”

Helena spun around, her expression delighted and teasing. “Oh, really?” she asked, setting her cheek on her fist, her elbow propped against his chest. “And?”

He felt like a bug pinned under a particularly delighted cat.

“You said you wanted to be honest with me,” she continued to tease, her eyes dancing merrily like candle flames, reflecting gold flashes over her natural stone blue.

“When did I say that?” he countered, just asplayfully.

---