Page 109 of Welcome to Fae Cafe

“Queensbane, what’s wrong with you, crazy Human?!” he shouted back at her, using his height to reach over her and pluck the novel from her fingers.

Kate marched back out of her apartment, banging the door behind her. She thudded down the stairs to find Cress leaning against the counter on his palms—no,grippingthe edge of the counter so tightly that his knuckles were white.

Shayne was a basket case of laughter on the floor behind the counter. “How?!” he wailed. “How could you let it happen again?! How—” He slapped a hand over his eyes when tears gushed out. “How did you manage to get enchantedtwice?!”

“Stop. Laughing. Or I’llCut.Out. Your. Tongue.”

Kate didn’t wait around to hear more. She went back to the coat rack, grabbed her coat—and her red scarf—and swung the door open. Cress appeared and yanked the door shut before she could leave, creating a robust fae barrier between her and escape.

“Let me explain,” he said, but Kate pushed against him. “Katherine!” he tried. “Human, I didn’t mean for this to… I mean I…” He put a hand over his forehead like he had a headache, and Kate slipped under his arm while his eyes were closed. “You can’t go out alone!” he growled after her.

Kate met the cold while she was still buttoning her coat. She moved to avoid pedestrians, refusing to look any of her friendly neighbours in the eyes so she wouldn’t be forced to greet them. She heard the café’s bell behind her, and she knew Cress was following her.

She walked down to the harbour and all around the cold city on the longest walk of her life.

Cress never caught up or tried calling out. He never showed himself.

But his warm gaze was on her back.

It was three days before she saw him again. Kate returned to the café the following morning to find out that Shayne had locked Cress in her upstairs closet.“It’s for his own good. He would kill me later for letting him humiliate himself by tearing apart the city to get to you at all hours. It’s for your own good, too,”was what Shayne said.

Kate counted down the days and hours as they passed. She stared at the calendar on the wall, dreading the arrival of Christmas.

She started washing dishes with vigour on the third day. A mug splashed back into the soapy water when Cress emerged from the stairs of her apartment. He looked angry and exhausted. Shayne had a shiny, new black eye on his handsome face.

Cress stopped walking when he saw Kate.

She dried her hands on a towel and went to meet him, but he grabbed her wet hands around the towel. “I want to make you laugh, Human. Hearing your laugh is my highest obsession. And your smile, too. And for some faeborn-cursed reason, I’m fascinated by your lack of evil—”

“Aaaaaand back into the closet you go,” Shayne said, yanking Cress back by his shoulder. “I guess it’s not worn off yet.”

Cress growled but didn’t object. “I thought I was okay to see her, but I’m not,” he muttered to Shayne. He glared at Kate this time. “You did this.” He pointed to his own head.

“No,youdid this,” Kate assured, refusing to take the blame this time.

Cress snarled as he headed back up the stairs, followed by Shayne.

Kate went back to washing the mugs, shaking her head.

A snowstorm picked up outside. A few teenagers pushed in and patted snowflakes off their hats and mitts.

“Three more days,” Kate whispered below the howling of the wind against the windows. Her gaze flickered back up to the calendar where Christmas Day was highlighted in red with a small drawing of holly berries.

“Three more days until I lose you, Cress,” she said to all those in the café who weren’t listening.

“I have a question.” Lily untangled Christmas lights by the window. The tree sat in the café’s corner, covered in tinsel that sparkled in the early morning light. The sweet scents of pine and sap filled the café.

From her seat by the fireplace, Kate flicked aside the Fae Café social media page on her phone. A different photo filled the screen, one with a list of obscure fae names. She quickly pushed that screen away, too, and stuffed her phone into her pocket.

“What’s your question?” she asked Lily.

Lily rested her elbow on her knee where she squatted. “What happened to the real Officer Riley?”

Strange, terrible thoughts came to Kate’s mind as she made her guesses. She’d never found the nerve to ask the fae.

“He’s wandering around the human realm with his pockets full of fairy gold,” Cress announced as he strutted over. He stopped, standing over Kate’s chair. Though it seemed like most of his anger had passed over, his brows were furrowed. He extended a hand toward Kate like he wanted to help her up.

“Are you feeling better?” Kate asked warily. She gave him her hand, and he tugged her to her feet.

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