Page 8 of Holy Shift
“Maybe.” Destiny dumped the contents of one plate into the trash and spun around for the second one. Jane turned at the same time, and they smacked into each other, the plate Jane held smashing onto Destiny’s chest, covering her lemon-yellow sundress in strawberry sauce.
“Oh, my goat cheese. I’m so sorry.” Jane scraped what was left of the cake into the trash and set the plate in the sink. “You can like…miracle it away, right?” She waved her hand over the stain.
Destiny laughed dryly. “I’m an angel, not a magician.”
She wiped the mess with a dishtowel, and the bells above the front door chimed. Without looking up, she said, “Hi. Welcome to Sweet Destiny’s,” in the most cheerful voice she could muster.
“How can I help—” She lifted her gaze and dropped the towel, completely losing the ability to speak or breathe as her eyes locked with his.
The man, the myth, the frigging Easter Bunny, stood about six feet tall. His wavy, brown hair looked like the kind of messy do that he either woke up with or spent half an hour mastering each morning. It didn’t matter which, because his jewel-green eyes literally sparkled as one side of his mouth tugged into a crooked smile.
Hark, the herald angels.She couldn’t tear her gaze away. She had no clue how long she stood there, grinning like an idiot, and she didn’t care. This man was… Well, he wassomething.
Finally, he broke eye contact, but he didn’t look away. No, he let his gaze meander over her face, down her body, and back to her eyes before widening his smile. “Hi. I’m Pete.”
“You’re the Easter Bunny.” She clamped her mouth shut. Why she felt the need to tell the man who he was, she couldn’t say.Of course he knows who he is, silly. Get it together.
He chuckled. “And you’re Sweet Destiny, I presume?”
Her cheeks heated. “Just Destiny.”
“Why do I get the feeling there isn’t anything ‘just’ about you?” He held her gaze for a beat or two before glancing at her dress. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Jane handed her a wet towel, and her stomach sank as the mortification set in. His meandering gaze hadn’t been one of admiration like she’d thought. He’d seen her current disheveled state and had judged her accordingly.
“I’m sorry. I’m not usually a mess.” Okay, that was a lie. Ever since her meeting with Gabriela at Divine Grace, she’d been nothing short of a dumpster fire.
She wiped her dress, but it only smeared the stain more. “This is so unprofessional of me. I don’t normally look like…”
“Honestly, I didn’t even notice.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged, and she could have sworn his eyes sparkled again.
The heat on her cheeks spread down her neck, no doubt turning her chest bright red. “I’m going to change. I’ll be right back.”
She ducked into the kitchen and leaned against a counter, pinching the bridge of her nose as she reminded herself to breathe. So what if a mouth-watering immortal legend stood in the front of her bakery? He hadn’t come to see her; he was meeting Gaston.
But he had seen her looking like the Hot Mess Express, and that just would not do. Angels had a level of perfection they were expected to live up to, and Destiny hadn’t just missed the mark…she’d smeared strawberry syrup all over it.
“I sure as hell hope you’re both single because the energy between you two is off the charts hot.” Jane grabbed a stack of go boxes and folded three. “I didn’t see any more angel food cake out front. Do you have any back here?”
“It’s in the walk-in.” She tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, wishing a portal would open up and whisk her away. Maybe she should have taken that assignment in the repository after all. “Don’t eat any. It tempers demonic powers. I don’t know what it would do to a vampire.”
“I’ll stick to the sweet blood pudding.” Jane retrieved the cake and put three slices into boxes. “Aren’t you going to change?”
“I can’t go back out there. He thinks I’m a mess.”
She stacked the boxes and rested a hand on top. “He thinks you’re the most heavenly creature he’s ever laid eyes on.”
“No, he doesn’t. He saw me for what I am: a dumpster fire.”
Jane squinted. “Read the room, woman. I think time actually stood still out there for a moment or two. You glowed, girl. Golden light emanated from your pores, and I’m pretty sure he heard a choir of angels singing the moment he looked at you.”
Destiny tugged on her lower lip. “You think?”
“I know. I saw his eyes literally sparkle. The Easter Bunny has the hots for you, and you know what they say about rabbits…” She wiggled her brows. “Go change and get back out there. Your bunny hole will thank you later.”
Butterflies took flight in Destiny’s stomach at the thought. If Jane felt the chemistry between them, maybe she hadn’t imagined it. She pushed from the counter, ready to follow her friend’s advice, when reality sank in. “I can’t. He’s an immortal fae, and I’ve only got two weeks left.”
“Two weeks left for what? Where are the sauce cups?”
