Page 10 of Bargains with Benefits
“The fae from earlier,” I said. “The pretty one with the bad attitude that I allegedly threw a drink at?—”
“Not a lot of wiggle room on the drink, dear. We all saw it,” Earl cut in.
“Whatever.” I waved dismissively. “He writes the ‘Benefits of Magic’ column.” I lifted my head, meeting Seraphina’s gaze before turning toward the back door. “I will now throw myself in the moat and die of embarrassment.”
Seraphina snorted. “Well, at least you’re feeling better if you’re back to dramatics.”
I shot her a glare before turning to Earl. “How do you know it was him? No one knows who he is—I didn’t even know he was a he.” Then it clicked. I turned to Daisy. “Oh, right. You work at the paper, too, don’t you? Sorry, Earl has mentioned that.”
She nodded, smiling warmly. “I can’t believe you like his column.”
I tilted my head at her in question.
“It tends to be…very fae,” she said carefully.
“Ah.” Earl must have told her I was half-fae. “I think that’s the interesting part.” I pointed at my boots. “He has good recommendations even outside of snobby fae standards. These boots were in the column a few months ago. They’re human-made and amazing for walking around the city.”
Daisy raised a brow. “I can’t say I’ve read all his stuff, but he doesn’t act like he cares for anything he considers below fae standards.”
I could admit I got that impression, too. Maybe I read his column all wrong. Maybe the human recommendations were charity pieces. His magic had seemed…different, but that didn’t mean anything! This was why you should never meet your heroes.
Before I could spiral too far, Seraphina cut in. “You should ask him to recommend the inn.”
My head snapped to her. “What?”
Seraphina wiped the counter. “Even I know ‘The Benefits of Magic’ is huge. He could help you,” she said, her voice low. “With the inn.”
When I’d returned from Cliff House, Seraphina and I had only chatted briefly, and despite being concerned about Darius’s offer and motives, she hadn’t questioned my decision to accept it. The beauty of working for my friend was that she knew what the opportunity to save Cliff House meant to me and wouldn’t dream of standing in my way. I’d still help here when I could. Leaving her high and dry was the last thing I wanted.
“I know you have your own list of things to do to drive customers to the inn. You’ve been dreaming of running that place as long as I’ve known you.” She probably knew my list aswell as I did at this point. I glanced at the barstools, where, when things were slow like usual, we’d sit and talk about our dreams and goals. She tracked my glance and must have understood its meaning. “I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t mention that having Cliff House featured in the column would be a huge help. It might be worth swallowing your pride and asking.”
I sucked in a breath. She was right, and I hadn’t even reached that conclusion yet. “It’s not about pride,” I said, only half sure of my comment. “He thinks I hate him and all old fae.” I’d tried to explain. I couldn’t tell if he’d heard me; he’d looked so…distracted.
Daisy lifted her drink. “Don’t worry, he wouldn’t have helped you anyway.” Her voice turned prim, like she was trying to mock his. “He doesn’t take suggestions for recommendations.”
That did not surprise me.
“What’s his name?” I asked.
Daisy bit her lip like she wasn’t sure she should tell me. Like she didn’t want to support my madness. Earl elbowed her, and she sighed. “Vincent. His name is Vincent Andiveron.”
“You didn’t see him back there with Luna,” Seraphina said as if to make Daisy feel better about sharing. “He couldn’t keep his eyes off her, even when she jumped in the moat like a lunatic.”
Instead of letting Daisy defend her position, I cut back in. “You were watching?” I asked, mock-offended.
Jumping in the water was what I did when I needed grounding. It had been that way since I was a child.
Seraphina shrugged. “I wanted to make sure everything was alright.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You did throw a drink at him.”
I opened my mouth to argue, then gave up. No one believed me.
“Then I heard you mention Darius,” she said quietly. “I can’t remember the last time you told anyone about him. Let alone another old fae.”
I stared at her. Her words had been intentional. In the strictest sense of the word, I was old fae, too, even if everything about me rebelled from the label. “Low blow,” I said.
Her lip twitched. “You needed to hear it.”
Earl and Daisy pretended to sip their drinks while Seraphina shook out all my dirty laundry.
