Page 71 of The Magic of Revenge
"Nothing like that has happened. Seeing him with Annie flipped a switch or something in my brain and I feel like I'm staring at him with googly eyes. He probably isn't even interested... That'd be just my luck." She leaned back and groaned. My friend had really had a bad run where men were concerned.
"Well, I gotta be honest. You are staring at him with googly eyes," I laughed and she flipped me off. "But I caught him looking at you like that, too."
"Really?" she gushed and I nodded. "Oh gods, he's your dad. That's so weird. Right? It's totally weird..."
"It'd be weirder if he'd raised me, I can guarantee that," I assured her and we both sighed. "I'm glad you told me though," I admitted. I didn't think Khol would have, or at least... not until he had to. I could tell he was tiptoeing around when it came to our relationship. He'd been trying so hard. I needed to let him off the hook I hadn't even realized he'd put himself on.
"Annie and I have to get going, we're going to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Text me later though, okay? You sure we're good?" Miranda stood and wrapped her arms around me.
"Yeah. We're good, girl. I'm happy for you. It's got to be a relief to have someone magically inclined that can help Annie sort through her powers. She's really special."
Fuck, we needed to get that protection detail on her immediately.
I followed Miranda to the front and Annie was already cleaning up her art stuff. Khol was ringing up a customer at the opposite end of the bar.
"Come on, missy. We gotta get to Nana and Papa's house. It's spaghetti night," Miranda said, helping Annie stuff everything into her backpack.
"Gods, I love spaghetti. Sorry, Saige. We have to go," she exclaimed, hugging me quickly and then heading for the door. I chuckled and walked Miranda to the door. The customer left and Khol focused on the three of us.
"Where are you pretty girls going?" he inquired, lifting a brow.
"Mom and I are going to spaghetti night at Nana and Papa's house. Maybe you can come next time, Scruffy!" Annie smiled and I laughed when he turned white as a ghost. His mouth opened and closed comically.
"What's with Scruffy?" I asked Annie.
"He told me his name was Khol but I think Scruffy suits him better. I mean, look at his face." She tried to be discreet as she darted her eyes in his direction.
"Annie!" Miranda groaned.
"What? I didn't say it was a bad thing," Annie grumbled and Khol chuckled.
"I think it's a pretty good name, honestly. Probably the second best one I've ever been called," he told her conspiratorially.
"What's the best one then?" Annie questioned, her brown eyes sparkling.
"Ah, well, that'd be Dad." Khol winked at her and Miranda squeezed my upper arm. "I'll see you ladies around." With that, he stalked off to the back of the shop. Holy shit. Dad's got game.
"Oh. My. Gods." Miranda practically squealed.
"Get out of here before you embarrass yourself, woman." I held the door open for them just as Annie was asking why her mom would be embarrassed.
"Bye, Saige." Miranda grinned as she skipped out behind Annie.
I went ahead and flipped the sign from open to closed. It was a little early, but... perks of being the owner and all that. Plus, I really needed to talk to Khol about Laurie. It probably wasn't going to be pleasant. Drinks would probably help.
Behind the bar, I grabbed my stash of liquor and set everything down on the counter, including two crystal glasses and two shot glasses. I hadn’t planned on getting lit when I ventured into town but hey, circumstances and all that.
Khol appeared, startling me. He didn't make a sound when he moved and on a creaky ass floor like the one here, that was pretty impressive.
"Drink?" I asked and he nodded.
"I uh, apologize." He cleared his throat and immediately took a swig of the liquor I handed him. Khol looked so sheepish, a slight pink flush on his cheeks.
"What? Why?" I asked, pouring myself a shot of tequila.
"Well, I don't want you to think that I was only wanting to work here because of my attrac—" He blushed again and ran a hand down his face. "Let me start over. I wanted to work here because this is your store. The one that you put your whole heart into and I wanted to see what it was like, maybe learn more about you through this place. See what your customers had to say, stuff like that. I wasn't planning on running into Miranda, or her telling me about Annie."
"It's okay, really. I was shocked at first, but I honestly do think it's great. Annie does need help with her affinity and you literally run a training academy for people like her. You're the perfect guy for the job."
