Page 18 of The Incubus's Angel
“Ren.” I step forward and place one hand on his chest, halting his movement. His gaze zeros in on my hand, and underneath my palm, his heart kicks into a strong gallop. “We’re not going to pretend this didn’t happen. We can talk about it and put things in place so it doesn’t happen again. Let’s decide on a time that is okay for me to come over. So I know for next time. Despite how it looks, I’m fairly punctual. Usually. I’m actually fairly early most of the time. I don’t like to have you worried for no reason, and this is an easy fix.”
“Okay.” Slowly, as if he’s unsure of the movement himself, Ren places his hand on top of mine resting on his chest, and gives it a gentle squeeze. Some weird butterflies take flight in my stomach, bumping into each other as they basically cause a riot while I stare into his soft golden eyes.
One side of Ren’s mouth pulls into a shy grin. “How’s eleven? Too early?”
“I can do earlier, as long as I’m promised a nap later,” I say, throwing out some bait and wondering if he’ll catch it.
Ren’s shoulders relax and his tail gives a small swish behind him. “You’re welcome to nap here. It’s nice to have you around.” Ten points to Ren. He caught the bait and delivered.
I beam up at him. “Good, because I like being around you too.”
For a quick second, Ren’s gaze dips to my mouth and I have this strong sensation to reach up onto my tiptoes and press my lips to his. But before I do something silly like that, Ren lets go of my hand still on his chest, then pushes the door wider behind him and lets me in.
We settle into the same rhythm we had last time—with me humming away while I bake, pretending not to peek over at Ren every so often, and him working happily at his computer. A few times it’s as if I can feel the weight of his gaze on me, as if he, too, is stealing glances.
Too many times in my life I’ve developed romantic feelings for someone, but very rarely have they been returned with an equal amount of interest. Ren is quickly becoming a dear friend to me and I don’t want to misread any of his signals and make things awkward between us. I told him friendship, andfriendship is where it’ll stay. Any possible romantic notions can go ahead and fuck right off.
When today’s tangerine cake is safely in the oven, I call over to Ren, “Would you like some coffee?”
“Yes, please. Let me help you.”
Ren busies himself with our drinks and I tidy the kitchen table like we’re living some domestic dream—in a nonromantic sense, of course.
While he waits for the coffee to brew, Ren asks, “What’s today’s cake?”
“Scared you won’t like it?” I tease, adding a wink for good measure.
Ren shakes his head at me, but his smile is indulgent. “It’s impossible not to like anything you make.”
“My goodness, Ren,” I say, fanning at the heat blooming on my cheeks. “You’ve got to be careful with those generous compliments, or else I’ll think you’re flirting with me.” I know he’s joking, kind of, but if he keeps up with those types of comments I won’t have a choice but to fall in love with him.
Ren switches tactics as he brings our coffee to the table. “I heard Annamae was in Cape Easton yesterday. Is everything okay?”
I add a pinch of ground cinnamon to my coffee, then offer Ren some. He hesitates for a moment then pushes his cup closer. I reward him with a nod of approval and sprinkle some in his cup too, stirring it in before letting him take a sip. His eyes widen appreciatively and he grins at me, making my stomach clench for some reason.
I ignore the weird sensation, and finally answer his question, “All’s good, yeah. Uncle Richard went with her, and Doc Calla. They made it a proper day out in the city. Aunt Annamae said her arm is healing well but she still needs to take care. She has one final checkup left before she’ll be cleared to go back to her normal baking. She’s been resting a lot and spending time out in the forest on the western side of the island. According to her, dryads need to be out in nature to heal, but Uncle Richard has been such a worrywart since the incident that he likes to go with her. Which is totally fair. I’d be too if it had happened to my spouse. But that just means I get to spend more time in The Flowering Teapot by myself. And that’s fun. Very different from how work was in Cape Easton.”
“I’m glad she’s recovering well. We were all so worried. What kind of job did you have before coming to Starry Hill?” Something in my chest expands at the level of care and all the hidden worries Ren carries with him. There’s so much more to him than his pretty horns and shy smile.
I take another sip of my coffee, stalling as I gather my thoughts before I tell him just how wonderful I think he is. “Nothing fancy. I was working in a bakery in Cape Easton as a cake decorator. I’ve always wanted to help the bakery develop new recipes, but the owner was very adamant about sticking to the exact instructions and measurements she had decided on. I experimented with my own bakes in my free time at home. Thankfully, Aunt Annamae and Uncle Richard have been very encouraging about me trying new recipes and flavor combinations at the café. I’ve been very lucky with them.”
Ren’s head tilts to the side and his mouth pulls down in a line of dissatisfaction. “I’m sorry that your old bakery wasn’t smart enough to give you the opportunities to develop your skills. I think they’re missing out. Will you go back there when you’re done at The Flowering Teapot?”
Now that’s a question I’ve avoided thinking about.
I shrug good-naturedly, then get up from my seat to check on the cake. Speaking over my shoulder, I explain, “I’m not sure. I had to resign from the bakery to come to Starry Hill. So once I’m not useful here anymore, I’ll have to go job hunting again. My oldest brother owns a few properties in the city and I’m renting from him, so at least I don’t have to worry about my rent there. He said he’ll take care of it so I can come and help our uncle and aunt here.”
“That’s nice of him. I’m glad there’s one less worry for you.”
I carry the cake over to the table and Ren slides an extra potholder under the pan. “Thank you. I’m sorry I’ve been going on and on about me. Tell me about all that you do. What’s your job?”
Ren doesn’t respond for a while, leaning forward with his eyes closed as he inhales through his nose. “This cake smells amazing. What is it?”
My grin is pure delight. “Thank you! I added some crushed pineapple to the tangerine base to get a bit of a tropical feel with this one. Maybe you’re picking up on that?”
“I can’t wait to taste it.”
“Oh, you’ll have to. For the layers, I’m making coconut pastry cream that I’ll top with some pecans. The cake needs to totally cool down before I can add the coconut cream otherwiseit’ll end in a soggy mess. And don’t think you’re dodging my question by complimenting my cake, sweet Ren. We’re friends, right? That means we need to at the very least know job details about each other. Please?”
