Page 8 of The Incubus's Angel
All this while the angel,Maisie, patiently waits for me to say something.
“Hi,” I finally manage, my voice all croaky. I clear my throat and hope I don’t look as panicky as I feel. “Hi,” I repeat and scrunch up my nose.You already said that, you fool. Try something more eloquent.“I’m Ren,” I manage, the words coming out haltingly like even my name is a question.
Maisie’s smile grows even bigger and it’s like she’s smiling with her whole body—a feat I never thought possible, until now. Something calms within me, knowing I haven’t totally fucked it up and that she isn’t looking at me with disgust.
Gesturing to the picnic basket in her hand, Maisie says cheerfully, “Well, it’s really nice to meet you, Ren. I saw you at the ceremony this morning but you disappeared before I could say hi. I brought you some leftover cake.”
“You brought me cake?”
“If you’d like some. Actually…” Maisie’s voice trails off and the prettiest pink blooms across her cheeks. She nibbles on her bottom lip and I have this intense desire to lean forward and free it from the abuse. So instead of doing something completely crazy like that, I ball my hands into fists and incline my head toward her, silently encouraging her to continue.
Maisie wrings the handle of the picnic basket she’s holding in what I recognize as a nervous gesture, her chin dipping like she’s bracing herself to tell me something terrible.
I want to reach out and tilt her face up. I want to wrap her in my arms and tell her everything will be okay and she never has to worry again.
The strong feelings catch me off guard, never before have I wanted to connect with someone like I do with Maisie.
I blink away my surprise, push down all these new emotions she’s stirring up in me, and hold myself absolutely still, watching Maisie as she wars with herself, giving her the time and space she needs.
“I, uhm,” she finally starts. “I have to confess something.”Oh shit. Please don’t tell me about what you got up to on the picnic blanket because then I’d have to confess what I did too.“So, I didn’t know these wereyourtangerine trees. And I’ve kind of been picking some for myself. And for The Flowering Teapot, where I work. The tangerines were so good that they inspired a bunch of recipes, and then I picked more because the ideas kept coming, and I made Tilly and Bodin’s ceremony cake with puree from your tangerines and I wanted to say sorry for stealing from you and I hope you forgive me. Or I can pay you back. Or I can bake you stuff to say sorry. Whatever punishment you think I deserve, please tell me. I can take it. But here’s a slice of ceremony cake and other goodies I put together because it looked like you left the ceremony before eating and I didn’t want you to miss out on anything.”
Every rambling word out of her mouth makes the corners of my mouth twitch up more and more until I’m trying my damndest to suppress my smile. Unable to hold back any longer, I let my face break into my first full grin in a long time.
How can someone this beautiful be this kind too?The urge to wrap her in a hug gets stronger by the second. So is the desire to press my lips against hers. But those are crazy thoughts that’ll never come to fruition. I mean, I thought she was here to tell me off for watching her earlier, but I’m getting an apology instead. That doesn’t seem fair.
Oh no, I’ve been silent too long and just staring at her with this goofy smile on my face. Say something, you fool.
I rock on my heels as I find my words. “That’s okay. Uhm, I mean, the tangerines kind of belong to the island. I just happen to live close to them. Feel free to take as many as you want.” I gesture in the general direction of outside where I’m surrounded by the green-and-orange trees. Not quite sure what to do with my hand now, I scratch the back of my head as I wait for her reply.
Clearly relieved, Maisie beams up at me, making me feel ten feet tall to be on the receiving end of such a genuine smile. “Thank you. Do you want to try the cake?”
“Yeah.”Of course. If you made it, I’d eat it,I silently add.
Maisie’s grin grows impossibly wider, clearly pleased with my answer.
Surprised at the words perched on the tip of my tongue, I don’t allow myself to hesitate too long before I let them soar, “Come in.” It sounds like a question, but if Maisie notices that, she doesn’t let on as she steps into my cottage.
It’s not often I have visitors stopping by, even rarer that they come inside, but somehownotinviting Maisie in isn’t an option.
I suspect neither I nor my cottage will ever be the same again.
Chapter 5
Maisie
Stepping past Ren’s turquoise door and into his home is like entering a different world. It’s dark inside, but everything’s clean and tidy—a stark contrast to the wild daisies and tangerine trees surrounding the whitewashed stone cottage.
Artificial light to my right draws my attention, and I steal a quick peek as I enter the cozy yet bare home. Against one wall in the room adjacent to the living area is a large desk with a fancy-looking computer and two screens. Lines of intricate code run across one screen, and a pretty graphic takes up the other.
I ignore all of that for now, not wanting to pry right off the bat, and head straight for the kitchen.
Plopping the basket down on the table, I pause to look at Ren hovering by the doorway. I’m not quite sure what kind of creature he is, and I’ve learned enough from Aunt Annamae not to ask directly, but what I can confirm is he’s a certified hunk.
I thought Ren was handsome before when I saw him at the ceremony, but up close he’s even more attractive. His face is perfectly symmetrical, his golden-brown eyes are kind and gentle, and his smooth skin reminds me of moist red velvet cake I just want to sink my teeth into.Now don’t go getting any thoughts about cream cheese frosting, Maisie!
When Ren smiled at me earlier, I swear I almost combusted on the spot. The grin started by pulling on one side of his mouth, and slowly his face transformed until he looked damn near magnificent. He literally gave me heart palpitations with that thing and it kept my babbling going on for way too long. I didn’t want that smile to end. I have no idea what I ended up saying even if it was less than five minutes ago.
Did I make some weird reference to punishment and that I can “take it?” I mean, I’m not wrong, but also… awkward.
