Page 12 of Falling for Famine
I patted my cheeks and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, Ghost.” I smiled at him and re-shouldered my purse. “He’ll be at Dolci Caldi, the bakery café he owns, so we’ll go there.”
I stared at him as he went to the door. He was impossibly tall and made my apartment seem tiny by comparison. The cute wisps fluttered around him in happy glee, bouncing along his shoulders and head. Unlike me, they didn’t leave him dripping. Guess he had supernatural guards against moisture.
I made my way to his side, peering up at him and nearly laughing when Ignis took a dive off his head to land on mine. “You know, you don’t need to hide or anything. It’d be nice to introduce you. Felix won’t ever know it, of course, but I’d like him to meet the guy who decided not to kill me and protect me instead.”
Yeah, no, that was weirder after hearing myself say it.
His expression was unreadable again, but I picked out some surprise in it. “I prefer not to be visible to mortals. I make them uncomfortable.”
From being so hot? I mean, his looks were staggering, but most would think he was wearing contacts and dyed his hair. Or that he was a cosplayer. Though, I guess it’d be obnoxious having everyone stare at you. I’d been doing an awful lot of staring since meeting him.
“Oh, of course,” I said, trying not to sound disappointed. “That makes sense.”
He didn’t say anything else, so I left again, intent on giving Felix an obnoxiously long hug when I saw him.
Chapter Six
Nomi
“Nomi!” Clara beamed and walked around the counter to give me a hug. “I thought you were supposed to be off today? I was told by Felix, and I quote, ‘If you see her, kickher ass out the door’.” Her sneaky grin brought out mine. “He’s worried about you.”
Emotion was in my throat. “I know. I just came to steal some treats and annoy him.”
She nodded, her curly blonde hair tied neatly into a bun. She was my all-time favorite college kid he’d hired to work part-time. “In that case, he’s in the back. I look forward to all the growling and snarling.” Her voice dropped, hand covering her mouth. “Steal me one of the chocolate croissants. He wouldn’t let me touch them this morning.”
I saluted her before wrapping her in another hug. “And if I die while trying to obtain this sacred sweet, scatter my ashes across the nearby creek, where the wildlife will embrace me as one of them.”
Her tinkling laughter was smothered into my boobs because Clara was tiny and her face never seemed to evade them. “Sure thing.”
I stole a glance over my shoulder to where Ghost was.
His white hair caught the sunlight and glowed. His hands were tucked away in his pockets, and he’d taken to the corner. The guy had a thing for corners and narrow spaces. But then again, it was a fitting vibe for him as he leaned against the wall and cast his penetrative gaze my way.
He'd been tracking every move I made. If I hadn’t known he was worried about some random demon or angel killing me, I might’ve been flattered.
But it was exactly as he said: he was invisible to everyone.
No one noticed the guy in the corner. I might’ve not believed it if there wasn’t a particularly feral pair of teens sitting only a table away from him. No doubt they’d be sneaking glances and giggling if they’d caught sight of him. But they were well into their conversation and apple fritters without one glance his direction.
The day before, I’d been plain old Nomi who was desperate to author her own book and enjoy the quiet happiness I’d been given thanks to Felix.
But today…
It seemed surreal that I’d strolled right into a new existence without even knowing it, exactly like the main characters I read about. I didn’t feel particularly heroic, but maybe I was meant for greater things if it was my soul that supposedly held the power to start or stop the apocalypse.
Hope this is a spicy story.
I stared at Ghost’s chest, remembering the feel of it under my hands. Would he randomly lose his shirt in a fight or come strolling out of the shower without one? That’d be a great way to get an eyeful of his six pack.
A girl needed something to live for.
Clara patted my back. “Uh, Nomi. I’m being smothered to death over here.”
I released her, forgetting that my boobs had a tendency to do that to the poor woman. “Sorry about that. I’ll just sneak into the back. What’s he in the middle of making?”
“I think cinnamon rolls,” she mused, tapping her mouth. A few customers wandered in, and she smiled to greet them before whispering under her breath, “Steal me one of those too, if he’s done.”
I gawked at her. “And lose my head as it surely sits on my shoulders, my dear woman? No, thanks.”
