“Oh.” I tilted my head slightly as if in thought, pretending to care. “I prefer second-hand stores or even antique shops. However, I think I’ll let,” I flicked my eyes to the quiet Prodigy Vampire, “Aria decide, since I’m sure her tastes will better suit everyone here.”
“Thank you,” she replied instantly, her eyes running over my features. When her attention finally altered to King Collins and King Zeller, her eyes sparkled with genuine happiness. “I’d love to visit one of those glassblowing stores we saw on our way here. Or even the fudge maker’s shop. The smell coming from there was marvelous.”
A flash of blazing green hair in my far peripheral vision caught my eye.
I instantly cleared my throat and pulled the white peace around me, my composure that had been absent most of the morning, while I took a few hurried bites of my food. I was satisfied my breakfast looked well-eaten since half of it was squashed under a waffle. I rested back on my chair, taking a large drink of my water just as Sin walked up to our table.
He ran a hand through his still wet hair, murmuring unobtrusively to the table’s occupants, “Sorry I’m late.” He rested his hands gently on my relaxed shoulders, bending to kiss my cheek before taking the seat next to me—the one I had saved for him. The light conversation started again after the polite pause for his arrival.
I tilted my head at the plate in front of him. “I ordered your normal.” Placing my glass on the table, I wagged my eyebrows at him and stated in made-up humor, “We’re going shopping, so you won’t be able to make fun of me today for face-planting.” I popped a grape into my mouth from my plate, which almost made me choke as I swallowed it, feeling like the size of an orange. I asked behind a fist, “What’s my tally up to now?”
Sin’s lips quirked as he placed his napkin on his lap. “I didn’t see you most of yesterday but from what I did, you definitely hit the four-digit mark.” To anyone who didn’t know him, his smile would look real.
My eyes widened. “Wonderful. My goal in life is accomplished.” I flicked a finger at him. “That is impressive since I haven’t broken a bone in all this time.”
“Certainly impressive.” His gaze darted to my plate before he turned his attention to his own cooling food. He spoke with the gentlest whisper. “Eat the rest of your breakfast, love.”
Inhaling shallowly so it wasn’t obvious, I lifted from my stress-free position. I began eating, every wretched bite going down in a grotesque chunk. I didn’t show it. My actions were aloof and natural as they should be.
Just another morning after.
Elder Zeller stepped beside me where I stared—without seeing—at the vast varieties of fudge on one of the shelves. The charming shop smelled of melted chocolate, and the hominess of it all unsettled my stomach. I really wasn’t in the mood for this. He gazed at the choices and asked casually, “Which do you prefer?”
I blinked, and I lifted a finger to the white raspberry fudge. “That one looks interesting.”
He grunted, his dark eyes scanning the selection. “Many look interesting, Ms Jules. But there’s usually one you prefer over the rest.”
I snorted and lowered my hand. In life you never really got what you preferred, whom you wanted. “Never choose just one, Elder Zeller.” It was a devastating truth. “Or you’ll be sadly disappointed one day to find it’s been taken by someone else.”
“Ah,” he murmured slowly. “Now that I completely understand.” He raised his right hand, resting it casually on one of the shelves, and his index finger pointed as he ran it over a few choices. “May I offer some advice?”
I crossed my arms, trying to actually study the selection this time. “I thought I was the one giving advice?”
The Elder chuckled softly, lifting a bar of peanut butter fudge from the shelf while continuing his perusal. He murmured offhandedly, “Perhaps, though it was flawed advice, a practice of fear that I already know well. Now, I would like to offer you the expertise of the experienced.” His finger paused on one choice, but he shook his head and continued. “Will you allow me to do so?”
My eyebrows creased as I re-ran our conversation through my mind, seeing a whole other direction of meaning behind it. I turned my eyes to him, watching carefully. “If you must.”