Page 35 of Fangs and Fudge

“It’s the shiniest one I have,” I said.

The fairy darted at me, stole the dime, and disappeared into Miles’ cupboard.

“Is it a pet now?” Vena asked.

“You don’t want a fairy as a pet,” Boulder said. “I promise you nothing good will happen.”

Miles just grinned and shrugged. “At least, I won’t be bored.”

We chatted with Miles and Boulder as we waited for the meet-up with Cross. But Vena kept sneaking glances at the time as if she was actually impatient to see Cross.

After checking the time again, Vena glanced at Miles, who had lured the fairy out of the cupboard with a paperclip.

“Everly and I are going to head out,” Vena said to Miles. “We have errands to run before our shift tonight. Make sure you keep sending me those proof of life photos. And that fairy better not be in them. You are not allowed to keep one as a pet, or I’ll tell Mom and Dad when they get back.”

Miles frowned at her but then smiled at the fairy. “Chompers can come and go as he pleases. He’s not a pet.”

“Chompers?” she asked.

“If you hold onto one of his treasures too long, he’ll bite. But then he’s nice again. He even has his own treasure hoard here.”

“It’s too late,” Vena muttered. “He’s already a pet owner.”

“We’ll revisit this pet problem once he’s back to researching like normal,” I whispered.

I waved to Boulder and Miles and pulled Vena with me out the door, knowing we couldn’t do anything to stop Miles’ friendship right now. As soon as it closed behind us, she zipped over to the car.

“Can you GPS the bakery?” I asked as I texted Cross we were on the way.

“On it,” she said.

By the time I pulled from the curb, she had the coordinates set. Whether from hunger or the fact that my mind needed a break from vampires and the problems they caused, I was already dreaming about the delicious food I would discover at the bakery.

It wasn’t until we arrived that I realized Vena had been oddly quiet in her own world. The thinky look in her eyes worried me.

“Are you okay?” I asked when I parked.

“Fine.” She pointed outside the window. “Cross is here.”

She had her seatbelt unbuckled and had traversed the parking lot before I even got out of the car.

Dressed impeccably in a new suit, Cross eyed her approach as if she were a rabid dog and veered around her to meet me halfway. It was hard not to stare at him. The blue of his jacket really set off the red in his hair.

“I’ll grab a table,” she called.

Cross eyed her and then me. “Do I want to ask?”

“She read books about vampires and probably has a few questions for you.”

“Then I’m not worried.”

With a light touch on my lower back, he guided me into the bakery. The warm scents of sugar and cinnamon wrapped around me. I inhaled deeply, finding my happy place.

Vena sat at a table near the window. She waved us over. I gave her the hang-on-one-minute finger, grabbed Cross’ hand, and led him to the bakery cases that lined the back portion of the space.

The number of options awed me. Elephant ears larger than my head. Texas donuts, which looked like super-sized, frosted cake donuts. Large squares of various tortes. Slices of pies. Large cookies.

There were so many selections that I wasn’t sure where to look first.

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