Page 167 of The Sinner's Bargain

“A karaoke machine,” Ivelle said again like maybe I didn’t hear her. “You sing in it.”

I glanced sideways at Cyrus who was watching Ivelle with a deep frown.

“That’s a terrible idea,” he said at last.

Ivelle blinked. “No, it’s not. It’s brilliant. People like making fools of themselves. We can have an open mic night every Friday—”

“And listen to the same Taylor Swift song on repeat for the rest of the night,” Cyrus cut in. “Bad idea.”

Ivelle gasped loudly, hand flying to her chest. “How. Dare. You. I will not allow you to besmirch Taylor Swift’s glorious name. Get out of my ... her store. You’re banned. I have that power now as manager.”

Cyrus didn’t move, but there was amusement in the slight tilt of his lips. “Wait until you hear, never, ever, ever a million times.”

I put a hand up to silence them. “What’s happening? Who’s Taylor Swift?”

“Just the world’s greatest—”

“Debatable,” Cyrus cut in and was ignored.

“Artist, musician and songwriter of all times,” Ivelle carried on, unfazed.

“You forgot actress.”

Ivelle narrowed her eyes. “Interesting that you would know that.”

“I don’t live under a rock.”

I took a deep breath. “Will this karaoke idea make other people fight like this?”

“Yes.”

“No!”

The two snapped in unison.

I was too tired for this conversation.

“We’ll discuss it tomorrow,” I decided, pushing to my feet. “It’s almost dinner time and I miss Thoran.”

We said our goodbyes and locked up the shop. Ivelle waved as she hurried in the opposite direction. I watched her a moment before looking up at Cyrus.

“Should we walk with her? Make sure she gets home safely?”

He glanced over to where Ivelle had stopped to talk to a couple sitting under a tree and shrugged. “We can, but nothing will happen to her. This place is protected. Causing anyone harm within the borders is immediately dealt with by Mr. Lacroix and it’s never pretty.”

Feeling a little more relieved, I let him lead us towards home. He unlocked the gate and we passed through.

“Thank you for helping today,” I said as we followed the path to the house. “I’m beginning to wonder if Ivelle needs more help. Like another person. She says she’s fine, but...”

“I would let her decide. She’s been running that place a long time and knows it better than anyone else. She will know when she needs help.”

He was right. Ivelle knew what she was doing, and I was still learning.

“I should give her another raise,” I decided anxiously. “She honestly does way too much for what she’s getting.”

Cyrus shrugged. “If you like.”

I did. I made a mental note to ask Thoran more about it after dinner during our evening walk.

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