Page 59 of Ruled By Fate

She hesitated a second, then nodded too fast for it to pass as a natural gesture. “Yes, of course. I understand.”

He returned his attention to the stove, prodding at whatever miserable substance was slowly adhering itself to the pan. She traced circles around the rim of her coffee cup, thinking of Venezuela and wondering how close she might get to its borders without the navigational assistance of her phone.

She pushed abruptly to her feet when the silence reached a breaking point. “I should probably—”

“Such a thing is not permitted.”

She froze dead still as he turned slowly from the oven, staring with wide, luminous eyes as the pan on the stovetop caught fire behind him.

“There are laws where I come from,” he continued quietly. “Heavenly edicts that no one can disobey. Believe me when I tell you there are times that I want to. Believe me when I tell you that my personal feelings on the matter have absolutely no bearing on the way things have to be.”

She lowered her eyes to the floor, feeling like she’d been slapped across the face. A vague part of her understood it was beyond her comprehension. Another part understood it was beyond his control. But neither was a part she would ever allow him to see.

“Of course,” she answered softly. “I was drunk. It didn’t mean anything.”

His eyes tightened, and he took a step closer. “It meant something to—”

The doorbell rang.

Finally, some beneficial cosmic timing.

She silently composed herself as she made her way to the door, pulling it open with her best approximation of a carefree expression. “Hey, good morning.”

“Darling!” Sherry swooped into the room with a tray of coffee to once again supplement the coffee they were already having in lieu of breakfast. “Other darling!” She greeted Cameron with air kisses and a pantomime hug as her hands were full. “He’s been promoted to darling,” she told Brie, handing off a mocha.

Brie took a deep breath, forcing herself past it. “Whatever did he do to deserve such an honor?”

“You mean besides winning the Dartiest Dart Who Ever Darted award at the bar and inflating that poor cook’s ego to roughly the size of Miami for making a series of extremely standard cheeseburgers? Well, I’ll tell you. This little honey of a specimen returned our car this morning before we even woke up, saving myself and Mike a heap of inconvenience.”

Sherry shot Cameron a look of grand appreciation and handed over a latte. “Hence, coffee. The elixir of gratitude. May the heavens ever smile upon you.”

He accepted it. “And also on you.”

Their cups knocked lightly together.

“Cheers,” Sherry said brightly. “Your kitchen is on fire, by the way.”

He turned back to the stove with a muffled gasp, first raising his palms to the flames before realizing that whatever he’d planned to do would not be possible in Sherry’s presence. Instead, he slapped at the fire with the edge of a dish towel.

Brie wandered up beside him, ironically finding this to be the most normal part of her day. “When did you get the cars?”

“Oh, you were asleep,” he admitted, tossing the towel in the sink. She raised an eyebrow, thinking of her own magically returned car, and the two shared a secret grin.

“Let me be the first to say that’s a rather bold apron,” Sherry said conversationally, settling herself down at the counter. “If I’d known you had a penchant for… Brie, is that your phone?”

Cameron blanched and swiftly angled his body in front of the pathetic remains. “I had a bit of a mishap. I intend to take care of it while Brianna is at work.”

Sherry surveyed the damage dubiously. “Good luck with that, cowboy. Unless you have a spot of magic up your sleeve, I’m afraid that phone is dead.”

Brie had focused on a different detail. “So, you’ll be here when I get back?”

He softened. “Yes. I shouldn’t be long.”

Sherry turned, surprised. “Where are you off to?”

“I need to visit my family. We have some important things to discuss.”

Sherry’s intrigue was piqued, but Brie wasn’t ready to field her questions with yet another series of deflections and half-truths. “Sweetie, we really need to get going. If I’m late, I don’t think Denise is above skinning me alive to set an example.”

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