Page 180 of Bride of Choice

Kooky laughed, grinning from ear to ear. He didn’t smile all that often but when he did it felt like a present.

“Bug treats for the road?” I muttered as casually as I was capable of, but then had to bite the inside of my cheek not two seconds later to stop myself from letting out a witch cackle at the face Kooky made.

Kooky mock shuddered and made an ick sound.

With a sniff, I stuck my tongue out at him.

A squeal of a noise left me when he acted like he was going to grab my tongue. My hands clapped over my mouth and my eyes widened, but I laughed. Nudging him, I muttered, “Turd,” on a laugh.

Realizing we were just standing here in the middle of a bustling market and I was probably keeping him from things he had to do, I quickly bid him happy hunting and parted ways.

“Ey! Jo!” Pop called out.

Dragging my attention from that fine behind as Kooky lumbered off, I glanced over, blanching as Pop held up two thumbs up, as if to congratulate me on a good job, and Mom, nodding along, awkwardly held two thumbs up along with him.

Mortified, feeling like my grandparents were encouraging me to hit that, I quickly tossed them a thumbs up back with a red face and spun around, eager to disappear into a sea of Yeti men.

“Oops. Sorry!” I called out as I bumped into someone.

“Jo? Jo!”

“Jo? Joadnee?” Odix’s head snapped in my direction as Gopher called out a greeting, sounding super happy to see me.

“Wow. It’s like everyone is here,” I muttered, wriggling, elbowing, and excusing myself as firmly as needed out of this shopping mosh pit.

Odix growled as I cursed and ducked an elbow, shoving his way forward. Gopher, pressing in alongside him, formed a protective barrier around me.

Popping clean out onto the other side of that mess, I fanned myself. “Was it just me or did it get warm in there? It was like hanging around stoves with limbs!”

“Hot,” Odix agreed.

“Big. Many.” Gopher gestured at the crowd.

“Are- Are you guys going on the hunt coming up? Is that why you’re here?” I asked, motioning at the stampede waiting to happen we’d just escaped from.

They nodded in unison.

I’d admit to a pinch of green jelly, even as much as I was happy that Gopher had found a new buddy. I couldn’t help but grumble in my head that he’d been my market buddy, once upon a time. It made me a little sad.

“Looking for anything in particular?” I asked as my gaze unerringly searched out Kooky.

The male stood out. There was something very… commanding, confident, empowering, to him. It made you sit up and take notice. So did, ahem, other attributes.

Catching myself watching his ass once more, I quickly glanced away.

“What Jo look for?” The humor lightening Gopher’s voice had my cheeks pinkening but I remained otherwise straight faced as I glanced at him, resting-bitch-face-mode in full swing.

Staring at him dead on as if I hadn’t the faintest what he was smirk-smiling about, I shrugged. “Needed more sewing needles. What are you two in search of? Best friends forever tattoos? Rope and a fun wig? A big fat candle made for dripping wax? A human without a big mouth? C’mon, Gogo boots, cake-baby, what’s the dealio?”

Gopher shook his head at me, chuckling, but it was cut short as he spotted something at a stall and reached out to tap Odix and point.

Odix made an ah-hah! noise and turned to stalk off towards the seller, my cake-baby comment lost on him. Spinning back around to find us turning back to each other to heckle some more, Odix grunted, waiting for me to pay attention to grumble, “Odix go.”

“Okay. Have fun.” My hand lifted in a little wave and I would have gotten right back to the smack talk at hand but Gopher cleared his throat loudly and jerked his chin in the retreating Lo denaii’s direction.

Turning my head, my brain was having trouble processing watching this big bad beast of a male with an ass I could bounce a quarter off of sticking his butt out and practically duck waddling away from me.

“What the hell is he doing?” I whispered to Gopher, who was grinning, eyes dancing, more than a bit amused by his new market buddy’s ridiculousness. “Odix want Jo watch him walk ‘way, too,” he surmised through choking laughter.

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