Page 18 of Bright Dark Curses

Preston gave me one of his dentist-approved eye-blinding smiles. “Surely, you can spare a bit of time for an old friend?”

I wished my customer a good evening, then waited for the door to close behind her before pointing at Preston. “We aren’t friends, and I only met you four weeks ago.”

He took a seat at the counter, as comfortable as a frog on a puddle. “It’s not the time, it’s the quality.”

It was amazing how he made the saying sound like a threat rather than an encouraging adage. I moved around the counter and flipped the open sign to closed.

Once I was back behind the counter, I planted my hands on the wooden surface and pinned him with a hard stare. “What do you want, Preston?”

He glanced at the daily specials blackboard on top of the shelf, then scrunched his nose. “I’ll take a coffee, thanks.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I snapped.

And turned to pour him a mug of coffee.

It couldn’t be helped. Once a barista, always a barista.

“Here’s your coffee,” I said primly, placing the mug in front of him. The one with a small crack that looked about forty years old I reserved for unwanted visitors. “Why are you here?”

“Just visiting. Our shops are to be neighbors after all, aren’t they?”

“You’re opening in the city center. It’s like thirty minutes away by car.”

He lifted the mug in salute and sipped. “This is excellent.”

Of course it was. “Thank you.”

A low growl came from the bead curtain. Apparently, Rufus was done with the backyard and had come to investigate the inside.

Preston frowned at the interruption. “What’s that?”

I gave him my blandest smile. “A dog.”

He rolled his eyes. “Is he trained?”

“To slay my enemies? Yes.”

Preston grew suddenly serious. “I’m not your enemy.”

I shrugged. “You know what they say… The enemies of my friends are my enemies.”

“That’s not how the saying goes.”

“You wouldn’t know. It’s girl code.” I went to Rufus and scratched his ears. “Rufus, this is Preston. We don’t like him very much, but we also shouldn’t eat him.” I sent Preston a meaningful glance. “Yet.”

Rufus let out a doggy huff, then returned to the back door. I could see Fluffy sniffing the center metal fire pit through the opening.

“I didn’t know you had a dog,” Preston said.

“It’s not mine.”

“Who gave Dru the money to buy the restaurant next door?”

Ahh. So that was it. I smiled slyly. “Why, are you mad she got such a good location and you didn’t?”

He put the mug down. “It’s not as good as the Corner Rose.”

“It’s okay to lose sometimes,” I said, injecting as much pity and condescension in my tone as humanly possible. “That’s life.”

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