Page 35 of Lost in the Moonlight

“Keep track of the expenses,” he said. “I’ll either give you a cut of the profit, or we can figure out a way where I’m buying wholesale, whichever gives you the biggest percentage.”

Ted banged into the kitchen with his dark hair sticking up at all angles. “A huge crowd just came in. One of my friends said his art teacher took a picture of your dessert thing and was using it in class as an example of the evolution of modern art or something like that. The professor said she’d give extra credit to anyone who came and took a picture with it to prove they’d seen it.”

I shot another amazed smile at Hector, who winked at me before going out front with Ted.

Excited butterflies flitted around inside me as I went and grabbed my things from my locker. I’d just slid back into the kitchen while unwinding my braid when the swinging door opened to reveal Hector’s twinkling eyes.

“There’s actually a line out the door!” he exclaimed. “If you increase my profits by drawing people in, we’ll have to consider a way for you to get a cut of those too.”

I pushed at my cheeks and the smile I couldn’t stop with cool fingertips. “Of course not! It’s your shop.”

Ted’s panicked voice called out for Hector, and he chuckled. “We’ll discuss it later.”

“Want help out front?” I hollered after him.

“No. Go home. Bake me some mini desserts to sell.”

It was habit and happy distraction that had me stepping into the alley without thought. I barely held back a yelp as a body stepped toward me before I realized it was Lincoln. He moved from the shadow of the building into the sun, and the raysturned his brown strands into a kaleidoscope of dark hues while those cobalt eyes all but leaped out at me.

I beamed up at him for a second before the reminder of why he was there hit home. I’d swept away the glass from the alley and replaced the bulb before Hector had shown up. I’d meant to tell him about it, but then we’d gotten caught up in my creation, and I’d truly forgotten. Lincoln would be irritated if he knew I hadn’t said anything, but I’d already talked myself out of worrying about it. And I didn’t have time to get into it with him right now.

I had to get home, get a few hours of sleep, and then borrow Mom’s car to hit up the restaurant supply store for more ingredients. I had samples to make and even more for the following day if they took off. Plus, I had another display piece to create. My mind was already whirling with lists of ingredients, supplies, and ideas.

As I started out of the alley, Lincoln slipped into stride with me. “I startled you, didn’t I? You can’t just walk out blindly. What if I’d been Poco?”

I hadn’t been paying attention, not only because it had been a long time since I’d had to watch my every step but because I’d been lost in the pleasure of my success.

“No one was supposed to be here this afternoon, not even you, remember?”

As we rounded the corner from the alley onto Main Street, a group of students hustled by, joining the queue bursting from the door of the café. My feet faltered, some of the buzz leaving me as I realized we were walking together in the middle of the day where anyone could see us. I shot my eyes both ways, looking not only for Poco but for anyone who seemed interested in Lincoln. When no one seemed to even be paying attention to us, I hurried as fast as I could down the remainder of the block,only breathing easy again once we’d reached the quiet of our street.

Lincoln easily kept up with my frantic pace.

“Do you really think daylight would stop Poco?” Lincoln asked.

“I think the broken light was a fluke and that he was whistling in the cemetery while continuing with whatever nefarious activity he’d been doing last night. I think you and I overreacted.”

After Lincoln had left this morning, it was what I’d convinced myself was the truth. I couldn’t lie and say I hadn’t been triggered by the events of the last two days. It had allowed the trauma of my past, which wasn’t that far behind me, to resurface.But that was all it had been. Circumstances bringing those nightmares out of the shadows. Talking about Roci and Aaron with Mom along with Poco’s ugliness had brought it all back to life.

But the truth was, I was safe in Cherry Bay, and Poco didn’t care enough about me to follow me around.

“If I wasn’t here and Poco approached you, attacked you again, what would you do?” Lincoln demanded as we approached our gate.

When I looked up at him, his face was shadowed with the sun shining fiercely behind him. Instead of the tortured superhero I’d thought him this morning, the halo of light turned him into a dark angel. Azazel rather than Michael. Any of the ones who tempted humanity with their fierce and treacherous beauty.

“I’ve taken some self-defense classes,” I told him.

“Yeah? So, if I was him, and I stepped into your space like this.” His arms and hips brushed against mine as he eliminated the distance between us. “What would you do?”

My body ignited, and my head spun. Not from fear. I didn’t think I could ever fear Lincoln. This was a heady rush of lust. Pure desire.

My hand shook as I slipped the cat-shaped, self-defense key chain hanging off my bag from its hook and slid my fingers through the hard-resin, brass-knuckle-like weapon. Then, with as much force as I dared, I shoved the weapon toward his face, stopping mere millimeters from his eyes.

He jerked his head back, yanking at my wrist and then staring at the key chain with a look of disbelief. “What are you going to do with that cat toy?”

I shoved my hand toward his face without any real force, but enough to make a point. “Don’t dis the cats. They can cause some serious damage to your eyeballs.”

Before I even realized what was happening, Lincoln had crisscrossed my arms across my body and spun me up against the stone wall along our property. His front was tucked up right against my back, and his mouth was bent close to my ear.

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