Page 7 of Death and Donuts

“I asked Miles to send me a list of favorite foods by creature. For a fast turnaround time, I reminded him I ate dick cake.”

She snorted a laugh. “I remember the horror on your face when you told me.”

When I narrowed my eyes at her, her laughter died. “It was a horrible thing my brother did.” She added, “He’s a monster.”

I rolled my eyes at her.

“I’m surprised he agreed to a fast turnaround, though,” Vena said. “He talked Mom and Dad into taking him with them to Dwarf Mountain for their negotiations. I bet he has a list of questions he plans on asking.”

“Is that today? Should I tell him I can wait? It’s not like I need this information right now.”

She shrugged. “It will keep him busy if he finds downtime. And he’ll be in the perfect place to learn more about dwarven foods.”

Nodding, I refocused on my notebook. I had a decent start, but I’d need to refine my list once I got the information from Miles.

“We’re going to be late if you fall down that rabbit hole,” Vena said, moving toward her room.

Knowing she was right, I closed my notebook and went to my room.

“Once Cross opens his place,” Vena said from her room, “we’ll be able to quit Blur. We might even be able to quit sooner. It’ll take a lot of work to get the books shelved and the kitchen stocked and ready.”

“Did you not listen to a thing I said to Cross?” I asked.

She hopped from her room, one leg in her slim black pants and the other out. “I heard you make excuses, Ev. But this is our chance to do something we’ve planned on doing since we decided on our college degrees. Cross just handed us our dream. Even Shepard would understand why you would choose Cross’ plan over Blur.”

She pulled up her pants and slung an arm around my shoulders. “Life is about taking chances when they become available. This is our chance.”

“I never said I wasn’t in, Vena. I’m just not going to quit Blur. Not yet. Do you really want to leave Anchor defenseless against all those women and men who look like they want to eat him?”

“You found my weak spot,” she said with a frown that turned into a smirk. “Which is why I’m going to claim him as my own. Is there a wolf mating ritual that I need to do? Like, do I howl while riding him outside under a full moon? I heard something about biting. Do I bite him, or does he bite me? And I’m very curious about this knotting thing they discussed onThe Other House.”

“Get dressed and drop your hormones down ten notches before Tank needs therapy. All I’m saying about the business plan is that we should take it one day at a time and see what happens. We don’t even know if the other races will allow a vampire to run a business. Until we know, we have to work to pay bills.”

It was safer to stay the course we’d already set. At least for now. However, Vena hated delayed gratification. It was torturefor her. So, I wasn’t surprised that she wanted to jump into Cross’ business idea with both feet.

I steered her to her bedroom with a stern order to finish getting ready and went to do the same. After changing into a white button-down shirt, black tie, and black pencil skirt, I pulled my blonde hair into a ponytail and twisted it around my finger to adjust its natural wavy curl.

On our way to Blur, Vena attempted to launch into another long list of pros for Cross’ bakery and bookshop endeavor, but I sidetracked her.

“How do your parents feel about the upcoming meeting? Do they think the dwarves will buy the map they found during their last dig?”

“Mom seemed pretty optimistic. Having dinner with the royal family is a good sign.”

“You don’t think so?”

She shrugged and looked out her window.

“What’s going on in that deviant brain of yours?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“You sit on a throne of lies. The Vena that I know should have been begging to go along too. I mean, gloomy spaces filled with treasure are your thing.”

“They are. But Mom and Dad could only bring one guest, and I think Miles earned it, don’t you? Besides, I promised Shepard I wouldn’t leave him high and dry, especially when Sierra isn’t quite back up to working yet.”

“Wow. That’s very responsible of you, Vena.”

She flashed me a smug smile.

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