Page 25 of Death and Donuts

He nodded. “Just tell Griz or Gator what you want before the end of the night. I’ll let them know it’s approved.”

Standing, I was about to go to the employee room when Shepard stopped me.

“Have you decided where you would like to go on our date?” he asked.

I thought for a moment. Since I was on the fence about the date, I could turn this into a working date. “What if we try a place with a wide selection of desserts? We could see if any would work with our menu.”

“Okay. I know a place. What time will you be free?”

“Is noon tomorrow okay?”

“It’s a date.”

My heart fluttered, and my stomach dipped. If I had to keep dealing with these men, I’d be admitted to the hospital soon. Why did they both have to be so nice, responsible, and gorgeous? Those qualities were a love trifecta for me.

I fled the office so I could breathe again and found Vena in the employee room. She was focused on her phone, and a second later, I got an incoming message.

“What are you up to?” I asked, allowing my annoyance with her to fizzle out like it always did.

“Just asking for an update from Miles. I included you in the message. We should have heard from him by now, right?”

“Maybe. But if you were there, you’d be too busy looking at everything to pay attention to your phone, right? You saw the pictures. I bet you could explore the inside of the mountain for a year and not see everything. Your family is probably having the time of their lives.”

“I just can’t imagine the dwarves giving them too much freedom until they figure out what happened to the prince. Have you heard anything on the news?”

“We’ve been together the entire time. When have I watched the news?”

Before she could respond, Shepard and Anchor walked into the room. Anchor stood on the opposite side of the room from Vena and cast occasional glances her way.

“Assignments for tonight are as follows. Everly is on VIP, Pam upper left, Adrian lower left, Thomas lower right, and Vena upper right.”

I winced. She’d be in the same section as Anchor. If she was trying to avoid him…

“Can Pam and I switch, please?” Vena asked. “I’m having some issues and want to be closer to the bathroom.”

“Sure,” Shepard said slowly. “Do you mind, Pam?”

“Not at all,” she said.

Anchor’s shoulders dropped as he walked out of the room, and Vena avoided my gaze as she stood to leave. I watched her walk out and felt a thread of worry.

“Will she be all right for her shift?” Shepard asked quietly.

“She’ll be fine.”

Leaving the employee room, I prepped my station and got ready for a busy Saturday night. Though we were missing our dwarven regulars on the main floor, the fae maintained their presence in the VIP lounge in spades. Their natural appeal tugged at my senses, wearing me down as the hours ticked away.

“You look tired, my beauty,” one of them commented as I delivered another round of drinks.

“Are you hinting I need to touch up my makeup?” I asked with a teasing smile.

He grinned at me. “I’m hinting that you should sit with us for a moment.”

“Better not. I’d bore you in seconds.”

“Now, that’s impossible.” His gaze drifted over me in an appreciative way that didn’t feel creepy but more adoring. And that was the danger with fae; they could draw you in with a glance.

“Entirely possible. Do you know what I really want to ask you?” I asked, leaning toward him.

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