Page 50 of How Not to Date an Angel

He supposed an angel didn’t have to worry about any of that, though.

“Worry not, however. I have this,” they said, and proudly produced a plastic card from their wallet with a proud grin. “It can buy anything.”

And so it did, with a simple swipe and a signature—

“Did you just dot your I with a halo?” Julian asked, warmth blooming in his chest as his lips curled.

Rami paused right before they clicked the circle button to accept the signature. “Possibly,” Rami answered hesitantly.

“Of course you do,” Julian murmured, something like fondness rooting in him.

He grabbed one of the reusable bags before Rami could ask, and would’ve grabbed the second one if they hadn’t beaten him to it.

The sun was still waning as they made it out of the market alive, and Julian gave the building a backwards glance as they walked away.

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Rami asked.

Julian rolled his eyes, refusing to give the angel the satisfaction, though it seemed they had it in their possession already.

It took no time at all to weave between the humans to the car, and then watch Rami drive below the speed limit, until Rami’s little townhouse cottage-looking home came into view. It was rather closeto the main road, but the lush gardens surrounding it gave it the illusion of privacy.

Once they were inside and Rami was pulling the items from the bag, Julian squinted at the haul, freeing his horns once more after an exaggerated groan just to grate on Rami’s nerves.

“So we went to the market for… snacks?” Julian asked.

“Well, sort of,” Rami said with a shrug. “This is what we’ll be doing for dinner tonight.”

“Oh, will we?” Julian drawled.

The angel’s flushed cheeks were his new favorite sight.

…Because he liked annoying the angel, of course.

“Yes. I even have a board.”

“What do we need a board for?”

“A charcuterie board. Cheeses and crackers and fruits and veggies.”

“A snack platter?” Julian offered dryly.

“Yes, butfancy,” Rami snapped. “Work with me here,” they scolded.

Julian lifted his hands in a show of innocence and pulled out the bottles of wine. “Is this more of those creature comforts?” he teased. “Whatever happened to meat and potatoes?”

“Overrated. You’ll like this, trust me,” Rami said, and ripped open a sleeve of crackers, forearms flexing.

I think I do already,Julian thought, completely against his will.

Rami

Rami shook their head as they pulled out a wooden board. They almost hated to admit that they were rather pleased to be hosting. It wasn't often they got to, after all. The closest they ever came was with their clients, but, well, there was certainly a difference to the way they would sit on their yellow couch and hug a pillow versus what Julian was doing.

Rami arched a brow at him as he placed his hands on the counter and lifted himself up to sit beside the sink.

Well, at least he was out of the way.

But now he had a birds-eye view as Rami began arranging the board of cheeses and crackers. The plastic sleeves crinkled as they pulled the crackers free, only placing the ones that weren’t cracked or broken.Then they pulled out a few tiny dishes where they added an apricot jam and a sweet pepper jelly.

---