Page 53 of My Vigilante Valentine

“It’s happening,” Luna finished with a grin.

“I’ve gathered that,” I ground out. “So, fine. We’ll do it. But that means we do it my way.”

Luna’s face lit up like I’d just handed her the keys to the Batcave.

And,great.The superhero references were rubbing off on me, now.

“Don’t make me regret this,” I added for good measure.

She bounced on her toes, practically vibrating with excitement. “You won’t. I promise. This is going to be amazing. We’ll be the most convincing fake couple ever. People will write songs about our epic love.”

“Luna.”

“Right, sorry. Getting carried away.” She mimed zipping her lips, but her eyes still danced. “Totally professional fake girlfriend from here on out.”

Chris snorted. “This is gonna be entertaining.”

I shot him a look. “Get back to the phone.”

“On it, boss.” He gave a mock salute, then turned away.

But as I watched Luna practically skip toward the storage room, muttering something about making a list of romantic activities that would attract a serial killer, I couldn’t help but wonder what I’d just gotten myself into.

And why—despite every logical reason not to—was I looking forward to finding out?

13

i’ll bring the cookies

“You went full Cupid in here,” Wednesday said as she tied her apron, eyeing the pink and red explosion that had taken over our usually cozy space.

The morning light filtered through Wilde Brew’s windows, catching on the heart-shaped decorations I’d hung with way too much enthusiasm last night.

Maybe I should’ve waited until the sun was up to make those creative decisions, however, because in the harsh light of day, it was a bit... much.

But hey, if we wanted to attract a serial killer who targeted couples in love, subtlety wasn’t exactly the goal.

I shrugged, adjusting a string of paper hearts that hung above the register. “Valentine’s Day is our busiest season, and February is almost here. Gotta lean into it.”

“Uh-huh.” She smirked, reaching past me to grab a stack of to-go cups. “And this has nothing to do with a certain broody regular?”

My hands stilled on the decorations. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on. You never did tell me why you two were in that storage room with him yesterday, and now the shop looks like Cupid threw up in here? I’m not blind.”

I busied myself with wiping down the already spotless counter. “You’re reading way too much into this.”

“Am I, though?”

Before I could answer, the bell above the door chimed, and there he was.

Jax walked in like his new status as my fake boyfriend meant he co-owned the place. Not true, and also, not really unusual for him, now that I thought about it.

Whatwasunusual was the time—nearly two hours earlier than he normally arrived.

And since I knew he’d gone out for his regular Nightly Blade Patrol after we’d finished up with Chris last night, shouldn’t he still be sleeping?

Maybe, like me, he’d had a hard time resting considering our new goal. It wasn’t like I’d allow myself to think it was because he was excited to see me.

---