Page 34 of Help Wanted: Wife

“The android said you were out with Hope. And then he slammed the door in my face.”

“Well, that takes the cake! Hope took me sightseeing to distract me. I was upset about our fight. Don Juan never mentioned you had come by. Weaskedhim if there had been any messages. That—that…jerk!” If he’d said something, they could have patched up their relationship sooner. She would not have suffered for two days!

Larth laughed. “You have to be very specific in how you communicate to androids.”

The door to the shop rattled. “Customers are getting restless,” he said.

Breads, cakes, pies, muffins, and sweet rolls filled the racks and cases. Glasses and cups had been set beside the beverage dispenser and the coffee maker.They still had a lot to talk about, but the customers were getting antsy, and although they couldn’t hear, they could see everything through the window. “Maybe we should let the customers in before they get too impatient and we lose them?”

“In a sec. We’re not quite ready.” He dashed behind the counter, returning with an apron. He slipped it over her head and tied it behind her back. “Now, we’re ready.”

She fingered the lettering. Prula’s Bakery. She would have been okay with the old name, but the gesture meant a lot. She smiled at him. “You let them in, and I’ll put the coffee on.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Thank you for the purchase! Come again!” Larth walked the last customer to the door, happy she had come but overjoyed to see her leave.

“Oh, I will.” The human woman clutched a loaf of bread and the last pie from the case. “I’ll be back in the morning. I can’t believe I found a place for coffee!”

She left. He tapped his wrist and sealed the door. They’d opened early and closed late to accommodate everyone, not wishing to turn business away. They needed all the sales they could get. His feet hurt from standing all day. He was bone-weary and hungry—business had been so brisk, he’d missed lunch.

He had never been more euphoric. His grin stretched from ear to ear as he turned. “We did it, Pru! We did it!”

She flew into his arms, and he swung her around. Laughing, they hugged and danced around the shop. He pressed his lips to hers, and she wound her arms around his neck, melting against him. She smelled like citrus, coffee, and baked bread. Tongues entwined in aslow dance of gratitude, need, and desire. He was tired, but holding her rejuvenated him, gave him a boost of energy. He ached to take her to bed, show her how much he loved, needed, and desired her.

The kiss ended, and he leaned his forehead against hers. Her eyes crinkled with a smile, and he figured he was grinning, too. How could he not be, when he was filled with so much joy?

“I can’t wait to get home,” he said, “but first we need to finish up a few things here.”

“Get ready for tomorrow,” she agreed. “I’m so glad we have Donna.”

“Me, too. After a day like today, I can’t imagine spending all night baking. But if sales continue this strongly, we’ll be able to pay off the android loan in record time.”

She held up crossed fingers. “We were slammed all day long. We didn’t get a moment’s break. The rush could be the result of opening-day curiosity, and business may drop off after the novelty wanes—or we’ll be slammed even more when all these people tell their friends.”

“We’d have to get help. Hire someone,” he said. If they could. He remembered the trouble he had had the last time, but if grand opening sales were the start of atrend, they could afford to pay more. A higher wage would generate a bigger pool of better potential employees. “We might be able to acquire another android who could help at the counter. But I’d prefer to give the work to someone who needs a job to help them move up from the surface.”

“As long as you’re not considering advertising for another wife through Cosmic Mates.” She teasingly punched him in the arm.

“Never.” He hugged her and kissed her.

While Donna cleaned the customer area and moved all the leftover baked goods into a single case to be sold at a discount the next day, he and Pru sat in the office cubicle to review the day’s sales and take inventory of what they had sold, what they had run out of, what hadn’t moved so fast, and come up with an amount to be baked for the next day. They gave Donna very specific instructions and left the shop.

“I hope the coffee I ordered from Terra Nova gets here soon. We’re going to need it. Those women drank a lot of java today,” she said. “Word must have spread like wildfire among the Cosmic Mates brides. I’m afraid we could run out of coffee.”

“It’s a good problem to have, isn’t it?” he said. Every single person had bought something to eat withtheir coffee, and most had left with a take-home purchase. The café was a great idea.

“Yes.” She grinned at him. “And from now on, I want only good problems.”

He laughed, feeling light and carefree. Instead of facing the future with resignation and apathy, he eagerly anticipated each day, no matter what it brought. “We’re together, so it’s all good.”

At the vaporator, she halted. “Maybe we should grab something for dinner before we go home?”

“Good idea.” His stomach rumbled now.

“Does Caradonia have takeout or take-away or whatever you call it here?”

He caught the gist. “Most restaurants can accommodate eat-at-home meals. I know a good place.”

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