Page 126 of Beyond the Cottage

“A coffee shop?”

She stifled a yawn.

Ansel sank into his chair, thinking. “A party. They met at a masked ball.”

“Interesting… How did a troll and a nymph find themselves on the same guest list?”

“He, ah, wasn’t a guest. He’s a working man.”

“That suit cost more than three month’s rent. And he flung around an awful lot of cash for a caterer.”

Ansel shook his head. “No, he’s not in hospitality. He’s…a bodyguard. The most decorated in his field, as a matter of fact. Guarded the chancellor himself.” When Gretta nodded her approval, he continued. “Naturally, the nymph’s father bears his own prejudices, but his beloved daughter’s safety comes first. With her acerbic tongue, she’s made enemies on every continent.”

Gretta smiled wider. She’d forgotten about his gift for storytelling. In the cottage, they used to spend hours spinning yarns for each other.

Getting into it, she nodded solemnly. “The King of Evermore himself put a hit out on her.”

“Indeed. And one doesn’t trifle with wood sprites. Anyway, her father threw the ball in her honor. The troll was there protecting her despite his own biases because it was a highly lucrative gig. Then a masked assassin—they were all wearing masks, so it was really quite a clever plan—stormed in with a pistol.”

“If she’s such a pariah, why didn’t they frisk the partygoers?”

“Oh, they did. But this assassin was especially clever. You see, he was the troll’svery own assistant.”

Gretta let out a theatrical gasp. “A betrayal? By his own assistant?”

“A truly shocking turn of events. So now the troll is beside himself with shame, wondering if he’ll ever work in this town again. But luckily, his assistant had never been much of a marksman. He missed by a mile, and the troll whisked the nymph off before the bastard could reload.”

If this were a novel, she’d read to the very the end. “Then what happened?”

“He hied her off to safety, and they each lived happily ever after. Relatively speaking.”

She thunked her chin on her palm with a sigh. Maybe there was something to be said for skipping the end, after all.

Their server walked past with a pointed glance at their check. Gretta pretended not to see.

“I think you’re misinformed,” she said. “Way too many sparks flew tonight. Their first encounter couldn’t have ended so tidily.”

“Well…perhaps he brought her to the library? And professional obligation demanded he remain with her until the danger passed?”

Gretta’s smile turned wicked. “He brought her to herbedroom. And duty is very important to him, but her heaving bosom and sultry look might’ve had something to do with it.”

At the mention of a bosom, Ansel’s eyes flicked over Gretta’s well-displayed breasts. It happened so fast, she wasn’t certain she didn’t imagine it. Still, her skin warmed.

“I may have mixed up the rooms,” he said. “But why would she give him a sultry look?”

“Because he protected her. She was used to everyone hating her, and his gallantry put butterflies in her belly. She also couldn’t help noticing the troll was rather strapping.” Their tale was beginning to sound remarkably familiar, but wasn’t the best fiction grounded in real life?

“Hm. I imagine he also had trouble resisting her charms?”

“So much trouble. She was a handful, and they’d done nothing but bicker all night, but he couldn’t deny it got his blood flowing. And she thought she hated him at first, but she was starting to see him in a new light.”

Ansel raised his brow. “A pity the situation called for restraint.”

“Yeah. You have to give them points for trying to resist.”

“I take it they failed?”

“Miserably. Even in the best of times, they both had a taste for the forbidden.”

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