Page 42 of Prayers for the Prickly

“Wow,” Gregor said, clapping when I reached his side.

“What?” I asked, trying to figure out what he found so fascinating it deserved to be applauded.

“If I’d had to face that many people at one time, without like, an hour-long break in between dealing with each wave that swarmed in, I’d have been snarling by the end and pissing people off.”

Giggling, I parked myself on my mate’s lap and instantly felt his arms close around me and his nose nuzzle to the spot on my neck where I’d been itching to feel his breath.

“I hope you don’t have to go out like that for a while,” I murmured, sighing as my eyes fluttered before I gave in to the temptation to close them for a minute.

“I hope not, either,” was all he said.

No promises or attempts to placate me. He didn’t know when or if he’d be called on, so he didn’t try to concoct an answer. I appreciated that.

I appreciated him coming here instead of getting straight back to work at his shop. I’d have understood if he had, after all he’d been away for four days and was probably behind on things, but a part of me would have been disappointed and a little hurt, too, because of how much I’d missed seeing him.

“I heard there was some commotion yesterday,” he murmured, holding tighter when I tensed in his arms.

“Did Olly tell you?” I asked. “I was waiting until you were back on shore to tell you so you wouldn’t go storming around the ship looking for things to claw.”

“Thank you,” he replied, kissing and nibbling at the base of my neck. “If it puts your mind at ease any, Olly met me at the dock and waited until I was off the ship and away from everyone to tell me about his mom making threats and there being a scene later in the day that involved ants in the nougat.”

“It was much more than that,” I huffed, trying to puff up but he still held me firm.

“Do you have time to tell me all about it now, or do I need to pick up something when I close up the shop and have it waiting on the table when you get home?”

“Seafood, please?” I muttered.

I’d been dreaming about seafood all day and now he’d provided me the perfect opportunity to get exactly what I wanted.

“Boiled, fried, in a sauce, or a mix of everything?” he asked.

See, my mate got me. I didn’t even have to ask if getting a mix was an option. He already included it for me.

“Mix, please and thank you,” I replied as I snuggled against him.

The story was way too long for any break I could take with all the work I needed to do. I appreciated him not asking anymore about it, including if I could just give him highlights. Curiosity I could appreciate, but when it bled over to impatience and became frustrating and demanding, it crossed a line for me. That he’d accepted my answer at face value and immediately turned his attention toward fulfilling his end of the bargain and bringing a meal I’d enjoy was another trait among the many I’d already come to appreciate in my mate. Conversation was just easier when people didn’t look looking for hidden meanings or trying to attribute more to the words than what was said. I get that the ability to trust was all wrapped up in that, too. Second guessing and picking apart conversations was learned behavior; some people had just never been given the opportunity to experience what it was like not to have to do that. I’d have worked with Gregor if he’d been one of those, but I was pleased that he wasn’t, because it would have been a bump in the bonding process.

“I’ve got to turn you loose now, don’t I?”

Gregor’s beard brushing against my skin startled me and I jerked, flailing a little as those strong arms tightened around me again.

“Yup, I do, you were starting to fall asleep,” he murmured.

“Because it’s been hard to sleep without your big cuddly arm to cling to while I’m drifting off,” I pouted. “The next time you leave you have to leave your arm behind for me to hold.”

His chuckling bounced me a little, before he finally set me free so I could get off his lap. I didn’t want to, but I had to so I could get home to him sooner tonight. It sucked, not being able to freeze the world around us for a little while, just long enough for a proper reunion before I unfroze everything and got back to work. No one would get anything done if we all had the ability to do that, though, so I guess adulting would have to suffice in this situation.

“I’ll be home by nine,” I told him as he stood, looming over me before he tugged me into a kiss.

“See you then.”

“Prepare for fishy kisses for the rest of the night,” I threatened.

“I welcome your fishy kisses and any other type of kisses you want to give me,” he said, stepping back.

Giggling, I waved at him over my shoulder and headed back to my kitchen to organize my supplies.

Someone had already hung the tallies we made on the clipboard beside my workstation, and Gracie would be in just as soon as her class was done. Now that her final semester was coming to a close, she’d started coming to work in the evenings to help me in the kitchen and learn the layout of things. I was a firm believer in learning through doing, and after she’d informed me that was the way she preferred to learn, we’d been hands on with everything. Having her working beside me would make those additional batches easier. I thought of pushing it and adding one more batch to each count, then thought better of it, since our supply truck wouldn’t arrive until Friday. Best to keep to the calculations we’d made so we didn’t get ahead of ourselves and stall our promotion by having a day when we were simply sold out of everything.

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