Page 80 of Until the End of Ever
“Are you smelling me?” She turned to me, grinning. “Weirdo. Here I thought it was a shifter thing.”
“Yes, and I’m not sorry. You smell better than cupcakes. Have you been using my body wash?”
“And your deodorant.” She shrugged. “It’s not my fault your products are so much better than what’s available commercially.”
“Theyareavailable commercially,” I argued. “My bottles aren’t labelled because they’re product samples, but I own a business that handles the distribution.”
She glanced at me sideways. “You’re going to name another brand that costs the price of a month of rent for cosmetics, aren’t you?”
“I don’t set prices. That’s the job of my minions.” I made a point not to name the brand, because she wasn’t wrong, but I made a mental note to pick up some of the products for ladies she might enjoy the next time I showed my face at my headquarters.
I owned six businesses, and I wanted zero to do with the day-to-day running of the operation, so I made a point of keeping that out of the house. To be practical, I’d purchased a building on Magic Avenue large enough for my various enterprises.
Occasionally, I showed up to sit on the board or take meetings with my CEOs or creative teams. As I’d offered to take on some of Sessona’s kids, I needed to pop by anyway to ask what entry-level jobs we were currently looking for. Grabbing something for Kleos just made sense.
“Coffee, love,” I said, sliding her cup over the counter. “Are you ever going to learn how the machine works?”
I didn’t mind making it for her, but it was a shame she had to wait until I woke up every day.
“I bake, you make coffee. That’s the deal.”
I shook my head. “Trying to make deals with me again.” There wasn’t enough coffee in the world to handle this witch.
Then she got a batch of cupcakes out of the oven and I only whimpered a little.
Predictably, the front door came to life just as she finished getting that delicious frosting of hers in its piping bag.
I sneered. “Who dares disturb a Regis before twelve without an appointment?”
For some reason, that made Kleos laugh. “You only need a cape and a top hat to look like a supervillain.”
“I own several capes,” I countered. “And my hair’s way too pretty for hats.”
I reluctantly made my way to the entrance, inclined to maim or torture the uninvited interloper, but unfortunately, the short brat at the door had been expected. Days ago, in fact.
Lucky beamed, deep bruises under her eyes betraying the fact that she’d worked through the last few nights. Ronan waited at her heels.
She held up a foaming black amphora in one hand. “It’s ready!”
I had to let them in, but I warned, “Anything in the kitchen is reserved for those bearing the name Regis.”
“Oh, man. Has she made her French cream again?” Lucky groaned.
“And caramel!” Ronan identified after a deep sniff.
Completely ignoring my threats, the two heathens raced to beat me to the kitchen. Running wasn’t part of my repertoire before noon, so I let them barge in first.
“I have your potion for the ritual!” Lucky sang, beaming Kleos. “It needed to brew for two days straight—not to mention the ingredients I had to hunt down. Sorry it took a while. Is that your custard on the hob?”
“I brought her from the university,” Ronan eagerly added, in case anyone doubted his contribution. “She would have taken hours otherwise. And, erm—is there extra caramel?”
As well as my afternoon cupcakes, Kleos had tried éclairs today, indeed filled with her creme patissiere and covered in caramel. No matter how much I glared and muttered, those interlopers were served half a dozen of each treat with their tea.Shameless.
“So, how does it work?” Kleos asked once we all sat down with coffee and treats, eyeing the amphora at the center of the table.
I leaned in, equally interested.
Lucky was a talented brewer, hence why her liqueurs were the best in town. Eight years younger than Ronan and I, she spent her youth trotting behind us and inserting herself where she could, so naturally, she’d taken after his precision and my creativity. She took fewer risks than I did, staying closer to the original recipes, but was also more inventive than Ronan. I trusted her abilities, objectively, but I’d never seen her handle magic as complicated as what would be required for the inheritance ritual.
