Page 3 of Bread with the Orc
Incredulously, I turned, the lemon-scented rag dangling from my hand. “You can make all that? Really?” I gestured to the whiteboard with three types of bread written on it. “And you only sell sourdough and rye?”
“And croissants,” he pointed out, his expression and tone surprisingly neutral.
“That’s just bread!” I threw up my hands. “You could be making and selling all these delicious treats!”
He shrugged, then went back to putting away his ingredients. “Ilikebread.”
“Yeah, but…” Frustrated, I turned back to my cleaning, and maybe I scrubbed the counter a little harder than necessary. “I like tea, but look where it got me.”
“What?” he grunted.
I didn’t look up as I mumbled bitterly, “If I’d had all these amazing goodies to sell at my tea shop, I could’ve enticed more customers. They would’ve come to my shop and sat at my tables and had nice conversations and enjoyed delicious bearclaws and eclairs and cinnamon tarts.”
“Fruit tarts,” he corrected unhelpfully behind me.
For some reason, his calmness only made me more irritable. My elbow pumping, I finished the counter and moved to the shelf beneath it, shifting stuff out of the way as I cleaned the aluminum.
“I had the opportunity to create a cozy community space, you know? That was my goal, at least.Harmony Tea Shop—not just for Harmony Glen, but forcreatingharmony. My mom used to talk about how everything was in harmony with the world around it, and how important that harmony was…” My motions slowed. “She loved tea. And eclairs.”
Behind me, Dorvak grunted. “She’s dead.”
It wasn’t a question, but I nodded slightly. “Yeah. She’s dead. Eight years now.” I could still hear her voice in my head. “I started the tea shop in her honor, and I guess I’m glad she wasn’t here to see me fail.”
A pause, then he said, “No, you’re not.”
My huff of laughter wasn’t particularly happy. “You’re right. I would gladly fail again and again if it meant she was here to hug me and tell me she loves me.” I blew out a breath and began to scrub again. “It’s just so humiliating to fail. My father is going to gloat.”
That last part just slipped out, and I cringed as I straightened, hoping Dorvak wouldn’t ask me aboutBaba. Like a tongue accidentally prodding a sore tooth, I’d learned to stay away from those thoughts.
Even if theywerethe cause of my angry tears earlier.
I moved on to wiping down the empty display cases along the counter. To my surprise, I didn’t feel like crying any longer, even with my maudlin thoughts about my mother. Maybe the sugarhadhelped.
Or maybe it’s because you’re finally having a conversation with the hottest orc you know.
Okay, okay, Dorvak was—as far as I knew—theonlyorc in Harmony Glen. Or at least, the only one I’d seen. There were rumors of another orc who lived in the woods, or maybe more…but I’d never seen another orc besides Dorvak.
Not that I wanted to.
I remember when the monsters had moved in, and my father had been spitting mad, ranting about property values and his business partners not wanting to visit any longer. But me? I’d been fascinated by the different bodies and people who now moved around our small town.
And none had fascinated me as much as Dorvak—and Dorvak’s body, I’ll be honest… He was just so freakinghot, okay? Maybe I had a thing for big guys. Maybe I just wanted to feel tiny, I dunno. But I’ll be honest; more than a few of my fantasies had involved watching him knead dough with those gorgeous hands and forearms.
He was maybe the reason I’d rented the space next to the bakery—more expensive real estate than a tea shop needed, frankly. Just the chance to see him each day had been worth the cost of the rent hike.
I sighed, remembering theClosed Indefinitelysign. Or maybe not.
“If you had my pastries to sell at your store, you wouldn’t have to close?” His comment came out of the blue. “I could make them for you.”
What a sweet offer. I sent him a sad smile over my shoulder, and realized he’d paused and was watching me clean. “Thanks, Dorvak. Unfortunately, it’s too late. I’ve already let the owner know I’m closing down. I’ll have to find someone to buy all my equipment and furniture—don’t suppose you want a bunch of patio tables?” I grimaced, remembering their cost. “And since the apartment above is connected, I have to move my stuff out of there too.”
“When?” Dorvak barked, and yeah, that was definitely a bark.
Slowly, I turned, wringing the rag between my hands. “End of the week. I’m sure the owner will give me a little wiggle room though. I’m going to stay with my bestie for a bit. Maggie has the space for me, but I’ll need to move my stuff into storage.”
Dorvak was studying me. Not angrily, just…contemplatively? Maybe? Like he was thinking Big Thoughts and working through them.
“My pastries might have saved your shop?” he finally said.
