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Mor folded his arms and stood tall, dwarfing Cedric in his shadow. He took a slow, deliberate look around The Sprinkled Scoop office. “I thought this place would be bigger. It’s quite small,” he said. Then he turned to Violet. “Our office is at least seven times as big as this, don’t you think?”

Violet nodded. “Didn’t I tell you this place sort of felt like working in a closet?” she whispered to Mor loud enough for Cedric—and Fil at his desk—to hear.

Cedric let out an airy grunt.

“Anyway,” Violet slid a folder out of her purse, “this is a list of the dates we’re available to interview you for The Fairy Post. Feel free to get in touch. We’ll get back to you if we feel like it and can spare the time.” She handed the folder to Cedric who slowly took it.

With that, she turned and headed for the door, waving at Alice on her way by. Alice performed an awkward wave back like she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to greet her former coworker.

Mor shook his head in visible disappointment. “I really thought this place would be nicer.” He practically shouted it as he followed her out. “This office is painfully dull. No wonder we’re catching up to these fools in subscribers.”

The air outside was cool and fresh. Violet breathed it in as she descended the stairs of The Sprinkled Scoop office. “Let’s go get an iced ca-fae mocha at Fae Café!” she suggested, spinning to watch Mor trot down the stairs after her.

When he reached the bottom, he wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her against him.

“Hmmm.” He looked around the street for a second, then eyed Violet suspiciously. “You know the only reason you keep wanting to go drink those mochas is because they’re—”

“I know, I know. The coffee is enchanted or whatever.” Violet waved a hand through the air. She slid her arms around him too, clasping her hands behind his back. “I don’t even care. The coffee is so good. Sometimes I wake up thinking about the soft whipped cream and the dark nutty taste.”

Mor sighed and patted her on the head. “I’ve now learned that there are two different kinds of humans in this realm. Some are very difficult to enchant, like Kate. Others are very easily enchanted,” he said, then he lightly flicked her nose. “You, Violet, are the latter. Sometimes it makes me nervous.” He mumbled the last part as he turned her toward Fae Café and put an arm around her shoulders.

“I told the interns to come up with a new crossword puzzle this morning,” Violet said, changing the subject. “Remi seemed into the idea. Maybe we should make that her thing for the next few days.” She moaned. “What are we going to do when they go back to school in a week? Should I ask them if they still want to work with us some evenings? On weekends, maybe? I don’t know if I could start working on weekends though. Now that I’m living back home with Zorah, I feel like I see her even less than I did when I was staying in the cathedral. We’ve just gotten so busy.”

When Violet looked at Mor, she realized he was smiling. “What?” she asked.

Mor shook his head at first like he didn’t want to say.

“What?” She pinched his side a little, and he yelped, making a passing group shoot them a look.

Mor swept in front of her, stopping her from walking. He put his hands on her shoulders, the traces of a smile lingering. “Violet,” he said, his brown and silver eyes glowing.

Violet fought a weird chuckle. “What’s gotten into you?” she asked.

Mor bit his bottom lip then released a sigh.

“I’m just happy. That’s all,” he finally said. Violet felt herself melt, and he laughed like he somehow knew her temperature had changed. “I’ve enjoyed working alongside you more than I ever thought I would. And um…” He looked off all of a sudden, scratching the back of his head. He closed his eyes like he wouldn’t be able to tell her his next thought if he was looking at her.

Violet raised an eyebrow, wondering what in this world could rattle him so much. A second ago, in The Sprinkled Scoop, he’d been a vision of intimidating strength and power.

Mor pursed his lips, and his eyes flashed open. “I’ve accidentally made you my mate,” he blurted. “Unalterably.”

“Oh.” She blinked a few times. She didn’t get it. “A…mate?” she articulated. It felt like he was describing something from a wild animal documentary.

His gaze dropped to the sidewalk. “It just means I really can’t lose you now. It will absolutely destroy me if you leave. I just needed you to know.”

Without another word, he took her hand and led her toward Fae Café. For the entire walk, Violet couldn’t come up with a thing to say, but she bit down on her lips to keep herself from smiling. She wanted to ask questions, but the more she thought about it, the more she put the pieces together on her own. Maybe fairies didn’t know how to say, “I love you.”

It took nearly the whole journey for her heart to settle.

When they reached the café, Violet turned to Mor before they went in. “You’re not going to lose me, Mor. I’ll never run away,” she said.

She couldn’t believe they were really exchanging these words. They hadn’t exactly been dating in the typical sense for the last few weeks, but the heart-fluttering tension between them every day had been so potent, Violet could hardly stand it. It was a miracle she hadn’t burst yet from sheer joy. Mor had spent three days at her bedside while she’d suffered through the nausea and light-headedness of weening herself off her cold iron supplements. And once she was better, he’d hardly been able to stop touching her hand, tugging her closer, whispering against her ear even when it wasn’t necessary to do so.

Mor’s face broke into a smile as he reached past Violet for the door. “Well in that case, you can have my gray sweater,” he said.

Violet chuckled as she stepped into the café and was instantly met with the warm, alluring fragrance of coffee. She spotted Lily behind the counter.

“I made muffins!” Violet announced to the crew of Fae Café as she drew a container from her oversized purse. Across the storefront, Shayne perked up in his seat by the fireplace. He slapped a book shut, eyeing the container, and followed Violet to the counter where she slid the muffins toward Lily.