Page 3 of Christmas with a Chimera (Claw Haven)

She sucked whipped cream off her spoon grudgingly.

She’d buy a can of Cool Whip on her way home, she decided.

It was a night for old movies and eating Cool Whip straight from the can.

The kind of night where she convinced herself she was goddamn ecstatic with her life instead of just content.

She had never expected to end up owning a café, but she’d been getting bored of her managerial job at the supermarket and the café owner was thinking of shutting down, and Emma didn’t want to switch to instant coffee.

So she took out a loan and bought the place.

It turned out she was pretty damn good at running a café, especially once Luna swaggered in and changed everything.

Nowadays, the café wasn’t just scraping by, it was thriving .

Just like Emma, who was completely happy with her life, no matter what her parents said.

She didn’t need a partner. She’d sworn off serious relationships after the debacle with Arthur.

She had friends, a great job, and a purpose , even if that purpose was making sure people had enough energy to make it through the morning.

Arthur could take his big-city life and shove it up his furry ass.

Luna asked, “Were you engaged?”

“No!” Emma scoffed. “We were eighteen . Nineteen, I guess. We spent a year stacking shelves at the Ghoulish Grocer. It wasn’t enough for him.”

She dug her spoon into her iced chocolate, stirring savagely.

She could tell Luna more—that he’d never proposed, they’d never talked about a wedding.

But they’d talked about their future all the time.

They even had a house picked out: small and sweet, near the middle of town.

He always said he’d do it up. Give it some fresh paint and fix the porch.

He said he’d grow wisteria and they could sit out on that fixed-up wraparound porch when they had their morning coffees.

She could sit on his lap. He’d close his wings around her to keep her warm, as he did so often in their teenage years.

They’d almost had enough for the deposit.

Arthur’s parents were going to help them out.

They were only a few months away from talking to the bank when Arthur ambushed her on that Christmas walk.

All along, that house had been a lie. He’d had his eyes set on city life ever since they visited Los Angeles during summer break junior year.

She’d hated it upon arrival, but he’d fallen in love.

He’d tried to talk her into moving there with him, but she held fast. Eventually, he stopped bringing it up. She thought he was happy here.

Maybe it’s better this way. You won’t be holding me back anymore. Those were his parting words before he climbed into the taxi his parents had paid for and left her life forever.

She’d really thought it was forever. She’d heard the gossip around town after his first leading role in a bartender rom-com called Whisker Neat .

She’d even ripped down a few photographs they’d hung up around her old high school, Arthur’s beaming face photoshopped to high hell in whatever movie he was in this time.

His parents moved away a few years after he became successful.

There was no reason for him to come back to Claw Haven.

Then she’d walked into her café and found him standing there in his fancy suit and insufferable sunglasses.

There had been a second of shock, she was sure of it, a trace of genuine emotion slipping through the facade.

Then he’d smiled at her like she was just another person in the never-ending list of people he could trick into liking him.

Once, she was the only person he could be real around. Now she wasn’t even that. She was nothing .

“Listen,” Luna said, that soft look overtaking her unstoppable interest in gossip. “Everything’s gonna be fine. You’re already getting paid. You don’t even need to be there!”

Emma sucked on her iced coffee resentfully. “Like hell. If people are doing shit in my café, I’m going to be there. They were messing with the fridges! The fridges aren’t going to be in the scene!”

“I’ll tell Rusty to make them lay off the fridges,” Luna said soothingly.

“You’d better.” Emma folded her arms tighter, doing her best not to think about how Arthur used to unfold them for her and tangle their fingers together, his long fingers fitting perfectly between hers.

There , he’d always say, curling his wings around her to form a safe, all-encompassing shelter that once felt like it took up the whole world. Now you look like the kind of person a guy can walk up and say hello to.

“It’s just a few weeks,” Luna pointed out. “Then you’ll never have to see him again.”

A throat cleared behind them.

Emma stiffened. She was already scowling before she turned to find Arthur Pineclaw standing next to their table, those absurd sunglasses perched up in his mane.

He had laugh lines. The sight of them sent a white-hot rage through her stomach, curdling her iced coffee.

How dare he look so hot without Photoshop?

“Emma,” he said with another ridiculous red-carpet smile. “We should talk.”