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six

ada

M y alarm blares the next morning, butterflies already taking up residence in my stomach. No amount of Dolly Parton is going to calm me down today.

After taking way too long to get ready, I’m out the door and on my way to the bakery when I get a text from Rue.

Rue

Have fun today, and relax. You are a freaking badass and anyone would be lucky to be in your presence. You are a goddess and don’t you forget it. Love you!

Her message is just what I need. There’s nothing like your best friend pumping you up to turn your mood around.

Ada

Love you! I’ll text you tonight when I get home.

Fall is in full effect now, the wind picking up this morning and adding a bitter chill to the air. Thankfully, I remember to grab one of my old college sweatshirts before heading out the door. The worn material isn’t the thickest thing on the planet, but at least it keeps me a bit warmer.

Stopping outside of Blissful Bites, I take a deep breath to steady myself. I need to remember that this is just a job that I’ve been hired to do. There’s no reason for me to be this nervous. I’m Ada-freaking-Walker. Men should be nervous to be around me, not the other way around.

Taking another fortifying breath, I open the door wide and walk inside. It’s early, so there are only a small handful of people waiting to place their orders. The bells above the door chime as I enter. Ulgan is busy chatting with a beautiful witch I recognize, Bea.

He spots me and waves me over. His adorable smile sucking me in again. “Good morning, Sunshine,” he says.

This new nickname is doing things for me. I’m greedy and want to hear it again.

“Ada, have you met Bea? She and her partner Cassidy belong to Rue’s coven.”

“Hi, Bea. Yeah, we’ve met before. Though I had no idea you and Cassidy were together.” How have I not noticed before?

“Really? Yeah, she and I have been seeing each other for about a decade.”

“A decade?” I knew witches had the ability to slow down the aging process, but… “Bea, don't take this the wrong way, but how old are you? You don’t look a day over twenty-five”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” She winks. “Let’s just say, I wasn’t born in this century. Wait until I tell Cassidy you thought I was twenty-five. She’s going to get a kick out of that.” We all laugh.

“I have to get going, but how about the four of us grab dinner sometime?”

Before I can answer, Ulgan does for me, “We’d love to. Text me.”

I stare at him, and he gives me a shy smile. Bea leaves and he turns to me. “Sorry about that. I should have asked you before accepting. Guess I just got a little excited.”

“Excited about what?”

“The idea of having dinner with you.” He avoids making eye contact as he clears his throat.

“Hypothetically speaking, if you were to ask me to dinner, I would say yes.”

“Hypothetically speaking,” he repeats and meets my gaze, humor evident in his voice.

“Purely hypothetical.” I don't know what comes over me, but I place my hand on his forearm. There is this overwhelming need to touch and comfort him. He places his much larger hand over mine, curling his fingers around my hand to hold it there.

Without letting go, he leads me over to the large blank wall that I’ll be painting today. A table nearby is filled with paint brushes, rollers, and various cans of paint. There’s something about new art supplies that brings me an unbelievable amount of joy.

“I hope I ordered the right stuff.” Ulgan gestures to the supplies, which are way more than I asked for. He must’ve spent a small fortune on all of this. Everything is top of the line.

“This is perfect!” I run my fingers over the soft paint bristles. My plans for the mural flood my brain, and I almost forget that he’s still standing right next to me.

“I’m going to assume by your far off look that I’ve done good,” he teases.

“Oh, you’ve done very well.” I want to throw myself at him and show him just how well he really did. I decide climbing him like a tree in the middle of his business is probably not socially acceptable, and settle for a quick but satisfying hug.

It’s time for me to get to work.

Ulgan returns my all too brief hug before I take a step back to admire the supplies again. “Let me know if you need anything at all. I’m just going to be over there.” Ulgan points to the counter. “At the counter. Which is over there.”

Is he nervous too?

I grab his hand, holding it in mine. The fact that he’s just as nervous as me gives me a boost of confidence. “Thank you for asking me to do this. It’s going to be so much fun to create this for you.”

“You were the first person I thought of. I’m glad that you agreed. It’ll be nice to get to know you better.” He looks like he has more to say as his mouth opens and shuts like a fish out of water, but just then, customers come in that he needs to tend to.

After sketching a rough outline of my design, it’s finally time to paint. Unfortunately, my short legs can’t reach high enough on the wall to paint the top half of the design, so I have to climb onto the ladder that Ulgan set up. Everything is going smoothly, until I move the wrong way and lose my balance, falling backwards.

My body tenses up, preparing to hit the hard floor when thick arms corded with muscle catch me, and I’m cradled to a warm and equally muscular chest. Looking over at my rescuer, I’m now inches away from Ulgan’s face. How did he get over here so fast?

“Ada, are you alright?” he asks, scanning my body for injuries.

Absent-mindedly, I snuggle closer to him. “I’m okay, just a little shaken up.”

He continues to hold me in his arms, tightening them around me. Ulgan silently studies my face, and I avert my eyes, feeling overwhelmed by the attention.

His palm comes up to cup my right cheek. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” He begins to lean in toward me, and my heart beats an unsteady rhythm because I know what’s coming next. Or at least, I sure as hell hope I know what’s going to happen next.

His warm breath fans across my face, and I find myself mesmerized by the lust reflected back at me in his eyes. Our lips are drawn together like magnets and almost touch.

The bell to the front door sounds.

We instantly put distance between ourselves, and he places me back down on the ground. I could’ve sworn that I heard a low growl of frustration come from him.

Holy crap! Did that seriously just happen? Well, that’s an interesting development.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Walker. Ulgan. I hope we aren’t interrupting anything,” a voice says from the doorway. Ulgan runs his palm over his face, and his signature smile returns as he chats and helps the elderly minotaur couple who just walked in.

Before I step back on the ladder, I can feel Ulgan’s presence behind me, his breath heating the back of my neck. A growly deep voice whispers in my ear, “We are not finished.” His heat disappears, and I finally release the breath I’d been holding in.

This orc is going to be the death of me.

Climbing back up the ladder, I get back to painting. The larger than life depictions of pastries and desserts add color and whimsy to the space. I pop my headphones on and find myself bobbing my head to the beat. Music always gets me in a creative headspace.

After about an hour, Ulgan taps on my shoulder. “It’s coming along great, Sunshine.”

His compliment washes over me. “Thanks, I'm glad that you like it so far.”

“Would this be a good time for a break? I was thinking about closing up the shop for a bit so we could walk over to the park to enjoy the sun and have lunch.” It’s then I notice the blanket and wicker picnic basket in his hands.

“You just so happened to have a picnic basket ready to go?” I tease.

“A little too eager?” he asks. “One of my closest friends told me I needed to start going after what I want.”

“And what is it that you want?” When did I get so bold? Get it, girl!

“You. I want to get to know you, Ada. I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to do something about it.” He reaches out and takes my hand, giving it a squeeze. “Is this something that you’d want to explore with me? I completely understand if you aren’t interested. I won’t pressure you into anything, but I just needed for you to know…” Ulgan is rambling, and I can see the panic setting in.

Be brave, Ada. Gently tugging on the front of his t-shirt, I press my lips to his.

The kiss starts out gentle at first, and I begin to worry that I overstepped and shouldn’t have crossed this line. Ulgan’s body is rigid, and I start to pull back. Just when I think I’m going to have to run out of here, he releases a heavy moan and the picnic basket is dropped to the ground with an audible thud . He wraps his powerful arms around my back like two steel bands.

It’s official—I’m a big fan of tusks. His rest on my face and take a little getting used to, but they’re so very him. I pull back, and a brilliant smile spread across his lips.

One final quick peck, and he pulls back further, but doesn’t let go. “Goddess, Ada. Feel free to shut me up like that any time you want.” I giggle, and he rests his forehead on mine so we’re eye to eye. “So, about that picnic…” He pulls his face away, leans in and kisses my forehead briefly.

Forehead kisses are elite. There is nothing sweeter, and no one can prove me wrong.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I’m starving.”

“If it’s food my girl wants, it’s food she’s going to get.”

His girl. I like the sound of that.