Page 28 of Moonlight Hearts

“C-can I draw you?”Ant asked.

Thaeros looked at him, bemused, and I considered what he’d said.

“You’re the new manager?”One of the Marys noisily slurped the remainder of her milkshake.I turned to her reflexively.“Would you like another?”

She was blonde too, but her hair didn’t have the shimmer or the bounce Thaeros’s had.“Yes, please.Best service in the city,” she said to the other Mary.

The brunette frowned.“I’ve been waiting for a refill for fifteen minutes.Can you do me too?”

Thaeros pulled out a chair at the counter and sat.“Cool.I’ll watch how you do things around here.I’m very observant.”

“Y-you should model,” Ant said, his cheeks as red as winter apples.

Levi wasn’t as impressed, but he was watching the new guy.New gal?New server…no, new manager.

I cleared my throat.“Levi, could you get the lady her coffee refill?I’ll handle the milkshake.”

The blonde Mary beamed.“Oh, I’m so lucky.Cherry again, please.”

The brunette one gave her a nonplussed look.

“Just coffee?”Levi asked her.

“Yes.Black.And can I have a maraschino cherry on the side?”

Levi looked at me.“Uhh…”

I put on my good service smile.“Sure.I’ll get that ready for you while I make the milkshake.”

I looked at Thaeros, but he…they seemed fine at the counter for the moment.Not to mention, they were early.Ant was staring though, and I wondered whether he was getting a workplace romance of his own, much like Ben had.Then again, the writer didn’t work here.When I looked at Ben while I was getting the blender loaded for the milkshake, he had his eyes on Thaeros and his phone out, presumably texting Soyer.

When I had the milkshake ready and topped with a perfect dome of cream and a single cherry, I walked it over to the Mary.The other one’s face fell.

“Shoot, your cherry,” I said.“Just a sec.”

I didn’t normally forget orders, but I blamed it on the early hour.Sure, it was getting dark, an icy night descending on the city, and unless I was mistaken, I could see flurries out there, more snow.Even so, it was still early for me.

I placed three candied cherries on a little saucer for the other Mary, and she smiled when I put it down in front of her.I hadn’t realized it, but while I saw these two around a lot, I’d barely ever seen the brunette Mary smile.

That forced preemptive nostalgia on me yet again.If I wasn’t going to be around, I’d miss these things, these little things, like the way our regulars had good days and bad.I counted myself lucky to have seen the writer go from his two incorporeal lovers to Ben, who was very corporeal.What if the two of them just…came here to get food after a date?I’d not see that.I’d not be able to be happy for them.

Then again, Soyer wouldn’t let me be here without Ben by my side—or at the counter, at least—so he wasn’t going to be having any after-date food here while I was around anyway.

I heaved a sigh, looking at the writer’s table.

“You want to go sit over there?”Thaeros asked.

“Sit at the…?Oh.Sure, I guess.I’d introduce you to Dwayne, but he said he was busy, so that’ll have to wait.”

Ant’s cheeks heated.“Can I join you too?”

Thaeros focused on him.“Not you, sugar.You should focus on waiting tables.”

Ant’s jaw muscles worked.“Tables, tables… I can do that.Are you going to be here later?”

Levi had been lingering by the coffee makers after getting the Mary her refill, but he came up behind Ant now and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Help me with the coffee.”