Page 85 of Moonlight Hearts

“You’ll have to come sit at the counter though.People’re at your table.”

“It’s my table, so people have no business being there when I want to sit at it.”

He said it like that was perfectly reasonable too, and maybe to him, to the Black Shuck, it sort of was.

“But I’m taking care of the counter, so if you sat at the counter, you’d get me.”

“Someone drives a hard bargain.Fine.I’ll have my sweet treat at the counter.And, Amory?”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t forget to smile at the flowers, my heart.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Soyergottherefast,and while he kept to his word and didn’t scare off the group of four who sat at his table with their black wings folded neatly behind them, he did make Ben leave.Personally, I figured that was a good thing.Maybe Ben had been inspired and would take the writer some flowers.

Elias stopped by too, and he monopolized my time and attention for a good hour.The patrons came and went, but at one point, we had to make them wait for a place to sit, which wasn’t something I had ever seen at the Moonlight.

As busy as the grand opening to the underground was, the day went by fast, and all in all, things were uneventful.The Wednesday was much the same—still busy enough to keep the four of us occupied and Kasey without much of a break in the kitchen.

Thanksgiving rolled around quickly as a result, and I woke to an empty bed.I stretched out and turned over to Soyer’s side, but the sheets there were already cool to the touch.My firebird had flown our nest and let me sleep all by myself.

He’d left my bathrobe out for me though, and I slipped it on as I made my way downstairs, where he was already busy in the kitchen.Specifically, he was taking a knife to a really big pumpkin.

“Where the heck did you get that monster?”

I was still on the stairs, so he had to look up at me, his lips curling smugly.“I bought it from a greengrocer.She delivered it today and kept to my exact specifications.Isn’t it nice to get just what you want?”

I frowned.“Soyer, I think I’ve discovered your secret.You enjoy taking your fancy knives to innocent gourds.”

“Well, there goes my mysterious background.Do you want coffee?I can’t have you eat anything before dinner, unfortunately, but you can try some of the cookies once they’re done.”

He gestured at the oven, which was already running, not preheating like I had thought.

“You’re making cookies?Like, Christmas cookies?”

“No.They’re gingerbread spice cookies.”

“But that’s the same.”

“Mine are good, Christmas cookies are frivolous.Now, do you want coffee or not?”

I leaned on the counter, looking at his gourd.Its skin was shiny, spotless, and I could see towels and even a brush next to the sink.He’d probably scrubbed it down; not an easy feat given the size of the thing.

“Yes, please.Did you know that I’m perfectly capable of pouring it myself?”

He put his fancy Japanese knife aside, wiped his hands, and got a mug from the overhead cabinet.It was one of the new ones he’d bought from the Pottery, big but light, with the little black kitten on the side.He’d caught me smiling at the set, and that was enough for it to go in his shopping basket.

“You are?I had no clue.But that seems kind of risky.You might get ideas about going through my cabinets in search of hidden jewelry, and I can’t have that, Amory.”

I poked his pumpkin, running my finger along the deep ridges.I wasn’t sure, but this one looked like a muscat squash to me.I liked those, remembered my mom cooking one once, though not this size.

“I already found all the hidden jewelry I want in your cabinets.”

He put a cup of steaming coffee in front of me.“Good, then there’s no reason for you to not let me serve you.”He picked his knife back up.“You want to watch?”

“Yeah, although you sound a little too excited.Wouldn’t want to be the pumpkin.”