Page 28 of Angels Don’t Date

I dropped the deepest curtsy I’d ever given in all of my life and then raised only my head, gazing up at him through my lashes. “My thanks, kind sir. And give my regards to your mother.”

He leaned down over me, almost looking like he was going to topple off. “And you can do that while keeping your spine perfectly straight. You really are a princess.” He shifted back, more settled on his steed. “Good night, Pastel Princess. Sweet dreams.”

With that, he and Vesper swept up into the sky, arcing above me like a reverse shooting star, glowing until they vanished entirely from sight.

I stood where I was for a long time, staring up, searching for falling stars and my angel.

Chapter

Ten

The next morning I woke up to a knock on my window. There was Richard, face pressed against the glass in the pre-dawn light. What in the world was he doing? He held up a fish-shaped pan, and everything came together.

Oh, right! The tuna cakes! He’d actually been serious about that? How crazy! I rolled out of bed, pulling on the nearest robe, which was a filmy thing that matched my pale pink silk nightgown. I hurried through the cottage and opened the front door so Richard could come in with bundles of ingredients.

He wiggled his brows at me. “I brought the pan! Do you have an oven? I didn’t ask. We could try to cook over an open flame in the woods! Maybe not for your first cat cake, but it would be an adventure!”

I beamed at him. I loved cooking adventures, not that I’d ever had any, but they sounded perfect. “The little kitchen is so cute, and it has an oven!”

Richard beamed at me and then waltzed into the kitchen like he lived there. The next hour was spent with him directing me on the proper way to bake a cat cake. I did my best, so by the time the sun was truly up, I had the kitten cake made with mostly tuna, but a bunch of other healthy things for cats.

We sat on the floor feeding kittens crumbs, and it was the best morning I’d ever had in my life.

“You can keep the pan,” Richard said, leaning against a pink cabinet. “It’ll give me room to buy more.”

“How long do you think you’ll keep your pet baking hobby? You said you were a serial hobbyist, so maybe you’ll switch considering how long you’ve been at it. At least five years.” That would be the saddest thing ever if he quit his SunRae platform and moved on, but it would be to something awesome.

He rubbed his chin and then picked up the black kitten, studying it. “What about Poem?”

I looked at the black cat and then at him. “Poem? You mean poetry as a hobby? I think it has potential!”

He raised a brow at me. “For his name. Short yet pretty. Kittens don’t need to be named after their physical attributes, or even their metaphysical. You can have any name at all. Like the way you kept changing your name for awhile there. Kristin? Kirstin? Then Katrina and Katriana. Why does a name have to mean anything?”

I patted his knee. “It’s okay, Richard. Even though you weren’t named Grace or Mercy, you’re still an angel. Speaking of, what do you think of Hallie?” Hallelujah!

He raised a brow. “Think of her?”

“Like would you date her?”

He snorted and elbowed me hard enough to knock me over. “No.”

“Why not?” I asked, pushing myself upright. “She’s really nice. And her shoulders are really broad.”

“Why not?” He raised a brow and then leaned closer. “What about you and your long line of suitors?” He tsked and shook his head as he stood. “I’m not dating right now. Unless you consider the dating show I’m on, in which case I’m dating you along with all those other marvelous specimens.” He scowled and I got the idea he was thinking about Zander the assassin.

“What about fencing?” I asked quickly, scrambling to my feet and trying to ignore the wave of panic at the thought of him leaving me before I’d fixed his love life.

“Fencing?” He looked confused, like we’d been talking about dating and suddenly I switched topics. Because I had. I was notoriously not subtle.

I smiled brightly. “I haven’t fenced in ages, but I saw a pair of dueling swords in the closet.”

He frowned at me. “I’m a Lion.”

“And I’m a vampire. Don’t Lions duel?”

He cocked his head, eyes calculating until he finally nodded. “I will try not to get too aggressive with you.”

I rolled my eyes and headed for the fridge. “I’ll just get a drink first, and then we’ll be ready to go.”