Charmed (Death Escorts #2)(82)
Author: Cambria Hebert

“Present?” I perked up. Oh, he was good. He got me a present before he got in trouble.

He handed me a white envelope. “What’s this?” I stared down at it.

“The million dollars I owe you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Olly, that was a joke. I hated that job anyway, which you well knew.”

He rolled his eyes. “Just open it.”

I ripped open the seal and slid out a stack of papers. I read the first document, looked up, and reread it again. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My eyes had to be playing tricks on me. “Are you— Is this for real?”

He grinned. “Yep. You now are the new owner of the Iced Princess.”

“Holy pink cupcakes!” I exclaimed and threw myself into his arms. I couldn’t believe he bought my favorite place ever. My job was now literally playing with sugar all day long. “Is this why you’ve been acting all shady the past couple days?” I said, bouncing around in his arms. I was just too excited to stand still.

“I was not acting shady. I was acting secretive.”

I pulled back. “But my cupcakes aren’t as good as the ones at the Iced Princess.”

He kissed my cheek. “Yours are better.”

I squealed and hugged him again. “I love you.”

“I know.”

He pulled me back. “Now about that lecture…”

“What lecture?” I batted my eyes.

He scowled. “You thought I was already changing my mind, didn’t you?”

“No. I know you want to be here with me, but I thought maybe you were having second thoughts… maybe a couple regrets. Losing all your abilities and your immortality can be a lot on a guy.”

“A friend once told me something I didn’t really understand until I met you. ‘We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets.’”

“Marilyn Monroe said that.”

He smiled. “She was right. You don’t have to worry about me having second thoughts. I’m not going backward. I’m only going forward. With you.”

I kissed him.

But then I pulled back once more. “You know you really need to tell me what happened with Marilyn Monroe. I want the truth.”

“I can’t tell you all my secrets at once,” he said slyly.

“Well, then it’s a good thing we have an entire lifetime. I have a feeling you’re going to keep me very well entertained.”

This time he kissed me.

Epilogue

“Icing – a sweet glaze made of sugar, butter, water, and egg whites or milk, often flavored and cooked and used to cover or decorate baked goods, such as cakes or cookies.”

Olly

The pink cup slid across the counter toward me and I gave it a dubious stare.

“What’s the matter, Olly?” Frankie taunted from the other side. “Is pink not your color?”

I grinned. “You tell me,” I said and picked it up and took a drink. “Does it match my eyes,” I asked, batting them.

“I knew you were gay,” she muttered.

“That’s not what you said last night.” I wagged my eyebrows at her and a feeling of smugness came over me when her cheeks turned pink.

“Olly, I’m at work,” she hissed.

“Just like last night,” I drawled, pointedly looking behind the counter toward the floor where all the naughty events took place after closing.

“That’s the last time I let you sample my new icing recipe.” She sniffed, her cheeks still pink.

“Give me a cupcake, woman.”

She gave me a surprised look. “You want a cupcake. Something filled with sugar?”

“Someone once told me food should be enjoyed.”

She reached in to pull out the Iced Princess’s signature cupcake. “Oh no you don’t,” I said. “I want one of your creations.”

Her hand moved past the signature one and grabbed up a pink cupcake piled high with white frosting and sprinkles that looked like pearls. Frankie called it “The Marilyn.” She handed it over on a very pink plate and shooed me away from the counter. “You’re holding up my line.”

I took the very girly cupcake, the pink plate, and the pink cup and went to sit at the empty pink table near the back. If a guy wasn’t careful, he might find himself turning into a pansy in this place.

One bite of the cupcake and I forgot about all the pink. My God, she was good at baking. And she was right; food was a lot better when you actually enjoyed it.

I could get used to this living thing.

The chair across the table pulled out and Piper dropped herself into it. We regarded each other for long, silent moments. She was the first one to break the silence. “You bought this place for her,” she said. “She looks really happy. Happier than I’ve ever seen her.”

I glanced over at Frankie. She was putting several cupcakes into a large pink box and she was laughing. “About what I did to you…” I said, not really knowing what to say. Apologizing seemed stupid, especially when I wasn’t really sorry. I’d been doing what I had to do. I knew I had to say something, though, because this was Frankie’s best friend, her family, and Frankie was, well… my life.

Piper held up her hand. “That’s not what I want to talk about. That’s in the past.”

“Then what?” I asked, setting the cupcake down and giving her my full attention.

She took a deep breath. “Give me your hand.”

“My—” I stopped because I knew exactly what she wanted to do. There was only one reason she would want to touch me.

She wanted to see what my future entailed. She wanted to be guaranteed that I wasn’t going to do something awful to Frankie.

I actually wanted to know too.

Slowly, I stretched my hand across the table. She looked at it for long moments, no doubt deciding if this was really what she wanted. We both knew whatever she saw might not be good.

I heard something clatter to the floor and we both looked. Frankie was staring at us with a pale face and round eyes.

I was about to pull away, to change my mind, when her hand covered mine.

Maybe I would get lucky and she wouldn’t have a vision. Maybe nothing would happen.

I knew from the look on her face the instant a vision overwhelmed her.

Her hand covered mine for several minutes and then she pulled away, her eyes coming back into focus and looking at me.

I couldn’t read her. Her face was closed off, tight. I knew it was bad.