refused to budge.
“Let me go with you. You’re more tired than I am. I can carry things for you.”
He was probably right. She had spent a good part of what was left of last night having doubts and recriminations, instead of sleeping. Having him along would be quicker and easier than going alone, and she hadn’t got to chat with him much once the lunch rush hit. She strangely missed him, even though they’d been together all day. It felt good to be alone with him again.
“We will honestly eat better starting tomorrow,” she promised, after the shopping was done and they stopped to order tacos. With the loan sharks breathing down her neck, she couldn’t afford to hire another person to help out, and the busy rush of doing everything themselves made it impossible to think about cooking a hearty meal afterward. “I’ll call my mom if I have to and beg her to bring us something home cooked.”
“I’m so hungry, I could eat a chicken with its feathers still on,” he said amiably. “As long as it’s edible, I’m fine.” He pushed the door open for her and raised an eyebrow questioningly. “What would you tell your mother about me?”
She frowned at that, thinking they might be eating fast food for a while, as she definitely didn’t know how she’d explain Erik to her mother. Her mom would go haywire just knowing she was living with a man, let alone any mention of his extraordinary origins. Too much stress, right there.
All she wanted to do was swing her feet up into Erik’s lap and watch him scarf down his food, then have him rub her toes. Only then would she be able to get back in the kitchen to make eight dozen more cupcakes.
She unwrapped the tacos and placed them on a plate in front of him and sat across from him at one of the tiny cafe tables in the dining area. There was a third bedroom on the ground floor that she was currently using for storage, but now she planned to turn it into a cozy living area as soon as she had the money for it. She wanted to snuggle up with him on a couch, watch a movie, and enjoy a glass of wine after the long work day.
Stop being such a dummy, she told herself.
If she ever had extra money to buy living room furniture, that would mean the mobsters were off her back, and that would mean Erik was long gone. He only promised to stay until the debt problem was solved, and she’d promised to release him as well. Still, wouldn’t he be under her control even then? Just because they made a deal didn’t mean his curse was broken. She could keep him if she wanted to badly enough.
And he’d hate you forever, she thought. She shouldn’t be torturing herself with thoughts of the future anyway, as it was going to take ages to pay back a hundred thousand dollars. She’d get to enjoy Erik’s company for a good long time. She laughed out loud, finding it hard to believe she actually found something good about being under the thumb of ruthless money lenders.
“What’s got you laughing?” he asked, already finished eating.
“I was thinking about the news people,” she quickly covered. “Do you want to see if we can watch it?”
She ran for her laptop and found the website. The clip was even shorter than the few minutes the reporter was there, and heavily featured closeups of Erik, both front and back.
“You look scared out of your wits,” she teased, replaying it to see how the cupcakes showed up.
They didn’t stand up to the deliciousness of her Viking, but they looked good enough to hopefully draw in some more customers.
“Does that woman know about my curse?” he asked, confused about Lydia referring to him as a real life Viking. “Isn’t that something we should keep a secret?”
“She doesn’t really know anything. She was just saying that for effect because of the name of the shop, and because you’re big and blond. It’s kind of cute how well you fit in with the decor, actually.”
“I’ll tell you again, Audrey. I’m not cute. There’s nothing
“Let me go with you. You’re more tired than I am. I can carry things for you.”
He was probably right. She had spent a good part of what was left of last night having doubts and recriminations, instead of sleeping. Having him along would be quicker and easier than going alone, and she hadn’t got to chat with him much once the lunch rush hit. She strangely missed him, even though they’d been together all day. It felt good to be alone with him again.
“We will honestly eat better starting tomorrow,” she promised, after the shopping was done and they stopped to order tacos. With the loan sharks breathing down her neck, she couldn’t afford to hire another person to help out, and the busy rush of doing everything themselves made it impossible to think about cooking a hearty meal afterward. “I’ll call my mom if I have to and beg her to bring us something home cooked.”
“I’m so hungry, I could eat a chicken with its feathers still on,” he said amiably. “As long as it’s edible, I’m fine.” He pushed the door open for her and raised an eyebrow questioningly. “What would you tell your mother about me?”
She frowned at that, thinking they might be eating fast food for a while, as she definitely didn’t know how she’d explain Erik to her mother. Her mom would go haywire just knowing she was living with a man, let alone any mention of his extraordinary origins. Too much stress, right there.
All she wanted to do was swing her feet up into Erik’s lap and watch him scarf down his food, then have him rub her toes. Only then would she be able to get back in the kitchen to make eight dozen more cupcakes.
She unwrapped the tacos and placed them on a plate in front of him and sat across from him at one of the tiny cafe tables in the dining area. There was a third bedroom on the ground floor that she was currently using for storage, but now she planned to turn it into a cozy living area as soon as she had the money for it. She wanted to snuggle up with him on a couch, watch a movie, and enjoy a glass of wine after the long work day.
Stop being such a dummy, she told herself.
If she ever had extra money to buy living room furniture, that would mean the mobsters were off her back, and that would mean Erik was long gone. He only promised to stay until the debt problem was solved, and she’d promised to release him as well. Still, wouldn’t he be under her control even then? Just because they made a deal didn’t mean his curse was broken. She could keep him if she wanted to badly enough.
And he’d hate you forever, she thought. She shouldn’t be torturing herself with thoughts of the future anyway, as it was going to take ages to pay back a hundred thousand dollars. She’d get to enjoy Erik’s company for a good long time. She laughed out loud, finding it hard to believe she actually found something good about being under the thumb of ruthless money lenders.
“What’s got you laughing?” he asked, already finished eating.
“I was thinking about the news people,” she quickly covered. “Do you want to see if we can watch it?”
She ran for her laptop and found the website. The clip was even shorter than the few minutes the reporter was there, and heavily featured closeups of Erik, both front and back.
“You look scared out of your wits,” she teased, replaying it to see how the cupcakes showed up.
They didn’t stand up to the deliciousness of her Viking, but they looked good enough to hopefully draw in some more customers.
“Does that woman know about my curse?” he asked, confused about Lydia referring to him as a real life Viking. “Isn’t that something we should keep a secret?”
“She doesn’t really know anything. She was just saying that for effect because of the name of the shop, and because you’re big and blond. It’s kind of cute how well you fit in with the decor, actually.”
“I’ll tell you again, Audrey. I’m not cute. There’s nothing
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