Page 28 of Devils Don’t Deal

“Do you think people would come to see me?”

“The ogres certainly would.”

“Is that jealousy, my fair fairy?” He gave me the most deliciously devilish smile. “I’ll be certain to be less delicious in front of ogres in the future. I wouldn’t want you poisoning my croissants.”

“They’re not your croissants.”

He raised a brow. “No? When the shop opens, I’m buying every last one of them.”

I rolled my eyes but smiled. The shop was opening tomorrow, and it was going to be amazing!

Chapter

Nine

Iwore a gauzy dress made of cobwebs and dreams, the blue skirt slashed with pink panels, not as short as the first one I’d ripped off, but much more practical. And it was already just like that so I didn’t have to use my teeth. The gauzy top fell off my shoulders, held on by the shimmery pale blue corset that made my waist look delicate and little, particularly with the poufy skirt at my hips. I had a pretty pink apron wrapped over the corset with long laces, adding another layer to cover the gauzy blouse. It seemed like the outfit hadn’t been in the closet the first time I’d looked, but there it was, calling to me when I went hunting for something that would work.

I stood behind the counter while my dad turned the lock, flipped the sign to open, and gave me a double thumbs up before he faded into the back.

The door opened, and in stepped the devil wearing a silver and indigo tuxedo, with a large diamond chandelier earring in one ear that glittered almost as brightly as his eyes. He had a top hat, and half a dozen pocket watches tucked into various pockets of his silver vest, chains glinting and matching the swoop of his earring. He looked beautifully bizarre, completely impractical but utterly delicious.

“Good morning. Do you have any croissants?” he asked, strolling languidly to the counter and spinning a silver cane with a wickedly sharp point.

“I may have some of those,” I said, unable to help beaming at him. He really had come first thing. If he bought me out, I’d have made a profit for the day’s baking. “How many would you like, kind sir?”

He sniffed twice and leaned against the counter, tilting his head as he looked at my outfit. “All of them.”

I beamed and spun around to pull out the pretty pale blue-and-white striped boxes with The Rabbit Hole decal printed on the front in gold. I carefully packaged the dozen boxes and stacked them precariously on the glass counter while he watched me. Divinity watched him with a judgmental look on his face. I was so happy, it was hilarious, just like everything else.

“That’ll be five hundred and twenty-seven dollars, please.”

He pulled a stack of hundred dollar bills out of his pocket and handed them over. “Keep the change.”

I gasped. “You can’t leave me a seventy-three-dollar tip.”

He raised a brow. “Can’t I? But I’ve tasted your croissants. They’re worth every penny.” He collected the boxes, tied together with pink ribbons, and turned, leaving me holding a stack of bills with a lash of his hooked tail. So pretty.

I looked at Divinity and found that he was now looking at me judgmentally. “His tail is pretty, not him. And so what if he is pretty? I’m not blind or stupid. Mostly. Shut up.”

I turned to smile as the bell jangled and another customer came in. My smile froze as I recognized the silver-winged fairy who had an ogre at each shoulder. Seriously? What was my great-uncle doing here? Was he here to arrest me again?

He looked around, taking everything in with a curl of his derisive lip. “So you’re here,” he said, like that wasn’t obvious.

“As are you. Can I get you something? I have fairy cakes, divinity, and crystallized flowers.” I gestured to the glass case on the side where the elaborately beautiful fairy confections were on display. My mother had taught me to make those. They were prettier than they were tasty, but that’s fairies for you.

He glanced over at the glass case, and it seemed his sneer became more pronounced as he saw and judged. “I’ll take the top five. Do you have tea?”

I smiled and nodded. He was actually going to order and not just insult and arrest me? “I have several blends preferred by various races. Here’s a hibiscus rosehip blend that my mother liked.”

“I’ll take that.” He sat at a small table while his ogre guards took positions behind him.

I bustled around, arranging the beautiful sugared spun flowers on a large plate, and placed it on the table along with my most delicate teacup and saucer. It had been my mother’s favorite. I poured for him using the perfect manners she’d taught me you should have around elegant fairies who thought there were proper ways of doing things.

“And what tea blend do you enjoy?” he asked as I straightened from pouring.

“I like peppermint.”

He looked scandalized, like, who would like something so boring? The bell jangled, and I happily went back to the counter in time to meet the new customers. A woman with a child ordered a dozen cupcakes then paid with a generous tip and left, glancing at the ogres before hurrying her child quickly outside. There were six small tables along the large front windows, so there was plenty of room for her to sit and maybe buy more, but the ogres were clearly a deterrent. And they were right by the glass where everyone could see them. That was why my dad was in the back of the shop, so the scary goblin didn’t frighten the delicate customers.