Page 54 of Devils Don’t Deal

The days fell into a pattern that was really, really great. I was waiting for my dad to find out my great-uncle’s address so I could crash him with the devil, but he couldn’t find it. Or he didn’t want me to know about it. Honestly, I didn’t push that hard, not when every day was full of happiness like I hadn’t expected to feel after my mother died. It was a beautiful dream that I didn’t want to wake up from.

One morning, the devil was standing in the open doorway, knocking me awake while he smiled from across the room.

“Did I sleep in? I did!” I threw the blankets back, determined to get up and get started in the bakery, but then he snapped his fingers and confetti popped all around me, sparkles and paper fluttering down onto my shoulders.

“Happy birthday!” he said, wide smile much sweeter than it was mischievous as he walked toward me.

Was it my birthday? Had it been almost two months since my mom died? How had time gone by without her? For a second, my chest constricted while I remembered her coming in with a cake and candles to blow out for our breakfast celebration before going about the day until evening, when I’d open presents. Last year, she’d given me a really great rolling pin she’d hidden behind her pillow at the Bell.

I sniffed then smiled brightly. “Thanks!”

His smile faded as he came closer, and me in my pink polka-dot pajamas. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d like sleeping in for your birthday. You’ve been up early so much lately, and with the way business is going, you’ll have it paid off in one year instead of five.”

I shook my head and tried not to feel the sadness. “I just miss my mom.”

He hesitated then sat on the edge of my bed, staring into my eyes while he rubbed my rabbit’s head. His soul. “Do you want to go to the cemetery and see her first?”

I wrinkled my nose. “First?”

He grinned and raised a brow rakishly. “Before or after I take you on a shopping spree!”

I laughed and snuggled my rabbit while his warmth spread to me. “A shopping spree for my birthday? Wow! Are you paying? And in Wonderland’s gift shop?”

His smile became more calculated. “Of course I’m paying. Also, in House Beur.”

My smile faded and my stomach lurched. “The department store? Why there?”

“Because they’ll have all the clothing options the dead mistress’s closet doesn’t. No?”

Did he not know that I used to work there and got fired? I rallied my smile. “That’s really sweet, but it’s absolutely unnecessary.”

He captured my hand and leaned closer, eyes meltingly sweet. “Please let me pamper you for your birthday, Miss Kesty. Otherwise, I’d be the most ungrateful creature in any world. You’ve revived my soul from death, from misery, from loneliness. Let me give you a happy birthday.”

His voice, his eyes, his hand in mine, all of it made an irresistible combination.

I sighed heavily then beamed back at him. “Let’s go on a shopping spree then to my mother’s gravestone afterward. It’ll be so fun!” I mean, it would be good to pick up a few things, and House Beur was the best department store in the city, and I should stop avoiding it just because some of the employees might’ve gossiped about the shocking fairy-goblin who’d been fired.

He grabbed my hands, pressed a firm kiss to both while he looked into my eyes with that luminous gaze that made me all soft and squishy, then he scooped up the rabbit and strode out of the room, leaving me in my pajamas with an unsettled stomach.

It would be good to go back there and clear out all these negative emotions. It was just a store, and I’d loved going there when I was a little girl with my mother. It was time to move on.

I got dressed in my mother’s old dress, gossamer layers secured with a blooming flower belt. It was tight in the shoulders, and the matching slippers were a squeeze, but they had small blooming rosettes growing out of the silk. I topped my hair with her floral wreath then opened the door to smile at the devil.

He stared at me, not smiling. “And how are you supposed to find anything lovelier on our shopping spree than what you already have on?”

I smiled at him and looped my arm through his. “If only it fit perfectly. The squeeze is like a tight hug so I can feel her close to me. This was my mother’s favorite.”

“I can see why. Now I feel like I should take you on a magic carpet ride.”

“Do you have a magic carpet?”

“Of course. It doesn’t fly, but it does roll up when it hears loud noises.”

I laughed and squeezed his strong arm tighter as I looked up at him. “Wow. That does sound magical.”

“Absolutely. We’ll have breakfast in their tea parlor.”

House Beur had a very beautiful tea parlor that fairies loved to go to. I tilted my head as I studied him. “A fairy joint, hm? I might bite anyone who insults me. I don’t need to mind my manners if they aren’t customers.”