The vampires in town, who were primarily from Louisiana, favored the flavor of chicory in their coffee, so she’d made sure to offer that variety as well.
So far, coffee sales were doing well, and the bakery continued to do a brisk business.
For the sake of her employees, Em included, she’d recently added a tip jar. Nasha paid her people well, but there was no reason they couldn’t earn a little more if customers were so inclined.
Nasha put a tray of pies into the oven and started cracking eggs for the cakes she was making next. Money wasn’t a driving factor for her, obviously. Her father’s position came with more than the two of them could spend.
Granted, he had few expenses, outside of Domino, his horse. That creature lived like a prince.
Nasha smiled. She loved Domino, his fearsome appearance and ability to snort flames aside. He was really just a fluffy ball of horsey goo inside. Maybe she’d go visit him when she got home.
She lived on her father’s estate, but not in his house. Her place had once been the guest house, but she’d lived there so long neither of them thought of it as anything but her place. She’d added a lot of her own touches, including a garage.
She got the cakes into another oven, then started whipping up a few batches of buttercream. As she worked, some of the vanilla icing splattered on her hand.
She stared at it. Just once, she’d like to know exactly what it tasted like. She knew in theory, of course. Sweet and rich with the high-grade vanilla paste she used.
But what did that mean? What did vanilla taste like? She imagined it would be similar to its scent. Sort of balmy and floral and lightly caramel, because of its color, but maybe that wasn’t what it was like at all.
Vanilla sold better than any other flavor, but chocolate was a close second. Chocolate was something she wondered about even more. After all, there were movies about the stuff. It was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, wasn’t it?
Chocolate had to be magical. No one made movies about vanilla.
She wiped her hands on her apron and went back to mixing.
Clara and Brighton came in not long after.
Clara, short for Claraphina, was a tall, statuesque brunette with the kind of hair that belonged in shampoo commercials, even with the strands of silver that were starting to show. She was an Amazonian warrior, but had been injured in battle and moved to Shadowvale to heal and start over. She’d never spoken of that injury in detail, and Nasha had never asked, but she assumed Clara’s injury was essentially her curse.
Not talking about curses was an unwritten rule in Shadowvale, and everyone respected it.
Brighton was tall, too, but reed-thin and much younger. He had a shock of dark red hair and a smattering of freckles that spoke to his pixie blood. He’d been born with malformed wings, unable to fly, and had been ostracized from his clan.
Nasha thought that was a crime. She adored his wide smile and eager attitude. And he adored Clara, although she pretended not to notice. He was always coming up with new recipe ideas, but Nasha had never given him the go-ahead on any of them. How could she? Wasn’t like she could taste them and see if they were good.
She hated that.
Clara was first in. She stashed her things on the shelf by the door, then put her apron on. “Morning, Nasha. Where would you like me to start?” She always asked that when she arrived. That was the soldier in her, wanting to make sure she was exactly on task.
“Morning. Bread’s about ready to come out.” That was always Nasha’s answer, but she appreciated that Clara never deviated from the routine. Something about it gave Nasha comfort.
Brighton showed up next, parking his bike at the back of the shop. He hung his jacket on a peg, then slipped into his apron. “Morning, ladies. How are you both today?”
Clara gave him a nod. “Fine.”
“I’m good,” Nasha responded. “How are you?”
“Just grand,” Brighton answered. “I’ve been thinking about chocolate macadamia nut bars with toffee bits. How does that combo sound?”
Nasha smiled. She wished she knew. “Sounds interesting. Do you think you could check on those cupcakes? They should be just about done and ready to go in the fridge.”
He nodded, although his eyes followed Clara. “On it.”
By the time Em arrived, the display cases were full of the morning’s efforts and Nasha was about to unlock the front door.
Em had a funny look in her eyes, though. And she was holding her hands oddly behind her back. “Hey, there.”
“Hey,” Nasha said. “What’s going on with you this morning? You’re up to something, I can just sense it.”
Em laughed. “Maybe just a little.” She pulled a tall box from behind her and thrust it at Nasha. “For you.”
Nasha took the box. It was heavy pressed stock in a deep dusky blue with cranberry trim and, on one side, a gold foil emblem in the shape of a stylized dragon. “What is this?”
“Open it and see,” Em said.
Nasha could already smell something sweet, but she hoped it was perfume. The box was weighty enough. She wriggled the top off and saw crinkled cellophane and a bit of cranberry ribbon. She knew instantly it wasn’t perfume. Taking hold of the cellophane, she lifted the item out.
Her mouth came open at the sight of what was inside. “A chocolate egg. This has to be from that shop, The Chocolate Dragon.”
About the size of an elongated softball, the egg was molded to look like it had scales, delicately colored in shades of red and gold with decorator’s luster dust. It shimmered, changing color as she turned it. On the front, a small, embossed heart sat in the middle of the scales.
Inside the box, tucked into the corners, were a small wooden mallet and chisel. Presumably for cracking into the egg.
“Yep.” Em nodded, eyes bright, smile wide. “Deacon got me one a couple weeks ago and it was so amazing, I wanted to get you one, too. I’ve never had better chocolate in my life. And I’ve been trying to find a way to say thank you for all that you’ve done for me. This job has been everything to me, you know?”
Nasha was touched. It was rare that anyone gave her a gift. And while it was true that she’d begun selling coffee in her shop just so Emeranth could have a job, the move had benefitted the bakery as well. “You didn’t have to do that. I know you appreciate the job.”
Em shrugged. “I just wanted to really show you how thankful I am. And how much I love this job. That’s why I got the Ruby egg with the heart. There are more chocolates inside, too.”
“That was very kind of you. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Then Em leaned in. “Now close that box up and take it home where you don’t have to share.”
Nasha laughed. “All right.” She was happy to close up the box and put the amazing confection away so she could stop thinking about how she wasn’t going to be able to enjoy Em’s touching gift. “I can’t wait to try it after dinner.”
What was one more lie on top of the one she was already living?
Charlie Ashborne frowned at the sealed scroll he’d received. It was the third one in three months. He hadn’t opened any of them, but he also knew he could no longer ignore them, even if he knew what message was inside. He’d already started to prepare, even though all he wanted was to be left alone. Unfortunately, the official stamp embossing the wax seal might as well have been a neon warning sign.