Whatever it was, he hoped she won.
Nasha thought she’d bought too much, but as she spread out the chocolates on her kitchen table, it seemed like barely enough. One box of chocolates, granted a good-sized one, but still only one box. And three eggs, roughly each the size of a child’s football. Thankfully, they also held chocolates.
Even so, this wasn’t going to last her very long. Not that it would be such a hardship to visit The Chocolate Dragon again. Or the handsome man who’d waited on her.
Of course, making a second visit hinged on her being able to taste this chocolate. If that first time had been a fluke, then she’d just bought herself a lifetime supply of chocolate, because she wouldn’t be eating any of this.
It smelled just as wonderful as the egg she’d gotten from Em, so Nasha’s hopes were high. Not too high, though. She’d known more than her share of disappointment in life and that had taught her to keep her expectations low when it came to most things.
Still, she’d tasted this chocolate once. It had to happen again, didn’t it?
She opened the box of chocolates. They were so pretty. Not only was the man who’d waited on her handsome, he also had a very artistic eye. She definitely appreciated food that looked good.
The blackberry creams were speckled with purple and gold. The strawberry jellies had streaks of red dotted with tiny black spots. The mint bombs had tiny swirls of green and white decorating their smooth tops.
They were all beautiful. But looking at them was getting her nowhere. She picked up what could be a cappuccino cream, based on how the very pale milk chocolate was sprinkled with what looked like instant coffee granules.
She sniffed it. The chocolate smell was strong. So was the aroma of coffee. Would she be able to taste the coffee, too? That would be something.
There was no point in putting it off anymore. She bit the cappuccino cream in half. Instantly, the taste of chocolate spread over her tongue, this time accompanied by another strong flavor that had to be coffee.
Coffee and chocolate. She almost wept. How was this possible? She cared, but not enough to stop eating the bounty before her.
She devoured the chocolates, trying to savor them but losing that battle as the joy of finally tasting her food overwhelmed her. She cracked the eggs against the tabletop, eager to get to the chocolates inside them.
She ate until her teeth ached from the sugar and her stomach protested, but the flavors on her tongue were impossible to ignore. She was helpless to stop stuffing herself, until at last, delirious with sugar and happiness, she wandered out to the couch, a large piece of chocolate egg in hand, and passed out.
She dreamed that everything had turned into chocolate. The town, the streets, her house, her bakery, even Domino. All of it decorated in edible colors and metallic flecks like the chocolates from the shop. It was a glorious dream, much better than her recurring nightmare of being at a buffet that only served glasses of her standard protein shake.
She woke up and squinted at the time on the wall clock. Almost 3 A.M., which was a few minutes earlier than when she normally woke up. Close enough.
She also didn’t normally sleep on the couch, but last night hadn’t been a normal night by any stretch of the imagination. It had been far better.
She got up and went into the kitchen. Brown paper chocolate cups and little shards of chocolate eggs covered the kitchen table.
She picked up a small piece and popped it into her mouth, immediately smiled at the taste. She gathered up the empty chocolate cups to throw them away. As she did, she knew two things for certain.
She had to have more chocolate. A lot more. An endless supply of the stuff.
And the only way to do that was to get her hands on the recipe.
Charlie, tired of tossing and turning, finally got up to make himself some breakfast and face the reality that his life would soon never be the same. In a matter of hours, he’d be headed to the census.
Once there, his curse would end up being revealed and after that…he really didn’t know what would happen after that. Would he be ostracized? Shunned? Or simply made the butt of every joke from here on out?
Hard to say. Maybe all three. And none of it was something he wanted to face. Not even a little bit. But keeping the council from seeking him out here in Shadowvale was more important. Protecting this place, which would soon be all he had left, was paramount.
He started a pot of coffee. After that began to brew, he cracked half a dozen eggs into a bowl. He didn’t have much of an appetite, but he’d need energy for the journey ahead. Arriving weak wouldn’t do. In another pan, he fried up some bacon. He spooned some of the bacon fat into a third pan, then shredded a large potato into it. The good smells helped him feel hungry. Didn’t matter. He’d get the food down regardless.
Next, he filled the slots of his four-slice toaster with whole grain wheat bread before pressing both levers down. From the fridge, he got a pot of raspberry preserves, bought at the farmer’s market, and set it on the table while the rest of his breakfast cooked.
It was still dark out and would be for a few more hours, but he could leave early. He’d packed last night after he’d gotten home.
His only regret, besides the fact that he had to go to this stupid census, was that he had to close his shop for the days he’d be gone. He hated leaving a project unfinished, but most of all he enjoyed talking to the folks that came in.
Loved seeing how happy his creations made them.
He also really loved making the chocolates. Losing himself in the creation process was his way of escaping. He’d probably need that more than ever when he returned. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine what it would be like to live this life with a mate. He hoped whoever he was paired with was kind and understanding, but he’d grown up with dragon females. That wasn’t generally their way.
Most of them wanted strong warriors who cared only about building their hoards and defending their homesteads.
He was all for those things, but his curse would make a lot of females see him as weak and vulnerable. And therefore…less than.
His doorbell rang, happily derailing that wretched train of thought.
He turned the heat down on the bacon before going to answer it. Shadowvale was a highly nocturnal town, thanks to the wide variety of supernaturals who called the place home, but he couldn’t imagine who would be at his door this early.
He still wasn’t sure when he opened it. “Can I help you?”
“Hi,” the woman said. “You don’t know me, but—”
“The woman in the sunglasses. From the shop earlier.” He recognized her not by her looks, but by the scent of smoke that clung to her like a haunting refrain. He couldn’t imagine why she was on his doorstep.
Or how she knew where he lived.
“Yes, that’s me. Nasha Black.”
The name was familiar, but he couldn’t think of why. Then again, Shadowvale was a small town. If you lived here long enough, every name would be familiar soon enough.
“Yes, I was in your shop yesterday. I, uh, went by this morning. I knew you wouldn’t be open, but I guess I don’t know what I thought. Anyway, I saw the sign in your window that said you were going to be closed for almost a week.”
He nodded. “That’s right. Maybe longer.” She seemed upset by that news. So much so that he felt compelled to add, “You know they sell chocolate at a lot of different places in town. Including the Green Grocer. I think they even have some of those fancy organic bars.”