Fangs and Fennel (The Venom Trilogy #2)(18)

“We feel the same,” Beth whispered, and kissed the top of my head.

“Now you’re being a mom.” I wiped my face.

She pulled back and shook her head. “Fine, we all take care of each other, that’s how it goes.”

“On that note”—Sandy let go of me and pointed at my robes—“you should go change. That thing is totally unflattering, and now it’s covered in cherry juice.”

I had to agree with her; the robe was awful and still smelled of Old Spice. I hurried upstairs and slipped out of it, tossing it into the corner of my room. I put the deed to the bakery on my side dresser, then went to the bathroom and grabbed a wet cloth. I wiped my face and neck, which got the worst of the cologne off me, then tied my hair back into a loose ponytail. I pulled on jeans and a comfy top, then headed back downstairs. Baking the night away would take my mind off the craptastic day, and baking with two of my closest friends was even better.

Back in the kitchen, I pulled out my favorite cookbook. “Here, I’ll show you a few things, tricks of the trade, so to speak.”

We started on a recipe for filled cookies. With an exterior similar to a sugar cookie, they could be filled with any number of things: strawberry jam, raisins, peanut butter, and pretty much anything else you might think of. I directed them around the kitchen, and they grabbed what we needed as I mixed it all together. The laughter and chatter flowed between us, soothing away some of the day’s events. I told them about Remo, and they oohed over the kiss. Awwed when I said I’d touched on a lost love of his, I was sure of it.

“I want to meet someone who melts me,” Beth said, stirring her bowl of icing by hand, her eyes distant. “But who will want us now that we’re monsters?”

I went to her side and put an arm around her waist. “The right guy. That’s who.”

She smiled at me, but there was sadness in her eyes, and I knew I couldn’t get rid of it for her. I hugged her. “Until then, we bake!”

The flutter of wings spun me around. I more than half expected Ernie, and was prepared to defend my irritation with him, so when I saw it was Hermes, I had to scrub the scowl off my face.

“Easy, Drakaina.” Hermes held up his hands. “You look about ready to bite someone in half.”

Beth and Sandy waved at him in unison.

I took a breath. “Sorry, thought you were someone else.”

He shrugged his thin shoulders, and his feet twitched as though he wanted to be running instead of hovering in midair.

“If you’re here, you have a message for me?” I grabbed one of the empty bowls and piled it beside the sink of soapy water.

“Flora wants you to meet her at your bakery.” He fluttered up. “Want me to take a message back to her?” The eagerness in his voice was not far off from what I thought a golden retriever would sound like if it could beg to have a ball thrown.

I looked at the two girls, and they waved at me. “Go on, we’ll clean up here.”

“Thank you.” They knew how I liked my kitchen after baking. Spotless. I looked at Hermes. “Sure, tell her I’m on my way.”

Spending time with Yaya always made me feel better. Some time with her would go a long way to soothing the last of my hurt. Better yet to do it at Vanilla and Honey, seeing as the bakery wasn’t going to be mine soon enough.

With a puff of feathers, Hermes was gone.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay and clean up?” I looked at Beth and Sandy, and they shook their heads.

“No, we’ve got it. But you’re going to miss out on the clafoutis.” Beth smiled, and the dinger on the oven went off. She pulled the pan out and showed it to me. I nodded.

“You two did great. We keep this up, and maybe we can start a bakery here on this side of the Wall.”

Sandy sucked in a sharp breath. “Do you mean that?”

I blinked several times as I realized what I’d said. “Yeah, I do. I mean, why not?”

She squealed, and even Beth got excited, her eyes sparkling. “We could totally rock it. Call it the Fantastic Fangs Bakery.”

I laughed. “Yeah, that would be . . . nice. I’d like that. Let’s talk about it more when I get back.”

I waved at them and headed out the front door. The thought of starting a new bakery was more than daunting; I knew the work and hours we’d have to put in. At the same time, I wasn’t going to drown myself in the pity party. I steeled my back. No, I wasn’t going to pity myself. And I wasn’t giving up on Vanilla and Honey, not yet.

I headed for the bus stop that was outside the Wall. It would have been nice if Hermes had found me while I was still downtown.

For a while I’d been using a car that technically didn’t belong to me. Sure, it had been Barbie’s, but I’d grown to like it. Now it was impounded, and I had no money to speak of, so the bus it was.

I frowned as I walked to the bus stop, my mind racing. What the heck was Yaya doing at Vanilla and Honey at this hour anyway? It was after ten, and . . . more than that, how had she gotten in? I hadn’t given her a key to the bakery. “Yaya, what are you up to this time, you crazy old lady?”

I knew the bus schedule by heart, and I also knew I was going to have to wait for at least a half an hour for the next one, then there was the long ride itself. It would be after midnight before I was at the bakery.