Page 20 of Welcome to Fae Cafe
Gracelynn walked for a few seconds before she asked, “Miss Kate?”
“Yeah?”
“What doesimplausiblemean?”
Kate opened her mouth to answer, but she paused. She twisted her lips to the side as she thought about it. “Honestly,” she cleared her throat and lowered her voice, “I’m not actually sure.”
Kate rushed into her classroom ten minutes later and sat at her usual desk, relieved she still made it before the lecture started. She slid on her glasses and pulled out her phone, her attention catching on the background photo of a woman with dark, wavy hair beneath a knit toque, a man with light, hazel eyes like hers, and two tweens tossing snow at them. The picture was taken the same day as the ones on Grandma Lewis’s end table. It had been a sunny day, even though the air was cold. The snow had been slightly damp—perfect for packing into snowballs.
Kate stared at the photo until Professor Stanner launched into a lecture about popular books and their character-driven plotlines. He went on for the better part of an hour, repeating himself at least a dozen times as though him saying things over and over would magically transform any students within earshot into geniuses.
Kate rubbed her temples, thinking of everything except for the topic of literature class. She had no idea what Professor Stanner was talking about anyway; she skipped her last two classes to help Lily get the café ready. They were still a month away from opening, at least. Stacks of delivery boxes rested in the café’s entryway. After Kate had failed miserably to lift them, they’d sat there for over a week.
Her fingers flicked the corner pages ofBella Stone, feeling the brittle, liquid-stained paper. She repeated the motion as she eavesdropped on the whispering girls behind her.
“Did you see that guy who just came in? I’m positive he’s never been in this class before.” The girl had a distinct nasally sounding voice. It would have been good for the narration of a villain in an audiobook.
“How do you know that? Maybe he’s always sat at the back,” another girl said.
“No, I would have remembered if he was ever in this room with us. Do you think he just joined our class? Do you think he has a girlfriend?”
“I’m asking him to Sophie’s party on Saturday. I call dibs.”
Grunts and snickers erupted from the girls, but they suddenly went quiet.
The chair beside Kate moved. Someone sat down.
“What did I miss?” a voice whispered. It took Kate a moment to realize the guy was talking to her.
“A really boring chat about character-driven plots,” she answered without looking up.
“Ah. My favourite.”
Kate pulled off her glasses and shoved the book away from herself. She was sure the guy was smiling, but she ignored him. His deep, husky voice said enough. She wondered if he used it for something nice like singing, or if he used it to get girls to pay attention to him.
Based on how sociable he was being, there was a 376% chance it was the latter.
The guy reached over and tapped the stained novel. “You must drink coffee—”
“I’m not really in the mood for chit-chat,” Kate admitted. She kept her gaze on Professor Stanner to prove it. A second passed when he didn’t respond, and she wondered if she’d been too harsh. She bit the end of her tongue as she contemplated a nice, yet“this isn’t an invitation to talk”type of thing to say. But a low, dark chuckle escaped the guy, stopping her from saying anything at all.
“As you wish. Human,” he said first.
Kate jumped at the shrill screaming of the class bell. Students stood from their chairs with screeches and clatters, but Kate stayed put, her ears ringing as Professor Stanner quickly scrambled through the last few seconds of his speech.
The guy didn’t leave.
Kate grabbed her novel and shoved it into her bag. She braced to stand, but the guy reached toward her, and she slowed her movements, refusing to look at him.
He took a gentle hold of her chin. His other hand was fastened tightly around the strap of her book bag still attached to her shoulder.
She contemplated leaving her bag behind, but before she could, he turned her face toward his. Kate met a pair of cold turquoise irises, and heat sailed through her abdomen.
“Officer Riley…” she rasped.
A mean smile formed over his mouth. “Not even close.”
He grabbed her chair between her legs, turned it, and yanked her toward him. The chair screeched through the classroom. He leaned in, coming so close she could feel his breath on her cheeks. Kate stopped breathing.
