That...might not have beengood.
Kristoff walked into the kitchen, gave Martin a cheery wave, and set the box down on the countertop. “I brought some for you, too, if you wantedone.”
Martin’s brows knit together and a weird look passed over his face, but he stood and washed his hands before snagging one of the donuts from thebox.
Plain glazed.Figured.
I, however, dug through the entire thing until I found the Bavarian. “Thanks!” I said through a mouthful ofit.
He shrugged and pulled out a whipped cream filled. “Martin,” he called, “I think my mom knowsyou.”
Martin, who was just bending down to start work again, paused and straightened. “Oh yeah?” His expression was positively mutinous. Kristoff was not on his list of favorites,apparently.
Kristoff nodded. “MarthaFranklin.”
Martin’s face cleared. “Really? She seems like a greatlady.”
“She is. She said you did a wonderful job.” Kristoff’s gaze narrowed. “Though she also said you were in and out prettyquickly.”
I glanced over to Martin and noticed his neck was a little bit flushed. “She had a pretty easy job. Not like this.” His gaze flickered over to me and I just watched himcuriously.
Kristoff nodded. “Huh.”
Martin turned away and went back to the sunroom. I watched as he brought out his paint and wondered how many times someone could paint the samepost.
I might have to talk to him tomorrow about his timeline because I was starting to get suspicious. Kristoff and I munched down a couple more donuts in companionablesilence.
"What are you doingtoday?"
I sipped my coffee trying not to think about the press of Martin behind me. "No plans right now. I wanted to go to the bookstore and get the sequel to something I've been reading, but other than that it's been a pretty long week and I just wanted to kick back athome."
Disappointment flickered in his gaze. "I could take you to the bookstore if youwanted."
A smile played over my mouth. "Yeah?"
A grin widened his mouth. "I know. I sound like a puppy. Butyeah."
"Let me finish my coffee. I don't think they open until nine so we have sometime."
"Mind if I get acup?"
I waved at the cabinet. "The mugs are kind of high up there, but Martin can help if you can't reach." I heard Martin stifle alaugh.
Kristoff gave me a weird look over his shoulder. "I think I gotit."
Twenty minuteslater Kristoff and I were on the way to the local bookstore. It wasn't much to look at from the outside, but the inside felt like Mary Poppins' purse. It was massive. Definitely bigger on the inside. The smell of old books and warm cinnamon buns hit me as soon as I walked in. Mrs. Graves had been the owner ofThe Book Cryptfor as long as I could remember and every Saturday morning she baked fresh cinnamon rolls and brought them downstairs to the store. I don't know how large the apartment was upstairs, but this was the only place she'd ever lived. She was getting up there in years, but I couldn't bear to think about what might happen to this place if she ever passed away. But...the good thing about Midnight Cove was that a lot of us lived unnaturally long life spans, so I hoped she was one ofthem.
Mrs. Graves caught up with us just as we turned into the Epic Fantasy section. She was holding two plates loaded up with herrolls.
I'd already had two donuts, but I still accepted her plate. "Thank you," I said and grinned ather.
"You knew it was Saturday," she said, but she winked at me and passed the other plate to Kristoff. "And who is this handsome young thing here, MissKatie?"
I blushed. "This is Kristoff, Mrs. Graves. He's just accompanying me to get the newest Kingdombook."
She eyed him up and down. "You seem like a nice boy." Mrs. Graves reached over and patted him on the cheek. "Now don't you go leaving her at the altar, youhear?"
I pressed my lips together to keep from bursting out laughing at Kristoff's horrifiedexpression.
