“Is it?” she asked, though she didn’t expect an answer. Mike was a demon, which meant as long as he didn’t hurt people, he could do whatever the hell he wanted. And Pete…apparently the man in charge of bringing joy to children all over the world every spring had a rebellious streak. Who would’ve guessed?
Destiny had no magic, a tick-tocking deadline, and a boss who was ready to slap a pink slip across her face the second she messed up again. How in heaven could everything turn out okay?
“Let me know when the cakes are ready. I’ll drop them at the civic center and meet y’all back at my place for dinner.” He strolled toward his home, right next door to hers.
Destiny turned to her bakery and found Pete waiting for her at the gate, his hands in his pockets, a sheepish expression on his face. She marched toward him, ready to tell him off, to say he couldn’t go hopping into any old hole he came across.
“I get the feeling I’ve never been fond of rules,” he said before she could begin her rant. “I’m sorry.”
“You…” His apology disarmed her, so she blew a hard breath through her nose and opened the gate, continuing her march toward the house. “Rules are what keep order in the universe.”
She stopped outside the door and whirled toward him. “It’s my job, the sole purpose of my existence, to maintain the balance here in New Orleans. An angel even poking a finger through a demon hole is… Well, it’s…”
“What she said?” He grinned.
Her teeth clicked audibly.
He held up his hands. “I apologize. That was crass.”
“No kidding.” Though the comment did help ease her tension a tiny smidge.
He ascended the front steps. “It’s against the rules, and you like to follow them.”
“Exactly. I have to.” She opened the door, but he caught her hand before she could step inside.
“I have a feeling your job isn’t the sole purpose of your existence.” His palm was warm, the expression in his eyes sincere.
Her pulse quickened, and she swallowed the dryness from her throat before tugging from his grasp and stepping through the threshold. “Apologies and kind words don’t change the fact that you made me use Mike’s hole.”
At least he had the courtesy to stifle his laugh as he followed her inside. He stopped in the center of the room and turned his head, taking in the scene. “This place is so familiar.”
“Because you were just here last night. Come on.” She gestured for him to follow her through the kitchen and up the steps, her stomach twisting and turning the whole way up.
“To be fair,” he said as he joined her upstairs, “I didn’tmakeyou do anything. You poked Mike’s hole of your own volition, but I am sorry I put you in the position to make that decision.”
She tightened her lips and ground her teeth. Pete was right. No one had shoved her through. She could blame him all she wanted, but she’d used Mike’s hole…his portal…all on her own. If Gabriela found out what she’d done, she’d surely strip her wings permanently, effective immediately.
So… Destiny would just have to make sure she never found out.
And anyway, what else could the archangels expect? They’d unplugged her from the collective consciousness, stripped her of all magic, and rendered her essentially human while demanding she perform an angelic feat. And then there was Pete…
Her own conundrums aside, she had to find a way to restore his memories. She owed him that much.
“Christ on a cracker.” She pressed a hand to her forehead. “This is such a mess.”
“I’ve never seen anything less of a mess in my entire life…or so I assume.” Pete turned a circle in the living room. “Neat freak much?”
Destiny followed his gaze to a bookcase filled with her favorite hardcovers, all in their proper places, alphabetized by author and then series and title, as they should be. “Not my house. Me, you, this whole situation is a mess. I don’t…” She flung her hands into the air and let them fall to her sides. “It’s an absolute hot mess express. How am I supposed to?—”
She clamped her mouth shut, lest she mention Easter in front of him again. The last time she tried to convince him he was the Easter Bunny, he’d turned tail and hopped away. If he wanted to pretend he was nothing more than a shifter, she would go along for now. What else could she do?
“Supposed to what?” he asked.
She opened a linen closet and pulled out a fluffy yellow towel. “Why are you here?”
“You promised me a shower and a meal. What man can say no to that?” He rubbed the back of his neck and flashed a lopsided smile that made her pulse race.
“Yesterday, you wanted nothing to do with me, and now you’re about to strip naked in my house. Why the sudden trust?” She offered the towel, and he accepted it.
