Toward the bottom was a box labeled Desserts. There was a brief list next to the Pie entry—Lemon Meringue, Key Lime, Apple, and Mississippi Mud. He was fairly sure he didn’t want to eat a mud pie, even if it was from Mississippi. “There is no chocolate,” he said.
“Actually…” Smirking, she tapped the word Mud. “This one’s chocolate.”
“It is?” He frowned at the menu. “Then why do they call it mud? It doesn’t sound at all appetizing.”
Logan laughed. “You know, I never thought about that. I guess if you already know what it is, the name doesn’t bother you.” She straightened and looked around the diner. “I haven’t seen anybody that works here yet. Have you?”
“No.”
“Hmm.” She played absently with the menu. “Well, it’s pretty late. There’s probably only a few people on staff. Maybe there’s a bell or something at the counter.”
Just as she finished speaking, a door behind the counter opened and a woman emerged and approached their table. Over her clothing, she wore a wrinkled black apron tied crookedly in the front, with a single deep pocket and a nametag affixed to one side that said Melody. Her expression was clearly unhappy, and the smile she attempted when she reached them fell flat. “Get you something to drink?” she said almost inaudibly.
Logan’s brow furrowed and concern filled her eyes. “Um. Just water for now, I think, and two slices of the Mississippi Mud.”
“Sure.” Melody turned and shuffled away. One of the men at the counter gestured for her, but she ignored him and vanished behind the door again.
“Oh, man,” Logan said. “She looks like I felt earlier. Totally wiped out.”
“Mm-hm.” He stared at the door for a moment. The waitress had seemed tired, yes—but there was something else he’d almost sensed from her. Some darkness he couldn’t quite grasp. He’d nearly decided to look into the Otherworld, to see if there was a Tempter following the woman around. But if there was, and he or Logan reacted to the presence, it would likely focus attention on them.
The last thing he wanted right now was attention from any demon. His ribs still ached from Samael’s not-so-gentle reminder. He didn’t want to think about his mission.
“Earth to Jaeryth. Anybody in there?”
He shook free from his thoughts. “Sorry,” he said. “You’re right. She does look tired.”
“I hope she’s okay.”
“Yes.” Jaeryth glanced toward the door again. There was a long, narrow opening with a protruding ledge in the same wall, parallel to the counter. The opening had been empty before, but now a young man with dark hair and too many earrings stood looking through it, from whatever room the waitress had entered. The kitchen, apparently. He was staring wide-eyed at Logan. When he saw Jaeryth watching him, he disappeared from view.
He turned back to the table. “What strange staff they have here,” he said.
“How’s that?”
Before he could respond, the waitress backed through the door carrying a large tray. As she passed the counter, the man who’d waved at her before said loudly, “Hey. Can I get my check here?”
“One sec,” Melody mumbled. With her gaze riveted to the floor, she crossed to the table and deposited two glasses of ice-choked water between them. One of them sloshed out nearly half its contents, but the waitress took no notice. She clunked down plates of what was supposed to be pie, one after the other, then trudged back with the tray dangling loosely from one hand, headed for the disgruntled truck driver.
Logan blinked at the plates. “Well, at least it’s chocolate. I think.”
“So it could still be mud.” The pie looked as unappealing as it sounded—ragged wedges of pale brown crust with dark brown sludge oozing from them, topped with irregular blobs of white foam. A fork protruded drunkenly from Logan’s piece, and a spoon lay alongside his, half thrust into the soupy filling.
Shrugging, she plucked the fork free and scooped up some of the mess. “Let’s find out.” She hesitated, braved a bite, and then flashed a satisfied smile. “Definitely chocolate,” she said.
“If you say so.” He picked up the spoon. It took a few tries, but he managed to get some of the pie into his mouth.
As bad as it looked, the taste of it was pure bliss.
Logan was watching him, her eyes crinkled in amusement. “Good?”
“Incredible.” He had to force himself not to cram the entire plateful into his mouth at once. How had he never discovered chocolate? First Dove, and now this—it was almost too much of a good thing.
He ate quickly, and when Logan claimed she couldn’t finish hers, he polished that off too. When both plates were empty, he leaned back with a contented grin. “What else do they have here that’s chocolate?”
She laughed. “I think that’s enough for now. Trust me, your stomach will not thank you if you eat any more.”
“Very well. Then we should have chocolate for breakfast.”
“I’ve created a monster.” She sipped at her water and favored him with a curious look. “You’ve really never tried chocolate before?”
“I…”
“Excuse me, folks. I’m sorry to interrupt.”
The male voice startled Jaeryth and at the same time relieved him. At least now he wouldn’t have to answer the question. He turned to see the young man from the kitchen standing nervously a few feet away, attempting to look like he wasn’t staring at Logan. He wore an apron similar to the waitress, but his was straightened and tied neatly, and absent a nametag.
“Hello.” Logan smiled at him. “Did you make the pie? It was really good.”
“Nah. We get those from a bakery downtown.” He shuffled his feet, cleared his throat. “So, um, I don’t usually do stuff like this, but…you’re Logan Frost, right?”
“Yes,” she said slowly, shooting a worried glance at Jaeryth.
“Good. Yeah.” A clumsy smile spread on the young man’s face. “I caught your show earlier—well, sort of. I mean, the place was full, but I hung around outside. You guys kicked ass. I’m Matt, by the way.”
“Thanks, Matt. I’m Logan…but I guess you know that.” Her cheeks flushed pink, but the worry left her features. “And this is Jaeryth.”
Matt offered a wave. “Hey, man. Nice to meetcha.”
“Likewise,” he said, feeling strangely flattered to be referred to as ‘man’ in such a friendly fashion—as though this Matt had just welcomed him to the human race.
“So anyway. Um.” Matt wiped his palms on his apron and glanced over his shoulder. In a lowered voice he said, “Look, I’m sorry about Melody. She’s been real down lately. Working here sucks, you know? And I was wondering—” Another glance back. “She’s a big Ruined Soul fan. She wanted to hit the Pelican tonight, but she had to work a double, and she missed your Saturday show too. Same reason. If I tell her who you are, think you could say hi to her, maybe sign an autograph or something? It’d make her night.”
Logan’s smile was bright as the sun. “I’d love to.”
“Really?” Matt let out a breath and his rigid stance relaxed. “Thanks. You’re awesome. I’ll be right back with her, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
When Matt went through the door, Logan grabbed her water and drank half the glass at once. “Holy crap,” she said. “Twice in one day. Is this crazy or what?”
Jaeryth couldn’t help smiling. “Not at all,” he said. “It’s natural that they love you. You are amazing.”
“So are you.” She set the glass down and laid a hand over his. “Thanks for being here with me. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend tonight with.”
He held back a shudder of pure emotion. “Nor can I.”
Matt chose that moment to reemerge, with a reluctant Melody trailing behind him. The young man stopped and urged the waitress forward with whispered words. She shuffled ahead and met Logan’s eyes with apparent difficulty. “Matt says you’re with Ruined Soul.”
Logan stood and smiled. “Yeah,
for a whole week now,” she said.
“Oh my God.” Melody’s eyes widened. “You really are her. I mean, you’re you. I just…I can’t…I’m so sorry. I was terrible to you!”
“No, you weren’t. The pie was great. Right, Jaeryth?”
“Absolutely.” He tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible. The waitress looked on the verge of tears, and he felt something for her that might have been sympathy—though he had no idea what to do about it. “It was the best pie I’ve ever had.”
“It was? Oh. That’s good.” Melody blinked rapidly. Her gaze swung to Logan, and she actually smiled. The expression made her beautiful. “Wow. I can’t believe you’re here, in person.”
“Well, I have to get pie somewhere.”
A sniffle escaped the waitress, but her smile remained. “I wish I could’ve gone tonight,” she said. “I heard you on YouTube, but it’s not the same.” She squeezed her hands together and stared at the floor. “I don’t suppose—no, that’s stupid. Never mind.” She looked up again. “Can I get you something else? I could make fresh coffee. I’m really sorry about…earlier.”
Logan reached out and brushed the other woman’s hands. “What were you going to ask? I won’t think it’s stupid. Promise.”
“Oh, it’s really dumb.” Melody’s face flushed red. “I was wondering if you’d sing something. Like a few lines.” She raised her head. “Told you it was stupid.”
“No, it’s not. And yes, I will.”
“Y-you will?”
“Sure.” Logan cast an uncertain glance around the place. Only the girl in the back booth and one truck driver remained. Neither were paying attention to the miniature drama unfolding at their table. “What did you want to hear?”
“Um.” She swallowed. “Do you know ‘My Immortal’—the Evanescence one?”
“Every word.” She turned to Jaeryth and smirked. “So I know you said you’re not musically inclined. Can you whistle or anything?”
He laughed. “Not a single note.”
“Guess I’m going a cappella, then.” She took a breath. “Okay. Just to warn you, this could be really bad. I usually have backup.”
“Oh! Wait a second.” Melody produced a cell phone from her pocket, and her fingers moved across the screen. “I think—yeah, here it is. I’ve got the karaoke version on here.” She blushed even brighter than she had before. “Er. I sing in the car sometimes. Badly.”
“That’s way better than whistling,” Logan said with a smile. “Fire it up.”
With a slightly trembling hand, Melody touched the phone. A haunting piano melody drifted from the device.
Logan closed her eyes.
Her voice rang out clear and enchanting, filling the room with its light. There was a poignant edge to the words, captured perfectly in Logan’s sweet, signature tones. Jaeryth could feel her power in the core of his being—an almost painful warmth, as though he’d gotten too close to a raging fire.
And he was not the only one. The man at the counter turned to stare, and the lone girl at the back table rose from her slouch, pulling her headphones out as she drifted toward the impromptu performance. Both Melody and Matt stood with mouths slightly open, their hands linking as though neither could remain on their feet unsupported.
Logan sang not a few lines, but the entire song. When she finished, and the last few notes of the piano faded, every member of the small audience burst into cheers and applause.
“Thank you.” Melody replaced the phone in her pocket and stepped forward, her face glistening with tears. “You have no idea what that meant to me,” she whispered.
Instead of replying, Logan embraced the woman.
Eventually the group dispersed, after each of them complimented Logan into blushing and stammered thanks. When they were finally left alone, Jaeryth slid from the booth and stood—and Logan threw her arms around him. “If you weren’t here, I never would’ve done that,” she said. “Thank you.”
He held her and breathed in the scent of her, unable to come up with the words to express his feelings. They went far beyond gratitude. He only hoped she could sense what he felt in his touch, and his reluctance to let go.
It seemed an eternity before she eased away. “I have to pay the check,” she said. “I’ll just be a second, and then we’ll head out, okay?”
“All right.”
He watched her walk to the cash register at the far end of the counter, where Melody waited. When Logan tried to hand her money, the waitress shook her head. She leaned over and spoke, too low for him to make out the words—but Logan’s expression changed from bemusement to empathy, and when Melody finished, she circled the end of the counter to hug her again. They exchanged a few quick words, and both were smiling when Logan walked back to the table. “You ready to go?”
“Anywhere, as long as you’re going.”
He followed her outside, where she took his hand and linked her fingers through his. “We’re looking at a half-hour walk here,” she said. “Are you up for it?”
“Of course.”
“Good, because the buses don’t start running for a few hours yet.”
They crossed the street and hit the sidewalk, and she didn’t let go of his hand. The constant contact made him ache for more. He couldn’t believe the intensity of his feelings—she’d turned on something within him that had never been touched, and it was at once exhilarating and frightening.
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Logan said, “Melody told me that I saved her life.”
“What?”
“Yeah. I thought she was exaggerating, but…” She breathed out hard. “She had it all planned out, she said. After her shift, she was going to go home and take an entire bottle of Vicodin. And wash it down with vodka.” A violent shiver moved through her. “But after the song, she just…felt better. She said it made her believe life was worth sticking around for.”
Jaeryth gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “She was not exaggerating,” he said. That was what he had first sensed from the woman—her suicidal despair. “You did save her life.”
“Well, if I did, I’m glad. No one should feel so terrible that they’d rather be dead.”
“Agreed.”
They lapsed back into quiet, simply enjoying the walk. Not long after, Jaeryth came to a realization so startling and complete that he nearly halted in his tracks. He managed to keep moving casually, though he felt as if he’d been struck by a hundred bolts of lightning all at once.
He loved Logan.
Kobol had been right. He loved her—he had always loved her. His obsession with turning her had been nothing more than a desperate attempt to separate himself from this feeling, the one emotion demons despised above all else and obliterated whenever mortals and angels tried to spread it. The impossible had already happened.
And his love was also his sentence. He would never be permitted to love a mortal…and the punishment awaiting him was far worse than Kobol’s.
Chapter 18
The sun was coming up by the time they reached the house. Logan didn’t even realize how exhausted she was until they got inside. Jaeryth looked just as beat, and there was no way she’d make him sleep on the couch. She led him into the bedroom, where he sat down heavily on the bed while she headed to brush her teeth.
When she came out, he’d taken his boots off and curled up on the far side of the bed, already asleep. She emptied her pockets, tossed her phone and cash on the dresser, then crawled in next to him and promptly blacked out.
Eventually, consciousness returned, and with it came an incredible reluctance to move. She’d never been this comfortable in her life. It took a minute to figure out that the warmth blanketing her came from Jaeryth. Somehow she’d ended up pressed along the length of him, his body cradling hers. One of his arms draped across her waist, and his fingers curled loosely around her forearm. She felt completely safe.
Not wanting to wake him yet, she lay there letting the drowsiness bleed away and remembered last
night. Well, technically this morning. Life was funny sometimes—a couple of words on a candy wrapper had led to the best time she’d had in years. Being with Jaeryth was seeing the world in a different way. She’d rediscovered so many little things that used to make her happy, just by watching him experience them. He’d saved her sanity and held her up more than once, just when she would’ve fallen. Literally and figuratively.
She didn’t even know his last name. And she was falling in love with him.
“Good morning.”
Jaeryth’s voice rumbled against her back, stirring places in her that definitely shouldn’t be stirred at the moment. “I’m pretty sure it’s afternoon by now,” she said.
“Is that all? We should sleep more, then.”
“I wish. But once I’m awake, that’s it for me.” She pulled her hand back and twined her fingers through his, then shifted under his arm to face him. “Did you think I was going to run away?”
He offered a slow smile. “You were shivering, and you’d lain on top of the blankets. I didn’t want to wake you. So I was keeping you warm.”
“Oh.” She returned the smile. “Well, it worked.”
“Good.”
She should probably say something else. Like offer to make breakfast, or announce that she was getting in the shower. Anything that would get her moving. But despite her intentions, she was just laying here, staring at Jaeryth and thinking about how much she’d like to kiss him.
And the look in his eyes suggested his thoughts were the same.
Be spontaneous. Hadn’t she wanted this from the beginning? Was she really going to make him fill out a form and run a background check or something? After last night, she had no doubts left.
She wanted him. He wanted her. And that was enough.
A smile spread on her face, and she shifted closer to him. “I’m going to kiss you,” she said. “And this time, we don’t have to stop.”
“Logan.” His free hand stroked her hair, so gently she trembled. “Are you certain you want this?”
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