Free Birthday Shift by Desconhecido(a) Page B

“Thanks,” he said to the bartender, then stood and offered Lise
his hand. “Let’s go.”
    As far as
sweeping declarations went, it wasn’t much to go on. No bended knee
proclamations of love and fidelity; no demand to battle for her hand. But she’d
take it. Goddess bless, she’d take it and run with it as far as she could. She
clutched Lukos with one hand and her precious bag with the other.
    Lukos led her
into the parking lot toward a sleek, black sedan. She didn’t question his use
of mortal transportation. She’d driven here herself, trying to blend in with
the locals. “What about your car?” he asked.
    “We can either
get it later or I’ll tell the rental company to pick it up,” Lise shrugged.
“It’s none of my concern at the moment.”
    “Spoken like a
true princess,” he replied, and she couldn’t tell whether his droll words were
just a comment or an insult. He opened the passenger door for her. As soon as
she was settled, he closed it and got behind the wheel, saying nothing until
they were well away from Sparkle and Moondust. “So, what would you say if I
told you I had no intention of going back to Caroann, but making a life here.
I’m a laborer’s son and good with my hands. I’ve found I rather like the
construction trade.” He eased the vehicle into the flow of traffic with an
expert grace that she hadn’t yet mastered.
    Lise stared at
his hands curled around the steering wheel, the easy way he sat there. The dark
denim molded to his long legs, the silver on his boots flashing when the street
lights illuminated the car’s interior. She’d seen human construction workers,
brawny men in hard hats wielding power tools, and she’d thought of them as
magicians, able to build something from pieces and parts. “Do you have a tool
belt?” she asked, not completely immune to human fantasies.
    He grinned. “I
might have to show it to you sometime.” The teasing glint filled his eyes, and
for a moment, Lise thought she had her old Lukos back. Then, as suddenly as the
spark came, it extinguished. He gave his head a small shake as he turned into a
residential neighborhood filled with older homes. “What are we doing, Lise? If
I go back to fae, I’ll have to reveal my laborer parents and the deal that
yours made to stay in power. It’ll destabilize everything. There’s a chance
that Cheri and Riley won’t be able to hold power. We’ve done some horrible,
terrible things to them. For once, I don’t want to bring them any more trouble.
They’ve had enough from me, I think.”
    He pulled into
the driveway of a two-story home. The home looked in need of repair, with
insulation showing from where the home was in the process of being resided. “It
looks better on the inside,” he said.
    “I wasn’t even
worrying about that.” Lise opened the car door and got out, taking in the large
yard. A white picket fence wrapped around the back part of the house, and
though it was nearly dark, she thought she saw spaces for flower gardens in the
back.
    Lukos glanced at
her and headed for the front door.
    She followed him,
careful on the uneven flagstones of the sidewalk in her high heels. She made it
to the front door just as he stepped inside and turned on a light. A crystal
chandelier beamed down from the ceiling, illuminating the living room and the
adjacent stairwell in a puddle of golden light. Just from the foyer she could
tell that someone had done loving work on the interior. The banister gleamed,
all polished wood and loving craftsmanship. The hardwood floor looked freshly
laid, its warm wood tones giving the room a sense of home that she couldn’t
find in a fae castle. Wainscoting of matching wood wrapped around the foyer and
the living room, and she saw it extended into a dining area. Tools rested near
a fireplace, the wooden mantle in the process of being carved.
    “It’s gorgeous!”
she exclaimed. “It looks like you’ve done a lot of work on it.” And in only
a few short