Valhalla Cupcakes (21 page)

He didn’t understand how it was possible, and more importantly, he didn’t understand why he shouldn’t be ecstatic about it. He could leave now, seek his vengeance against the witch who imprisoned him, find a way to force her into giving him his old life back. He should have been overjoyed.

Instead, he felt conflicted. Downright sad at the thought of leaving Audrey. He kicked the covers off and sat up, then flopped back down against the pillow, wishing she’d hurry up and come in. He loved the look on her face when she peeked in to wake him, so pretty and tentative, with an underlying glimmer of lust in her eyes that she couldn’t hide no matter how hard she tried. He knew they didn’t have enough time in the mornings to enjoy themselves, but he liked teasing her and hoped to be able to convince her to not be so responsible one day.

He shrugged angrily at his foolish thoughts. He should have been planning his goodbyes, preparing a plan of action. He forcibly turned his mind in that direction and was hit with an avalanche of guilt. Hadn’t he promised Audrey he’d stay until her troubles with the moneylenders were solved?

Then again, hadn’t he been all but forced to make that promise under the duress of the curse? He thought he’d be within his rights to go now, but it seemed cowardly to leave her. It wasn’t her fault she was the one who freed him, and therefore the one who was able to command him, and she’d never really abused the power. She’d only used it at all out of desperation.

No, he couldn’t leave until her money problems were solved. He wouldn’t be a man worthy of a fresh start if he left now. He’d deserve to be cursed right back into the painting if he abandoned her to those wolves with their modern weapons. A smile curled his lips as he made his decision.

He’d continue to pretend he had to do whatever Audrey said, and help her raise the money she needed, and then be on his way. He smiled harder as he thought about it further. She owed an awful lot of money. He’d have to be with her for a very long time.

It wasn’t as if this place was so bad, and it would give him more time to plan. He’d need to somehow find another witch if he had any hope at all, and how did one do that in this day and age? It seemed like all the magic in the world had slowly seeped away over time. He should have been anxious to get started on that, but the only thing he felt antsy about was why Audrey hadn’t come in yet.

Thinking she might have overslept due to the champagne and their rigorous activities the night before, he got up to check on her. When he opened the door, she stood there reaching for the doorknob. A surprised smile crossed her freshly scrubbed, but still sleepy face. Of course she wouldn’t have overslept, no matter what had happened the night before. It was one of the things he most admired about her.

A strange, warm feeling stole over him as he took her in, brighter than a ray of sunshine in the dim hallway. There were so many things he admired about her, and what he felt while looking at her was something different than the usual difficult decision of where he wanted to put his hands first. Just being in her presence made him feel complete. He grabbed her outstretched hand, surprising her further by pulling her flush against him and resting his cheek on the top of her head. After only the slightest hesitation, she put her arms around his waist, tipping her chin up to look at him.

“You’re being awfully cuddly this morning,” she said.

He couldn’t resist her dewy lips and leaned down to kiss them, before giving her what he hoped looked like a stern scowl.

“I’m not cuddly, Audrey.”

“I say you are.” She mock pouted and squeezed him around the middle, before pulling away. “Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen.”

His scowl melted into a grin, unable to resist the twinkle in her eyes as she playfully bossed him around. He would have done anything for her, given her anything. It was as if it was a different kind of curse, one he didn’t mind being under. If he could ever find another witch, perhaps she could explain it to him, but in the meantime, it wasn’t as if he was suffering at all. He watched her sashay down the stairs before he headed to the bathroom to shower. Quite the opposite of suffering, actually.

The day went by as usual, and he counted the minutes until they closed so he could have her to himself again. He was ringing up a customer when the shop phone rang, but before he could ask the customer to hang on for a second while he answered it, he heard Audrey pick it up in the kitchen. He couldn’t quite make out what she said, but he could tell by her excited voice that it was good news, and her shining eyes confirmed it when she came out front.

“It’s for you,” she said, taking the handset and pressing a button before holding it out to him. “It’s that agent from the party. I think she already has a job for you.”

He turned away to hide his grimace, not wanting to steal her excitement. He could easily think of a hundred things he’d rather do than have his picture taken or deal with the overly made up and loud agent. Finally taking the receiver from her, he frowned harder when she got under his arm and pressed close to be able to hear what the woman had to say.

“Erik Agnarsson? My Viking god?” the woman screeched.

He held the phone further away and Audrey smirked, leaning back at her shrill voice before furrowing her brow at her words. He could now think of a thousand things he’d rather do than spend even a minute in that person’s company. He nodded at the phone, then remembered he had to actually speak to be understood on the thing.

“How can I help you?” he asked stiffly, earning himself a nudge in the ribs from Audrey.

“You will never believe your good fortune, my boy,” the agent sang. He raised a brow to Audrey and she mimed a scratching motion.

“I’ll protect you,” she whispered. “Find out why you’re so lucky.”

“Is that so?” he asked, unable to make himself sound curious, let alone enthusiastic.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice and rattled on about a job that next week, in which the original model had broken his leg and they needed an emergency replacement. He frowned that she would think someone’s injury was his good fortune, and frowned harder as she explained the concept of the photo shoot. Leather goods? Rugged cowboy theme? Oiled abs? His heart sank further at every word, all while Audrey bopped along beside him, getting happier and happier.

“I’m sorry, let me put you on hold for a moment,” he said. “I have to see if I’m available.”

With a shriek, Audrey put the damn thing back on its holder and did a little dance. “Of course you’re available,” she said. “Even though it’s just local, it will still pay a ton. If you can get a couple more jobs like that, maybe we’ll have a chance to make the payment this month.” She clapped her hand over her mouth and looked stricken. “I mean, I’m not saying you have to give me the money.”

He stilled her with a hand on her arm. “Audrey. You freed me. You gave me clothes and food and sheltered me in your home, all without question. Of course the money will be yours.”

She blushed. “Well, we can talk about that. This is good for you, too. You’re going to need money to fund your—” she dropped her voice, glancing at the customers in the dining area. “Your revenge mission. What’s the matter? You really don’t want to do it?”

She looked not just disappointed about losing out on the chance to pay off that month’s installment, but personally disappointed in him for not jumping at the opportunity. By the gods, he didn’t want to do it. He turned away from her to be able to think clearly. He’d done unsavory things before, things that were far harder than standing around like a damn fool smiling and flexing his muscles. If he did this simple thing, he could help repay all of Audrey’s kindness to him these last days. If he did well and kept accepting similar jobs he could help her pay off the thugs that much faster.

“I really don’t want to do it,” he said stubbornly, realizing at last why he was so adamantly against it.

It would cut his time with Audrey, and he found he was no longer just reconciled to spending that time with her while he planned for his future. He enjoyed it, and didn’t want it to end. It hurt his pride that she didn’t feel the same, but the thought of leaving her hurt worse.

“But, what about the witch?” she whispered anxiously, wringing her hands. “It’s not just for me, but for you. Times are different now, you can’t go back to your old ways. You have to adapt. You think plane tickets to Norway are cheap?”

“Are you commanding me to take this job?” he asked, trying to hide the hopefulness in his voice.

If she commanded him, he’d have to go along with it, or at least pretend to go along with it so she wouldn’t know the curse was broken, and then he wouldn’t have to disappoint her. He slumped against the wall, only refraining from punching it because of the customers.

She pressed her lips together, and he could tell she struggled with what to do. He knew there was no way she could raise the amount of money the mobsters wanted by their next collection day. Being offered this job was a minor miracle, and he fully expected her to order him to accept it. If only he could resent her for it and get some of his equilibrium back.

“No, of course I’m not going to command you to do it if you don’t want to,” she said. “It’s a nice thought, but even with whatever they paid you, we’ll probably still fall short. Forty grand is a heck of a lot of money.”

With a mental string of curses, he got back on the phone, asking where he should go and when. After the agent gave him a list of instructions, he hung up and assiduously avoided Audrey’s eye. He refilled a customer’s coffee cup and wiped down the counter while she stared at him.

“It may not be enough, but every little bit helps, right?” he asked gruffly, finding himself embarrassed under her grateful gaze. He could get used to her looking at him like that.

Except that you can’t, he reminded himself. As soon as she paid back the debt, she wouldn’t need him anymore. And here he was helping her do it, helping her shove him out the door faster. He felt even more powerless now that the curse was broken, and for the life of him, he didn’t understand why.

She nodded and hugged him before going back into the kitchen, and he reconciled himself to having to stand around shirtless with a cowboy hat on that coming weekend. It couldn’t be worse than the pink felt helmet.

Audrey pushed down the panic and did the math again. Even with Erik generously giving her his entire paycheck she was still far short of the mark. She’d sold almost every last thing she owned that was worth anything, including her high school graduation ring and her television. It had been disheartening to find out her life was worth so little.

There was only one thing she couldn’t bring herself to sell. Erik had found her holding the necklace given to her by her grandmother, a simple pearl on a gold chain, and wiped away the tear that had slid down her cheek at the thought of losing it.

“If what you got for your other jewelry is any indication of what you’ll get for it, just hold onto it, Audrey,” he’d said reasonably. “It won’t help enough to warrant the pain it will cause you.”

He was right, and she folded it back into its soft pouch, grateful that he’d kept her from giving up the only heirloom she had. She hoped Erik’s first modeling job wouldn’t be his last. At this point he was their only hope, with less than two weeks until the thugs came for collection again.

When she went to chaperone him a week earlier, it had taken a few minutes for him to warm up, standing stiff and embarrassed as the makeup artist airbrushed him a glossy golden hue, but then when the female model had draped her long, sinuous arms around him and started whispering in his ear, he’d come to life. It was all Audrey could do to stay in her seat in the corner, and not jump up and tear out the gorgeous woman’s luxurious hair extensions.

At the break, Erik had come over to her and tried to get her to give feedback on how he was doing, but she was so steaming with jealousy she almost couldn’t speak.

“You seem to be doing fine,” she finally sputtered, turning away when he tried to sit next to her. “At least your partner thinks so. She can’t keep her hands off you.”

A makeup girl came along and tried to pat him down, but he shooed her away, taking Audrey’s hands and forcing her to turn toward him.

“That’s what she was told to do,” he said, nodding toward the art director.

“Well, what’s with all the giggling and whispering sweet nothings in your ear?” she demanded, trying to free her hands from his warm grasp.

He grinned, clearly delighted that she acted so jealous, and she tried to tamp it down, but the harder she tried, the worse she failed. The green monster had her firmly in its clutches and aiming its ire at the leggy, glamorous redhead. She knew if he continued in this line of work, he’d be surrounded by such people all the time. There was no way she could compete.

“She’s not giggling,” he said, pulling her even closer and leaning in to nuzzle her neck. With his breath so close to her skin she started to relent. After all, as soon as the photographer had called for a break, he’d made a beeline for her. “And the sweet nothings she’s whispering are actually directions on what to do. You should thank her, because I’d probably have been thrown out by now if not, as I have no clue what to do up there.”

As the last of the jealousy drifted away, she noticed for the first time how frazzled he looked, how out of his element, and she softened completely, apologizing for acting like a shrew.