Candlemoth: A Holy City Romance by Pauline West Read Free Book Online

happen?”
                  “Exactly!” I said.  “What’s the worst that can happen- my life is ruined?”
                  “Oh, fft, that’s not true.  You can handle anything.  Hey, you got any cereal or anything?  I’m dying here, practically wasting away.  Feed me already, sheesh.”
     
                  Somehow, at Divine Catering everyone already knew about Hazel’s little misadventure.  Later, Beren swore up and down that he hadn’t said anything, and I thought again about what he’d told me about Charleston being just a tiny town.  News traveled fast.
                  Another reason I needed to be careful around Ry.
     
                  Chef was the most relaxed I’d ever seen him.  He wasn’t even working, just hanging out in the kitchen while the baker put together a tray of frozen cookie dough for me. 
    “We got all kinds of flavors,” he said, ticking them off on his thick fingers, “snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, red velvet, macadamia nut… you listening, Lily?  It’s okay, doesn’t matter, because this shit is so easy a robot could do it.  You’re in, you’re out.  Bake the cookies at 350 for 8-10 minutes, let them cool on the tray for a couple minutes more.  Scrape em onto the serving platter their butler will have ready for you, and you’re good to go.  Just do a couple rounds for them, pace it a little, and when you’re all done come back here.  You can leave the dishes for the dish dogs, too.”  He looked at me expectantly, and I knew I was supposed to thank him for paying me to do the easiest work ever.
                  I could hardly nod.
                  Chef clapped a lobster red hand heavily on my shoulder and squeezed it.  I could smell his cigarettes.  “Kiddo, you’re all beat up, huh?  Lemme tell you something I wish someone had told me.  You are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with.”  He waggled his finger in my face.  “Hazel’s not a good influence, all right?  I know, you’re gonna do what you’re gonna do.” 
    Finally I looked at him.  “I think you’re wrong.  Hazel’s great.  She just feels things more deeply than most people do, and frankly, that’s something I admire.” 
    Chef gave me a weird look, tweezing me with his eyes.  For a moment I wondered if he’d get angry.  Suddenly, he threw his hands up, laughing.  “All right, all right, whatever.  Get your cute butt out of here.  And take a smile with you!”
    I loaded the van, thinking about what he’d said.  I thought Hazel probably used sex as a way to understand people.  But did that make her a bad person, a bad influence?  It wasn’t as though being promiscuous was contagious. 
    I shook my head.  Oh well.  Hazel was good in my book.
    As I closed the doors on the neatly stacked trays of frozen cookie balls, I shook my head, amazed at the expense the Calhouns were willing to pay just so they didn’t have to pour their own drinks or pop sweets into the oven. It seemed strange, almost less human somehow.  Or maybe they believed they were spreading their wealth around.  I could think of it like that instead.
    Why couldn’t their butler do it?
    Because the whole thing was fish-bait, I realized. 
    An excuse for a certain spoiled little rich boy to see me again. 
    I rolled my shoulders nervously, hoping I was wrong.  Because if Ryland Calhoun was insistent on having me… I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to resist him.
    The mansion was quiet when I pulled up.  I couldn’t decide if that made me feel better or more nervous.  I unloaded the trays, closing the van door with my hip, and went to the side entrance as I’d been instructed. 
    Their butler was a neat little man with a pink face and expensive shoes.  He opened the door before I had figured out how to knock without putting down the trays of cookies. 
    “Perfect, you’re here,” the butler