and admire my handiwork. My mate is certain to be impressed by this gesture.
Chapter 4
Steph
Kicking off my heels at the door, a groan escapes me as my stocking feet flatten on the floor. Gods, that feels good. I curl my toes up and wince a little as I walk from the door into the apartment. I can hear laughter and chatter coming from the kitchen. No doubt Tonya is home and Mama is finishing up dinner before she leaves. I know it’s Mama’s cooking from the good smells filling the house. I love my sister to death, but that girl can burn water.
Since she and her daughter moved into the spare bedrooms of my condo, I’ve had more than enough experience with my sister’s kitchen disasters. Mama doesn’t cook often, only when she’s watching my niece, Harriet. It is for that reason alone that, despite dying to climb into bed, the appetizing smell draws me into the kitchen.
The kitchen is the heart of the house, and warmth floods me as I step into the cheery room. Tonya is sitting at the table next to Harriet, the bangles around her wrists clattering together as she shuffles and reshuffles the cards in her hand.
“Care for a reading, sis?” she calls out as I come over and bend down to hug my niece.
“And why would I want a thing like that?” I tease as I give Harriet a tight squeeze.
My sister huffs playfully. “To get insights on your current path and where it’s leading you, of course. We have this discussion every time.”
“Then obviously it’s a wasted effort on me,” I shoot back as I go to investigate what Mama is cooking.
My sister ignores me as she lays out her cards. She peers down at them and gives a happy grunt.
“Would you be interested to know that your life is about to change? You are about to meet your soulmate. He is powerful and attractive…”
“And if he’s not a CEO or working a comfortable nine-to-five gig, I’m not interested,” I interrupt, banishing the unbidden image of the fae I met today from my mind.
Tonya groans. “How are we even related? I would love nothing more than for someone to come and sweep me off my feet. And attractive too… Damn.”
I chuckle and lean in to plant a kiss on my mother’s cheek.
Mama raises an eyebrow at me as she stirs the pot again.
“You’re home late,” she comments. Not disapproving, just matter of fact, as always.
“It was one of those days,” I groan and give dinner a sniff. “Smells like this make it all worth it, though.”
My stomach lets out a hungry gurgle, and I lick my lips in anticipation. Grabbing the spoon sitting on the stove, I prepare to sneak a taste when her back is turned to me as she goes to get some seasoning from the cupboard.
“Don’t even think about it. Go sit down somewhere. It’s got fifteen minutes left, and then you can eat.”
I return the spoon to its resting place with a grimace but sit down on the stool beside the stove.
“How do you even do that?” I mutter. “I was just going in for a little taste. Don’t see what it would hurt.”
“And then your sister would want a taste, and then Harriet, and then you all would be coming in for another—and half of dinner would be gone before it even got set on the table,” Mama chides without looking up from the shelves.
“It could be worth it,” I tease.
“After the day I’ve had, I’m starving,” Tonya agrees. “I just got home myself. Thanks for watching Harriet for me today, Mama… and getting dinner going,” she adds. “I know your Sundays are usually pretty busy.”
Mama shrugs, smiling as she looks over her shoulder at my sister.
“Just had to rearrange my schedule a bit. I moved my charity work to the midweek, and I’ll be joining Mr. Davis for a late supper tonight.”
I grin at that and wrap my arms around her shoulders in a tight hug.
“Imagine that! My mama’s getting more action than me these days,” I tease.
She huffs a little, a soft laugh escaping her as she swats me away.
“You would have plenty of action if you weren’t so determined to work yourself to death,” she retorts. “When was the last time you’ve even bothered to get dressed up and go somewhere that wasn’t work? Or had a nice man over?”
“Yeah, because that worked out so well for me before,” I reply drolly.
She rolls her eyes