Chapter 19

Madison

" W ho is doing the soup kitchen delivery this week?" I asked, going through the next week's order forms on my computer.

The door to my office was open. Claire stood in the doorway with the evidence of wilted cilantro in her outstretched hand.

"Josh is," she said. "He's coming straight after school by bike, and I have the trailer loaded for him already."

"Good. Tell him to stop at the store on the way back to get some fresh cilantro. Get the money from the till and bring me the receipt."

"Will do, boss." Claire gave me a mock solute with a good-natured smile before departing to execute the new plan.

There had been a few small but important changes at the restaurant over the past month.

The day I refused to finance the purchase of his coveted shoes, Claire dragged Josh in here and let me present my offer to him personally. Somehow, I managed to convince the boy to take the job on a trial basis. He still threatened to quit every single shift. But he bought his shoes last week and still stuck around after that, probably having another purchase in mind already.

I never ordered the overpriced present for Sam's second cousin whom I'd never met. But I gave him another paid day off to sleep in and rest after the wedding.

Quitting charity had never been my plan. I loved giving. I just gave in a more organized way now. I scheduled and budgeted my donations and recorded every transaction, mindful of such boring things as tax deductions.

I didn't just need to keep this restaurant afloat, I was determined to make it thrive.

In Purgatory, I let Greed claim me, and on Earth, I learned frugality. If my business failed, the people I loved would suffer from its failure. I had to succeed to be in a better position to help them too.

After finishing the order forms, I locked my desktop and went to the kitchen.

Lee, my best cook, had been promoted to Head Chef, which left me with more time to focus on the business and the creative side of running a restaurant. I hired a new sous chef to help Lee. And now, we were open all seven days of the week, including Mondays.

It'd been only a month. The restaurant wasn't making much of a profit yet. I still lived with my mom with no chance of getting my own place any time soon. But we broke even and moved into the black this month, and my confidence in our future was stronger than ever.

With Lee managing the kitchen, I was able to finally take a day off to go to a spa with my mom last week. Seeing that I now might have some time to date again, Claire had renewed her offer to set me up with her neighbor.

In my mind, I agreed that I probably should. I still had a whole life ahead of me. I couldn't keep putting it on hold. I had to date, build relationships, maybe start a family one day...

Except that I couldn't get the sweet air of Purgatory out of my lungs and the memories of Avar's gentle touch out of my head. I missed the scent of lilacs and the taste of grapes. I missed the view of the sunset from the patio off Avar's kitchen. I even missed Keeper and already scheduled a donation to the animal shelter in his honor next month.

All this time, Avar never came to see me. He'd never said that he would. We'd made no such promises when we parted. I knew he wanted to give me space to build a life on my own in a world where he couldn't be with me. Maybe he also knew that a visit wouldn't be enough, that once he saw me, we wouldn't be able to let go of each other. But understanding it didn't make me miss him any less.

Sam grabbed a full garbage bag and headed through the back door to the alley. I resisted the urge to volunteer to do it for him. I'd run into that alley way too many times, hoping to find someone who wasn't there, searching for the purple glow between the dumpsters against any common sense, and of course, never finding it.

The door closed. I kept my attention on the refrigerator shelves in front of me, taking notes of their content on my tablet for replenishment orders.

"Hey, Maddy?" Sam returned without the bag and poked his head into the walk-in fridge. "There's a delivery truck in the back. When the garbage truck comes by, the guys will be pissed that he's blocking their way. I told him to move, but the driver said he has a delivery for you."

I left the fridge and closed the door behind me .

"I'll take care of him."

"Make sure you do." Sam winked at me. "The guy is hot as sin."

The tablet nearly slipped from my fingers. I set it on the worktable carefully lest I drop it.

"What did you say?"

"I said you should climb him like a tree, girl." He grinned.

Lee cast Sam a glance from behind the stove. "Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"I do," Sam agreed. "That's why Maddy needs to hit on this guy. Honestly, someone needs to hit on that."

"Hit on what?" Claire entered the kitchen from the dining room.

Lee rolled his eyes. "The truck driver with the delivery in the back. Sam is looking for someone to fuck him."

Claire snorted a laugh, then stared at Lee with alarm.

"Are you saying there is a truck in the back? Right now? But it's garbage day. Mo will throw a fit when he gets here."

"I'll deal with it," I repeated, opening the back door and heading out into the alley.

The delivery truck was parked badly, blocking not just the driveway to the dumpsters but also the biking path that crossed the alley near the street.

The driver waited for me at the truck's back door. He was tall. One might really need to climb him to even reach for a kiss. He was big too. His wide shoulders barely had enough space in his checkered red flannel shirt. Sam was right about his looks too. From what I could see between his dark baseball hat and the full chestnut-brown beard, the man was handsome.

At the sight of me, he took his hands out of the pockets of his jeans and shifted his weight from one foot clad in a hiking boot to another.

His outfit of a stereotypical lumberjack seemed to have come straight from some old sitcom, except for a large moonstone ring on his right hand. The ring appeared to belong more to a fantasy movie or a museum and clashed with the casual lumberjack vibe he seemed to be going for with his attire. I noticed he held no electronic signature pad or a waybill paperwork for me to sign.

"Hi," I greeted since he didn't say a word, just stared at me. "I think we're done with deliveries for today. Are you sure it's not a mistake? Do you have the right address?"

His beard parted with a smile in a way that felt eerily familiar.

"No mistake. For the first time in a month, I am exactly where I want to be, Maddy."

My heart tightened at the sound of his familiar voice, then blossomed like a garden in spring. Everything inside me turned light and airy. I didn't remember how I made the few steps to close the distance between us.

"You?" I reached up to cup his cheek.

He towered over me, but at his current human height, I could reach his face without having him lift me. His eyes crinkled in the corners, his smile shining through their vivid violet hue.

"Every fucking night," he murmured, "I've been dreaming about kissing you again."

"Avar..." I curled my fingers in his beard, pulling him down to me.

His arm, not a tentacle, wrapped around my waist as he swept me off my feet for a kiss. He still smelled like lilacs and tasted sweeter than grapes. I closed my eyes, allowing my memory to transport me back to his mountain.

"I've waited for you," I said against his lips when he let me come up for air. "I knew I shouldn't, but I wanted to see you again so badly. I wished you'd come. "

"I have. Many times."

"When?"

"I came during the day, so my glow would be easier to hide."

"Why did you hide?"

"I didn't want to disturb the life you had to build without me. But I couldn't stay away from you, Maddy. I had to know you were safe and well. I didn't want you to see me unless it was acceptable for everyone else to see me too. And now, it is."

"But how?" I stroked along his hard jawline, feeling every strand of his beard under my fingers. "Avar, where did you steal this body?"

It was a great body, too, I could tell by the strong hold of his thick arms around me, the sharp cut of his jaw under the beard, and the hard feel of his muscles under that soft flannel shirt.

"Steal?" he chuckled. "Is that what you think of me?"

"Just tell me the soul who occupied it before vacated it without your help."

"My dear sweet Maddy, this body is all my own. No soul has ever had it before me. And I have you to thank for it." He lifted his hand with the ring to show it to me. "I found this stone in one of the pockets of the belt you wore in Nerifir."

Now I recognized the stone as the one I took from Ghata's shrine in the monastery.

"Oh, I forgot about it."

The purple sparkles that hadn't been there before flashed behind the milky-blue surface of the stone.

"I found out that werewolves used the power of moonlight stored in stones like this one to give Ghata her physical shape. After some research and with a few modifications, I was able to use the stone's magic to create a body for me too."

I slid a hand down his wide chest.

"It turned out very well, I have to say. "

He beamed.

"You like it?"

"You've always looked hot as sin , darling," I quoted Sam and confessed, "I love you, Avar. All of you, not just the body."

I lifted my eyes to see his reaction.

He seemed to hold his breath for a moment, as if absorbing the words I'd just said.

"That means I can make my confession, too, then." He hugged me tightly, holding me with my feet dangling above the ground. "I love you, Maddy, more than I've ever loved any soul before, more than I've ever loved anyone as long as I've lived."

Happiness grew inside me so big, I feared I'd float up into the sunny skies. I wrapped my arms around his neck to hold on.

He kissed me, cupping my cheeks, and I realized those weren't his arms that held me above the ground. A pair of glowing tentacles wound tightly around me, holding me to him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for those to slip out." Avar laughed, replacing the tentacles with his arms around me before making the tentacles disappear. "I promise not to let it happen when other humans are around."

"It'd be really hard to explain otherwise," I agreed. Raking my fingers through his beard, I kissed his lips, his cheeks, then the tip of his nose. "How are we going to do it, Avar? Will you stay here with me?"

"I can stay here. Or you can come with me. I don't care, as long as we're together."

Now that we both could live in either world, there was no need for us to ever be apart.

"We can do both. I now have help running the restaurant. And you can look after your collection from here, too, right? The commute to Purgatory isn't too bad."

He nodded. "Definitely easier than getting through the downtown traffic here."

"Did you drive this truck here yourself? Did you learn how to drive?"

"I've learned many new things lately, dearest. Even how to be a cat owner."

"You still have Keeper, then? Will you bring him here too?"

"He wouldn't come here," Avar chuckled. "The cat is at Gul's for now. The rascal loves it there with all the food, and Gul always appreciates having someone to feed."

He gave me another kiss before pulling away.

"I've got something for you."

"A present?" I smiled, glancing at the truck. "Where did you get this truck, anyway?"

"I have my sources," he replied enigmatically, shoving the truck doors open.

A huge sparkle of purple fireflies burst out into the alley.

It was a nice sunny day, but in the shadows from the tall buildings in the alley, the glowing fireflies looked like stars swarming around us in a twister.

"This is beautiful!" I tipped my face up, laughing.

Avar looked perplexed, however. "How did they get there?"

"You didn't plan it? This isn't a part of your gift?"

"No. They must've crawled into the boxes when I brought them outside. I certainly didn't plan to bring them here all the way from Purgatory." Avar was generally far too practical for grand gestures like this. Then he saw my smile. "But now I'm glad I did, since you like it so much."

"I do." I lifted my hand for one of the fireflies to rest on it for a moment.

It sparkled like gemstone dust before taking off into the air again. I followed it back to the truck.

"What's in there?" Trunks, crates, baskets, and boxes piled up high inside the truck. "Avar, are you...decluttering?" I held my breath .

Standing next to me, he hugged my shoulders with one arm.

"I went through my collection, Maddy, thinking about what would make you happy the most. And well, this one here..." He opened a tall cabinet.

Inside was a stand with a contraption that reminded me of a skeleton, with a spine, arm bones, a ribcage, and hip support, as well as the long, thin braces for legs. All parts were delicately constructed, which made the entire piece look like jewelry.

"Is that..." I stopped, unsure of my guess. The piece looked more like an adornment than a device.

"Yes, it's the prototype I retrieved from the dumpster the night I met you."

"Met me? You took me," I corrected, without any hurt feelings.

"I did. And I can't regret it even if I tried. I need you, Maddy. I need you to be mine."

I twined my arm around his back, bringing us closer, and hooked a thumb in the waistband of his jeans. Avar was wearing jeans. Who thought I'd ever get to see that?

"There is more here." He opened the trunks, shoved the baskets closer, and removed lids from the boxes. "I have some medical research here to help people fix their current bodies, since you believe they shouldn't wait until their next life to enjoy the world. When I think about how happy you make me, I want everyone to be happy, too, now not later. Here are some rare gemstones that can be traded for money if you wish. And this is very promising research on an alternative source of energy. Shoes and pieces of clothing made in a technique that modern humans never heard of. And these here are some scrolls from the warehouse of the Library of Alexandria—"

"You're returning them?" I gasped .

"Just some plays and poems for now. I need to see what humans do with them before I consider parting with the rest."

"But how are you giving it all up, Avar? You can't give . You trade. What are you getting in exchange?"

He turned to face me again. Holding me close, he brushed a strand of hair away from my face.

"I've discovered the biggest treasure of all, Maddy. To me, it's worth more than any gemstones or any fortune in existence. It's your happiness. There is nothing I wouldn't give for it. If this is what you want..." He gestured at the truck. "Then it's yours. All I ask in exchange is your smile."

I couldn't hold it back even if I tried. The biggest, brightest smile sprang to my lips, uncontainable.

"There it is," he murmured approvingly. "My biggest reward."

He lowered his mouth to mine, and I met him in a kiss. My head was spinning at the thought that I was kissing Avar again, that after weeks of dreaming about him and missing him, I could finally call him mine.

"Wow!" A gasp came from the back door of the restaurant.

I let go of Avar reluctantly to find Claire watching us kiss inside the slow twirl of the fireflies.

"So..." She scratched the side of her nose, giving Avar a long once-over. "Mo is here to pick up the garbage, and he's throwing a fit that the access to the dumpster is blocked. He couldn't even walk around here to tell you to move because of the way your truck is parked. You're blocking the entire alley, buddy."

As far as I knew, they didn't give driving lessons in Purgatory. I had no idea how Avar managed to drive this truck, let alone back it in.

"Also..." Claire finally tore her attention from Avar and moved it to me. "I didn't think you'd take Sam's request to climb a stranger quite so literally. Though, I always suspected you had a thing for truck drivers, even when you wouldn't let me set you up with Tony."

I smoothed my hair and adjusted my blouse.

"Claire, this is Avar. He isn't exactly a stranger. We've met before."

"It is a pleasure to meet you." Avar inclined his head in an elegant bow that made his outfit look even more out of place.

"Ooh." Claire's face lit up. "You have a secret lover?"

"Not so secret, anymore." Avar found my hand and linked our fingers. "We're dating."

"You are?" She moved her eyes from him to me.

I squeezed his hand, unable to stop smiling.

"Yes, we are."

A loud, angry honking came from the street. Mo was a nice guy in every way. The one thing he always lacked, however, was patience.

"We'll have to move the truck," I said as Avar locked the trailer's door. "We'll take it to my house, for now. Then we'll figure out the best thing to do with each item. Claire, I'm taking the rest of the day off. Lee can manage the dinner service without me tonight."

She nodded but didn't leave. Leaning with her shoulder against the door frame, she watched Avar and me with a little stunned but happy smile.

I turned to my mortal sin.

"I'm taking you home, Avar. You're going to meet my mom. Just a word of warning. She'll adore you. So, get ready to be adored."

He smiled at me, unconcerned.

My boyfriend. The Sin of Greed.

How would I ever be able to explain this to anyone ?

It was a good thing that I had no intention of explaining anything. As long as we were together, it was all that mattered.