“Purrletta?”

“That’s what I’m going to name her.”

“That’s a terrible damn name.” He leaned in to the cat. “She’s going to torture you with that name, isn’t she?”

The cat simply lifted her chin and he obligingly scratched it as the cat settled into his lap as if she were born there.

Traitor. Edie crossed her arms over her chest, half out of annoyance, and half to hide the cat hair on her sweater. “So what would you call her, then?”

He thought for a moment. “You know who was a blind badass? Daredevil.”

“It’s a girl cat.”

“Lady Daredevil, then.”

“It’s a white, fluffy girl cat,” she felt the need to point out.

He just kept petting the cat’s head, and the cat seemed to be eating it up, the little minx. “Which is why they’ll never see her badassery coming.” He scratched the side of the cat’s face. “She’ll be like a ninja.”

The thought of a blind, fluffy Persian having any kind of badassery or ninja moves made her lips twitch with amusement. “A ninja, huh?”

Magnus looked over at her, and amusement was etched into his features. “No? She can be whatever she wants to be. Just don’t tell her otherwise.” He made a motion to cover the cat’s ears up.

And Edie couldn’t help it—she laughed at that. “I’m starting to see where all your creativity comes from.”

“I told you, I’m not the creative one. That’s Levi.”

“And I told you, I’m not sure I believe that.” She gestured at him with the cat in his arms. “Any man that can make a ninja out of that cat is more creative than most people.”

“Lady Daredevil just needs someone to believe in her,” he said, stroking the cat’s head. “So are you really going to take her home with you?”

“Well, I’m certainly not sending her back to the shelter.”

He nodded and handed her back carefully. “Can you get away for a bit? I thought we might grab a deep-fried chocolate bar and chat a bit.”

She hesitated, glancing over at Peggy. At Peggy’s nod and beaming approval, Edie slipped the Persian cat back into her cage. “Only for a little bit, though. I’m needed to help man the booth.”

“Of course,” Magnus said solemnly. “I know there are people completely lining up to rescue these poor cats.”

“All right, all right,” she said testily. “No need to be a dick about it.” She grabbed her purse, gave her sweater a futile brush with her fingers, and then stepped out from the booth with him. “Deep-fried chocolate bars, huh?”

“Yeah, I figure if you’re going to go for fair food, you might as well go all in.” Magnus rubbed his hands boyishly. “News is that they have funnel cake here, too.”

“They do,” she agreed, and when he offered her his arm, she took it reluctantly. “This is feeling suspiciously like a date.”

“Is that such a terrible thing?”

“I told you I didn’t want to date you.”

“No, you didn’t,” he said easily. She noticed he kept his steps slow to match her pace. “You told me you were unavailable today. You didn’t say anything about not wanting to date me.”

“I should have clarified, then.”

“Or you could stop lying to yourself,” he continued, as if she wasn’t protesting his presence with her. Instead, he pointed at a food truck parked along a nearby street. “You want to eat a deep-fried chocolate bar with me?”

Damn it, she kind of did. Any time she mentioned something like that to Bianca, her sister gave a little sniff and commented about the calories, so Edie never tried it. “I guess,” she said, trying to sound reluctant.

He just grinned at her with that boyish look again and led them to the truck. Little red-and-white-checked paper boats were handed to them as Magnus paid, and Edie gave her chocolate bar a curious look. It resembled a corn dog peppered with powdered sugar. The smell was entirely different. “This is ominous.”

“This is delicious,” Magnus corrected, and took a huge bite out of his. Powdered sugar puffed and covered his face, and then his expression changed from pleased to startled.

“What is it?” she asked, curious.

He worked his mouth for a minute, then murmured, “I fhink it glued my teefh together.”

Edie giggled and took a smaller bite. Sure enough, the concoction was chocolaty and gluey, and her teeth felt like they were molding together, too. But ooh, it was good. She licked her fingers and swallowed, then grimaced. “Drink?”

Magnus nodded and they went to the next truck to get a drink. A few moments later, they both had cider, and when they finished their chocolate bars, Magnus insisted on caramel apples. That was how the afternoon went—they visited food truck to food truck, trying a little bit of everything and laughing as they did.

***

In his pocket, Magnus’s phone vibrated with an incoming text. He ignored it, focused on the bright-eyed woman at his side sipping a cup of hot cider. Even though her clothes were covered in cat hair, she looked good enough to eat, the apples of her cheeks bright with the chill of the weather, her mouth naturally pink and smiling. She’d gone bite for bite with him on every disgusting thing they could get from the vendor trucks, from Scotch eggs to turkey legs to corn on the cob to funnel cakes, candy, and now a drink. She wasn’t prissy about any of it, and when they’d played a few of the midway games, she’d heckled him fiercely when he lost.

Even though he’d been reluctant as hell to participate in Levi’s stupid mind games today, the moment he’d seen Edie at the booth, a scowl on her face as people walked past, her arms full of long-haired cat, he’d been irresistibly drawn toward her again.

Levi’s instructions were for Magnus to distract her for a few hours. Then, Levi swore he’d work on at least the Huns. Maybe the scripts for Hyksos invaders. Maybe. Magnus knew he was being taken for a ride by his lovesick brother, but what were his options? Levi was the creative mind. Magnus needed him. So he had to dance to his brother’s tune, no matter how irritating it was.

“I’m going to run to the restroom,” Edie said, pointing at one nearby. “Can you hold my drink?”

Magnus nodded absently and took the cider from her, watching her move as she blended into the crowd. Well, not blended exactly. Her movements set her apart, as always. He watched her until she disappeared, then juggled the drinks in his arms, freeing a hand. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the screen.

I need more time with Bianca tonight. Can you stall?

Could he stall? What the fuck was he supposed to do? Kidnap Edie and play charades? Drag her kicking and screaming to an all-day movie marathon? Even as he was filled with irritation for his brother, he actually didn’t hate the idea of spending more time with Edie. Her constant verbal jabs kept his mind going, and their sparring was fun . . . and a bit arousing. He liked that she never backed down.

Maybe he could figure out a way to get a few more hours in with Edie after all.

***

As they walked and ate, they admired local vendor stalls, from knitted hats to handmade puppets. The Harvest Festival was more of a craft fair put on by Edie’s small town every fall, and so there wasn’t much exciting other than food and homemade goods. But Edie enjoyed herself just the same. And as they wandered, any time she showed an interest in something . . . Magnus automatically bought it. By the time the sun began to set, she was wearing a ridiculous hat, hand warmers, had a jar of homemade pickle jelly, three kinds of bath soaps, a puppet, and a stomachache from all the junk food.

She’d also had a wonderful time. It was so relaxing to just be silly and think about nothing but what was in the next food cart. She also loved that Magnus was willing to try anything, and she’d dared him on more than one occasion to eat something that sounded completely toxic. By the time they got back to the shelter booth, Edie was laughing and tired. Her leg throbbed like the dickens and she was wiped but she’d had fun despite herself.