“Cheese is a wonderful hostess gift. That’s so considerate of you, Deputy—”
“St. Vincent, ma’am, but Theo is absolutely fine.”
Theo handed Colby a duffel bag.
“I figured between the out-of-town trip and any shifting wear and tear, you might need everything I could fit in here.”
“You’re my hero,” Colby said.
He slung the bag over his shoulder and headed off to the bathroom to change.
“He’s everyone’s hero for sparing us from looking at you in those pants!” Gretchen called after him.
Theo looked modest, though Aria would almost swear she had the sense of his dragon just behind his eyes, curled up and licking its claws like a pleased cat.
She decided it was that little hint of human mischief alongside all the draconian steel-and-velvet politeness-and-thunder stuff that made Colby like him—even when they didn’t understand each other.
“If you’ll allow me,” Theo said, “I can start tidying up in here for you.”
He edged past them and immediately began putting the living room to rights.
“Can we count the woman you were talking to as the newest member of your fan club?” Gretchen said, glancing out the front door. She added to Aria, “People always love Theo. And Colby and I love aiming him at people who are annoying, because he’s more patient with them than we are.”
“Susan’s very nice,” Aria said weakly.
“Nice but a bit much?” Gretchen said.
“Basically.”
“She was a little excitable,” Theo said diplomatically. “I just let her vent a little until she calmed down.”
In Aria’s experience, that usually took a lot longer. She was impressed.
“See?” Gretchen said. “He’s a miracle worker. I’ll help you with the clean-up, Theo, just give me a second.”
She dug into her purse and came up with a dark green wine bottle, which she offered to Aria butt first.
“This is my hostess gift. I figured that with everything that’s going on, you could use some fortifying. I’ve got some chocolates in here too, in case you don’t drink—you can still have them even if you do, but in that case, I’m going to sneak one first.”
Aria wondered if there was some kind of place online where she could leave a glowingly positive review of the US Marshals Service:
Five stars. Exceptional service, complete with magical creatures, a super-hot werewolf, and complimentary wine. Would be endangered again just to spend time with them.
“You’re my new best friend. Thank you.”
Gretchen grinned. She looked like she could have been Colby’s sister, Aria noticed: they had the same kind of playful quality to them, with a sadness just underneath. Only Gretchen felt unreachable to her in a way Colby didn’t.
Gretchen said, “And I know for a fact that Theo’s cheese makes a killer fondue.”
“What’s fondue?” Mattie said.
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“Hot melted cheese or hot melted chocolate,” Aria told her. “You dip other foods into it.”
“I want to try it.”
“I’ll introduce you to some of my nieces and nephews,” Gretchen said to Mattie. “And you can all have a fondue party together. Somewhere without carpeting.”