I have blocked out all the chapters and will be assembling and adding from this point out. Hopefully this will speed things up.
So instead of gibbering, I went with polite conversation. “So, Betty. Here for the sun, the surf, or the sights?”
‘Betty’ dimpled at me, as the waiter set down our desserts. “Oh, the thought of doing the beach down here sounded divine, Mr. Vargas!” Damned if I know why I was expecting the Banshee to bobble her response. “Cinderella is so industrious, honestly. It’s all so full of commerce and enterprise, and while that is lovely, I could get all of that at home.”
She waited until we were alone again. “And that’s really the answer. Mostly.”
“Mostly?” I took a bite of my chocolate cake, and raised an eyebrow.
“Problem?” asked the Banshee as I took a healthy slug of water. At least, I hoped it was healthy. Better to find out now if it wasn’t.
“The cook added cayenne pepper,” I told her. “It ain’t bad, but my mouth wasn’t expecting to get bitten back.”
She looked at her own cake, shrugged, and speared herself a deliberate hunk of it. “Cayenne and cinnamon,” she noted after a deliberate bite. “No arsenic, though. Shame: it always adds a bit of piquancy to a dish.”
I surprised her then — by laughing. “Nice try. Arsenic doesn’t have a taste.”