Chapter 16

At lunch, Hazel asked Sush about why she had to get Greg bagels and coffee. Sush lied eloquently on the spot, saying that she lost a bet against the duke about his age, to which Hazel reprimanded, “How could you not know that? Everyone knows it’s a hundred and ninety! Five years older than the king! Last I checked, you’re thirty-five, so aren’t you supposed to have the memory of a thirty-five-year-old?”

“Unlike you, my brain cells are limited and I have to be selective about what I store in them. His age seemed too trivial to warrant a space in my mental archive.” The truth was she knew. Like Greg, she’d memorized his and the mavericks’ profiles and faces before they showed up, down to the most trivial detail of their ages.

“So… he just happened to tell you he took coffee?” Suspicion crawled onto Hazel’s face.

“Nope. He just said whoever lost the bet would buy the other bagels and coffee.”

“You two sure are getting along,” Hazel remarked, not even trying to hide her indignation.

H