“Oh!”  As the man burst in like a wind gust, alarm instantly set Phaedra to prepare for flight, wild thoughts of bounty hunters swiftly turning her feet back toward the door.  Then his friendly smile defused her panic and she slowly relaxed, smiling back.  “People do seem to be dragged into this place by… something.”  Not for one moment did she believe that the mob who had forced him to find Corner Sweets again was the result of dumb luck.  The Fates, she hoped, had known when and where to put him just at this moment… just as they knew where to put her.  Her smile widened into a mischievous grin, revealing a nearly perfect row of pearly white teeth. “For me it was the smell of chocolate.”<br/><br/>She smiled back at the lovely golden woman she remembered from a week ago, one of the twins, the other already waiting with such delectable temptations at the counter.  “Hello! I couldn’t stay away,” she confessed.  Then, unable to help it, her gaze turned to the wall that had delighted them so much on their last visit.  “This place is magic.”<br/><br/>Her violet eyes brightened at Ari’s offer, and her smile warmed even more. “Oh, yes, I would love one, and your delicious coffee, please.”  Only for a few minutes, she told herself.  And yet, even as she chided herself, she was already drifting towards Ari, but not without a lingering smile and a very female, very interested appraisal of the man.  “I can only stay for a little while…” she told Ari regretfully, also including Eva and the man in her statement.<br/><br/>A little while… oh yes, ‘little while’ sounded so nice and vague.  ‘Little while’ can be anything from a few minutes to an hour, and, in her mind, she could ease her guilt by convincing herself she had only stayed a ‘little while’!<br/>