“So…” Emersyn slid closer to me in the backseat of the cab, then leaned her pretty face on my shoulder. “You said dinner?”
I chuckled. “Yes, I’m going to feed you now.”
She scrunched her face at me playfully. “What I meant was…where you taking me? So far I’ve had your favorite hot dogs from the street vendor in Central Park —”
“And their soft pretzels.”
“Also your favorite pizza inside Penn Station. And your favorite burger from that diner over on 2nd Avenue —”
“With the best curly fries you’ll ever have.”
“Oh, and the tacos from that little hole in the wall down in Chelsea, and the gyros from that other street vendor—”
“Don’t forget the ice cream street vendor.”
She giggled and shook her head. “So which other favorite food, secret spot, are you showing me now?”
I sighed and leaned my head back against the seat. “Honestly?”
“No, lie to me, please.”
I rolled my eyes and grinned. “Actually, my favorite tacos in New York are this other little hole in the wall over near Columbus Circle—”
“Deacon.”
I arched one eyebrow. “Yes?”
She narrowed her golden eyes at me. “Listen here, Dread Pirate Roberts—”
“HA!”
She pointed to my eyes, then to hers. “Focus. I’m hungry.”
“Honestly, I just want to go home. Ya know?” I sighed and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “These last few months have been nuts. For the first time since we met, I feel like we can actually just relax.”
She smiled and took my hand between hers. “Are you just saying that because you can sense that’s what I want?”
“What? No.” I frowned. I hadn’t been using my gift on her, it wasn’t something I liked to do. It felt like an invasion of privacy that I couldn’t do to my own soulmate. At least not intentionally. But now that she mentioned it, I couldn’t stop myself. My magic rushed to the surface and slid over her. Instantly, I felt her desire to lay down and chill out, and it made me smile. “Well now, would you look at that? Twinzies.”
She giggled. “Or as Royce would say, hashtag twinzies.”
I shook my head. “That cousin of mine. Highly entertaining. Poison Roycy for the win.”
“God, that is literally my new favorite thing.” She threw her head back and laughed. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Bettina being Hope is awesome. And the way she summoned Tenn’s sword? Epic. But Poison Roycy is the best thing I’ve ever seen.”
Poison Roycy. My cousin’s new ability to manipulate plant life was incredible to watch. He’d officially become his favorite superhero. I could already tell we’d be getting quite the cosplay out of this and I really couldn’t wait.
I laughed so hard I snorted. “I can’t wait to see where he goes with that. It can only get better.”
“Although, I suppose we do have Bettina to thank for this.”
“Oh, Royce has quite the thank you gift in mind for her—”
“Nope. Don’t tell me.” She shook her head as the cab pulled to the side of the road. “It’s better if I don’t know.”
The cab parked out front of my apartment and the doorman yanked Em’s door open. I handed the driver a stack of cash then slid out of the cab behind Emersyn. I waved to the doorman then took Em’s hand and rushed inside the building. It was still relatively early in the evening, but the wind ripping down the streets was ice-cold and I’d spent a little too much time in the South recently.
Just inside the door, Emersyn shivered loudly and shook her whole body out like she’d been running in the rain. She turned those champagne eyes at me. “Don’t you even think about moving us here permanently.”
I threw my arm over her shoulders and led her toward the elevator. “And miss out on the show that is Tennegan? I think not.”
As we walked inside the private elevator that led to my family’s penthouse, Emersyn reached out and hit the button to send us moving. I grinned, which was silly. It was the littlest thing, not a big deal at all. Hell, she literally just pushed a button in a private elevator – where there were only three buttons to choose from: up, down, and stop. Yet there I was, hiding my face so she wouldn’t see me grinning. I couldn’t help it. She’d never done that before. She’d never taken charge…like she was comfortable enough here to know where she was going.
Easy, killer. It was just a button.
I just wanted her to be comfortable here. In my home. The Bishops – and the rest of The Coven – were the most welcoming people I’d ever met. The second I showed up with my Mark I was a member of the family. It was all warm and cozy right from the start. Emersyn hadn’t gotten that from my family and I wanted her to feel that way here. I knew we weren’t going to live here permanently. We had a job that wouldn’t allow for it. But it would be nice to be able to bring my soulmate home any time I wanted without concern.
And this teeny tiny little act was the first sign that that could be a possibility.
Not that I wanted her to know how much that affected me. But these damn golden glistening mirror walls did nothing to hide my reflection, so I looked up at the ceiling — what is that? I frowned and took a step forward. There was some kind of plant hanging from the — Oh.
OH.
I grinned. I had no idea who put it there, but I wasn’t going to waste it. Em was texting so she hadn’t seen the giant mistletoe hanging from the ceiling of the elevator. I grabbed her hand and pulled her against my chest, then pressed my lips to hers. She giggled against my mouth, then sighed and leaned into me.
The elevator dinged and slowed to a stop. I heard the doors open and then there was a bright flash.
“YES!” Amelia shouted. “We have victims!”
I pulled back and glanced into the foyer of our penthouse to find my little cousin standing just outside the elevator with her iPhone in hand and a shit-eating grin. I shook my head. “I should’ve known it was you.”
Emersyn frowned and glanced back and forth between us. “Say what?”
I pointed above our heads. “Mistletoe.”
“Ohhh.” She blushed bright red then narrowed her eyes at Amelia and smirked. “Troublemaker, eh?”
Amelia giggled and shook her head. Her violet eyes that were identical to mine were bright and sparkly. “Actually, it was Uncle Crabcakes’ idea.”
Emersyn giggled. “Crabcakes?”
“Because of The Little Mermaid.” I shook my head and pulled Em into the foyer with me. “Wait, my father put up the mistletoe?”
Amelia grinned. “I KNOW. He kept giggling too. I can’t wait to see this.”
“Me too,” Emersyn and I said at the same time.
“Well, sorry it was just us—”
“I’m not!” Amelia cut her off with a tackle-hug, which Emersyn fully embraced. “I’m so happy you guys are back!”
I ruffled her hair, which was uncharacteristically messy. My mother usually kept Amelia looking presentable at all times, yet here she was, with her hair definitely unbrushed and definitely tangled. And she was wearing fuzzy sweatpants and a sweatshirt with a Ravenclaw house crest on it…her fingernails and toenails were painted neon blue.
She looked like an actual kid.
It was actually a refreshing sight.
“What? What’s wrong?” Amelia looked down at herself and frowned.
I blinked and shook my head. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I just…have never seen you dressed like this.”
Amelia blushed and tugged on her sweater. “Oh. Well, one of my new friends at school is from North Carolina and got all excited about this store called Target—”
Emersyn threw her hand over her mouth and giggled. “Oh my God,” she whispered.
“—that she didn’t think we’d have here in New York. So anyway, we went after school today and I found these clothes. They are so comfortable.” Amelia looked up at us and grinned. “I really like this Target
place. They have so much good stuff.”
“Have y’all never been to a Target before?” Em looked pointedly at me.
I shrugged. “I have, but not until — well, not until high school.”
Emersyn arched one eyebrow. “One of your playtoys brought you there?”
I cursed under my breath. “I mean…ya know…she needed…stuff…” Damn it.
But Emersyn just chuckled and rolled her eyes. She turned back to Amelia. “Does Heather know you were shopping at a Target?”
Amelia nodded. “Oh yeah, she picked me up.”
“Wait, what? My mother was inside a Target?”
“Oh my God, Deacon. Did we break your mom?” Emersyn cackled.
“You might have.” Amelia laughed with us. “But I like it.”
“I cannot picture her in there in her Louboutins.” I shook my head. “Was she mad at you?”
Amelia’s eyes widened. “Yeah, she was.”
I cringed. “What did she say?”
“She said, and I quote, Amelia Kensington English, you cannot just PICK your Hogwarts house. You must be properly sorted. Everyone knows that.”
If I’d been drinking something, I would’ve spit it out.
Emersyn’s jaw hit the ground.
Amelia shrugged. “I thought I could pick, I mean, Harry basically chose Gryffindor. But anyway, Aunt Heather pulled her phone out and made me take the quiz—”
“Wait, which quiz?” Emersyn frowned and waved her finger. “Like some Facebook quiz thing, or like the real one. On Pottermore?”
“Pottermore.”
I whistled. “I don’t make this joke lightly, but was my mother possessed?”
“I have so many questions,” Emersyn whispered.
Amelia giggled. “Yeah, I’m kind of still in shock. I’ve been making a list in my phone all day of my questions.”
Emersyn snorted. “Which is proof enough that you belong in Ravenclaw.”
“Really?” She grinned and looked down at her sweater. “Wanna hear the craziest part? Aunt Heather says she’s also a Ravenclaw…and she bought this same sweater for herself, but in adult size, obviously.”
“I’m sorry, did you just say my mother bought a sweatshirt?” I scrubbed my face with my hands. “Nope. This is too much to handle on an empty stomach.”
Amelia grimaced. “Stedman isn’t feeling well, so he’s in his room sleeping. Mom gave him a potion for healing.”
Stedman hadn’t been sick since I was Amelia’s age, but it was probably a result of SOMA opening and him having a bunch more work to do. I pulled out my phone and sent him a text that we were back and to let us know if he needed anything. Then I prayed he’d actually let me care for him if he needed it. And then something occurred to me. My parents went out for dinner, yet Amelia stayed home. And Stedman was sick. I summoned my magic and pushed it over to my cousin…
I scowled. “You’re hungry.”
She opened her mouth and started to lie, but I must’ve made a face because she sighed in defeat and nodded. “He looked really, really sick. That’s why Aunt Heather got me from Target. I didn’t want to make him cook…there were a few snacks, but I ate them earlier.”
“Why didn’t you go to dinner with mom and dad?”
“My friends at school keep talking about this Christmas movie called Elf and I’ve never heard of it. So I was trying to watch it but…” Amelia bit her lip. “Somehow we got signed out of our apps and I don’t know the login information. I’ve just been watching stuff on regular cable.”
I looked to Emersyn. She nodded.
“Well I know the login. How ‘bout we watch it together? Order some delivery pizza?”
Amelia’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Yeah, c’mon, let’s do it.” I wrapped my arm around her little shoulders and dragged her into the living room – the cozy one, not my mother’s fancy ass one.
My phone vibrated with a text from Stedman. Thank you, Deacon. I am okay, for now. But I do fear Miss Amelia might be hungry even though she told me she wasn’t.
I smiled. Thanks, she def lied. But don’t worry, I’m already on top of that. I’ll order you something and bring it down, just in case.
That’s quite kind of you, thank you.
I plopped down on the couch and opened up the app for delivery pizza. “We’re so pigging out tonight, ladies.”
Emersyn chuckled. “Okay, while you order I’m going to change my clothes. Be right back.”
I nodded and quickly added food to my cart. Then I handed the phone to Amelia. “Here, pick which toppings you want.”
Amelia grinned and did a little happy dance as she scrolled through the list. I grabbed the remote and discovered she wasn’t wrong We were somehow signed out of all the streaming services. It took me a matter of minutes to get the movie up on the screen and the food ordered. I was just hitting place my order when my chest lit up like a bonfire.
Emersyn was back.
“EM!” Amelia gasped beside me.
I frowned and looked up – then my breath left me in a rush. Emersyn strolled into the living room wearing a dark green sweater that fell halfway down her thighs and had an emblem with a snake on the front. It was my sweater. My Slytherin sweater. It was a size too big for me, but on her it was massive. I’d gotten it for a party once last year, and that was the only size available at the store. I hadn’t worn it since. Hadn’t even seen it.
I didn’t even believe in Jesus Christ, but Em wearing only my sweater had me taking the dude’s name in vain.
Heat rushed through my body, and not the kind that told me she was nearby. The kind that told me I’d be taking an ice-cold shower if I wasn’t careful. I tried to look away but my gaze was locked on the mile-long length of her legs and how much of them were on display. My heart fluttered and then my pulse took off like a bat out of hell.
Em shrugged and winked at Amelia. “Well I remember seeing this sweater before, tucked away in D’s closet…and since you’re reppin’ your House, I figured I’d rep mine.”
Amelia gasped again. “You’re in Slytherin! That’s awesome.”
I chuckled and patted the couch beside me. “I’m not even surprised.”
She slid onto the couch and curled her legs into my lap, which was exactly where they had no business being at the moment. “I was, years ago when I first took the quiz. But oh, how time has enlightened me.”
“Oh, man. So me and Aunt Heather are Ravenclaw. You two are both Slytherin…I wonder what Uncle Crabcakes is?”
“Hufflepuff.” Em and I said at the same time. Then we laughed.
I kicked my shoes and leaned back against the couch. “All right, let’s get this movie started, shall we?”
As the movie started, Emersyn rested her head on my shoulder and curled her legs more into my lap. Every single place we touched little bolts of electricity shot through my body. Each time my heart fluttered and my mind went places it had no right to be. Her hand landed on my hip and heat exploded inside of me. She sighed and curled in more and her hand slid under my shirt. Her fingertips brushed over my stomach and it was like every nerve ending in my body went ape shit. Her hand just stayed there. On my stomach. Skin to skin. It was heaven and hell at the same time. My heart pounded so hard and loud I couldn’t hear the movie.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Behave yourself, Deacon.
Chapter Six
Emersyn
“Is it really a felony to cut down a pine tree in Central Park?”
I spit my hot chocolate out onto the sidewalk.
Deacon frowned. “Did she just ask what I think she did?”
I laughed. “Yeah…Amelia…why do you ask?”
“They cut one down in Elf.” She shrugged and looked up at the trees in question. “I’ve never had a real Christmas tree—”
“What?!” My jaw dropped. I spun to my soulmate. “Deacon?”
He grimaced. “It’s true. At least for her, I haven’t had one since we left Eden
. Mom says they’re too much hassle. I barely remember what it’s like.”
I stopped walking. We were on 59th Street, halfway between Columbus Circle and Fifth Avenue, on our way back home from Deacon’s favorite taco place after an afternoon full of snowball fights in Central Park…and a few creative snowmen.
“Y’all.” I shook my head and huffed. “This is not okay. I refuse to let this happen.”
I understood that some people had legitimate reasons for buying and using fake trees for Christmas, but to have a child who had never had one? That was awful and sad.
“You need to have a real tree.” I groaned. “You need that smell, and the way it fills up the entire house with its glorious aroma. You need piles of pine needles on the floor. You need to climb under the branches to fill the stand with water. You need to get sap on your hands while hanging ornaments and then spend three days scrubbing just to get the stickiness off. It’s all part of the package.”
Deacon grinned.
“That’s it, we’re getting one.” I pulled my phone out and searched for a tree stand. “Oh look, there are a bunch of stands nearby.” I clicked on the closest dot on the map and started in that direction. “Come on!”
“Uh, Emersyn?”
“Nope. Not budging, D.” I shook my head. “We’re getting a real tree.”
He chuckled. “I agree, but you’re going the wrong way.”
I froze. Shit. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of this city. I turned back and found him pointing to his left, down one of the avenues –I no longer trusted myself to know which it was. Deacon took Amelia’s hand, then mine, and led us down the street and away from the park.
“Wait, we’re really going to get a REAL tree?”
Deacon nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Amelia squealed and skipped along. “OH MY GOD. I can’t believe it. Best weekend ever. I can’t wait to tell my friends on Monday.”
Deacon looked down at me with big, sad puppy-dog eyes. Thank you, he mouthed.
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