Magical Midlife Love: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Leveling Up Book 4)

by K. F. Breene

  “It’s good to see you. We’ve all missed you. We purposely gave you space, but we’ve missed the contact, Mom most of all.”

  Austin nodded. He needed to call her. To apologize. To explain.

  Kingsley put his hands in his pockets, a sign of respect and trust. “Mom is going to want to visit once it’s all set up. Meeting a basajaun would’ve been enough of a draw, but if that phoenix and thunderbird are still here… I think I’m going to lose ‘favorite’ status.”

  “It’s about time,” Austin said with a smile. “Let me have a turn.”

  They reached the door, but Kingsley turned his back to it, looking out over the grounds and street. “Tell her how you feel,” he said after a moment. “She needs to know. Hell, she’s obviously on board—she must’ve instinctively known you were claiming her, and if she didn’t approve, I think the whole bar would’ve known.”

  They turned to face the door, which opened of its own volition. An army of dolls waited inside, sad baby faces or manic Halloween green faces with black stitches, many of them holding real knives.

  “What in the…” Kingsley stepped backward.

  Austin could barely keep from laughing. Time for a little Ivy House initiation.

  “You didn’t think the house could protect Jess. It took offense. Looks like it’s going to show you what’s what. You’ll probably need to submit, or leave the property. I’ll let you decide. Good luck.”

  Austin laughed at Kingsley’s bewildered expression and made his way through the dolls. Poor Kingsley would have to learn about Ivy House the hard way.

  Twenty-Five

  A week after meeting with everyone to discuss plans, I walked down the hall toward the stairs, a million things on my mind. We’d decided to mostly host the coming mages in restaurants or a banquet hall in town, which would make things easier, but a dinner or two might take place in Ivy House, which meant I needed to update the furniture in at least a few of the rooms and hallways. I’d always thought of it as stately and homely, but Niamh had pointed out that I was crazy, and the furniture was actually gaudy and severely outdated. I’d never claimed to be good at interior design.

  I could pick a few pieces of furniture, but I didn’t have a clue on how to bring a look together. The whole situation was a nightmare, not to mention I was constantly training with Sebastian, trying to learn all I could in the few short weeks to come.

  Information Niamh had been gathering wasn’t easing my mind. Sebastian had been right—it seemed this mage had a reputation for cunning, cutthroat deals and behavior. Lesser mages disappeared after meetings with him, but he was never investigated by the Mages’ Guild. Alliances ended abruptly, usually with an “unexplained” death, and often leaving him the better for it. He seemed underhanded and downright slimy.

  To make matters worse, Sebastian said he’d always heard this mage had a fragile ego. The smallest slight would create big issues, and since the mage did have some wealth, he could hire mercenaries if he had to, intent on using force to look like the bigger man.

  Bottom line, he didn’t seem like someone I wanted a connection with, but he was certainly someone I didn’t want on my bad side. I’d need to really watch myself in the dinners and meetings, showing him my best face, and aiming to end the week as neutrally as possible. That was the best way.

  “Miss, Austin Steele will pick you up in…” Mr. Tom checked his Spider-Man watch. Jimmy had accidentally left it behind and said Mr. Tom could keep it. It was cheap and silly, and I had no idea why my son had had it in the first place, but now Mr. Tom wore it as though it were a priceless relic. “Fifteen minutes. Is that what you’re going to wear?”

  I looked down at my jeans and pastel pink blouse. “Yes?”

  “Oh no, miss, no. You’re going to dinner with two alphas. You need to dress nicely.”

  “I know, but Austin said this was just an informal dinner with his brother.”

  “Dinner, though.” Mr. Tom put his hands behind his back and lifted his eyebrows. “With two alphas.”

  I sighed. “Fine, what should I wear?”

  “How nice of you to ask. Since I am clearly a master on the latest trends for ladies, let me just select something for you.”

  The amazing thing was that he wasn’t joking.

  Austin had originally asked for me to come over a few days ago, but shifters kept trying to sneak into the territory and cause a ruckus. I didn’t understand the point or the politics—maybe they were trying to see how well the borders were locked down?—but it was keeping Austin incredibly busy.

  Mr. Tom picked out a little black dress, simple but elegant, and not at all what I would wear over to someone’s house for a casual dinner.

  “Is this a ‘dress for the job you want’ situation?” I asked, changing in my closet while he waited at the little table near the window.

  “Yes.” When I came out, he stood and looked me over. “A touch of makeup, a tighter curl, and then we’ll see about some jewels.”

  I frowned at him before heading back to the bathroom. Dinner with two alphas was clearly a much bigger deal than I’d thought.

  Or maybe Mr. Tom knew something I didn’t. Were Austin and Kingsley having doubts that I could pull off a façade of refined elegance for the visiting mage? Was this dinner a trial run, of sorts, to see what they were working with?

  If so, they clearly didn’t know about my past. After attending hundreds of work parties and boring, WASP-y functions with my ex and his parents, I knew how to pull off regal, self-important, and stuffy. Conversation might pose more difficulties, of course.

  A little while later, Mr. Tom came back with a stack of long, flat black boxes. He set them on the table and began arranging them.

  “How about this?” I emerged from the threshold to the bathroom. “I don’t want to go too formal with makeup and hair because it’ll look out of whack with the dress. I’ve had extensive training on how those things go together. My ex-mother-in-law criticized me every time she saw me for the first five years of my marriage.”

  Mr. Tom straightened and turned, scanning me from head to toe. “You are a vision, miss. Perfect.”

  I beamed. My ex’s mother had never said anything like that, that was for sure.

  “Now. All you need are some finishing touches.” Mr. Tom stepped to the side as he partially turned, looking down at the boxes, then back at me. “Which do you think?”

  Stepping closer, I nearly choked on my spit. My ex had been in the habit of buying me nice jewelry—expensive jewelry—which I had always liked. Sometimes a lady needed a little bling. But this!

  Four boxes in total, each containing a necklace, earrings, and a bracelet, except for the last one, which didn’t have a bracelet. The first set was a tasteful and elegant design of pearls separated with diamonds. My ex’s mother would highly approve. Those were out.

  The next box held a simple strand of diamonds, all the same size on the necklace, studs for earrings, and a tennis bracelet. The third set incorporated rubies, the teardrop necklace ending in a large crimson stone, the earrings a similar design, and the bracelet switching off diamonds and rubies. But it was the last set that stole my ability to speak. The earrings were elegant strands of diamonds, but the real beauty was the necklace: a sort of webbing of black and white diamonds that would drape down the neck, almost to the cleavage. The crisscrossed strands were dainty, the glitter elegant but not overbearing, and the wow factor off the charts. That one would make my ex-mother-in-law green with envy, and if I ever met her again, I’d wear it.

  Might as well practice now, just in case.

  I pointed, half wondering if I’d wake up to Mr. Tom’s face and a cup of coffee.

  “Excellent choice, miss. I nearly didn’t bring that one. It almost seemed too flashy for your attire, but I think you can pull it off. We’ll need to shop for some simple pieces. Everything else is much too formal for a light affair such as this.”

  “Where…” I gulped as he gingerly lifted the necklac
e and unhooked the clasp, walking around me. I carefully swept my hair out of the way. “Where did you get these?”

  “I keep a selection of jewelry in my closet. Most pieces are old and were kept with the house. I updated their boxes or containers.” He fastened the necklace and stepped around to look at it, nodding. “Keeping them in my room stops that insufferable Irishwoman from playing dress-up and heading to the bar. She used to hope someone would try to mug her. Well, someone eventually did, and it created an awful problem with the local Dick law enforcement. She broke five of the mugger’s bones and was in the process of trying to crack his neck—she was clearly out of practice—when the Dick policeman showed up to help. Only, the policeman didn’t know who to help at that point. There was a lot of explaining to do. Old Jane women do not usually assault their attackers in that way. She broke the necklace, and we had to get it mended.” He tsked and shook his head, handing me an earring and waiting for me to fasten it before he handed over the next. “I keep them hidden around my room now. She can’t get in.”

  Checking the additions in the full-length mirror, I couldn’t believe how much they elevated my simple black dress. I looked like some cartoon princess, ready to go to her less-than-formal ball.

  “If nothing else, I look the part,” I murmured.

  “You always did, miss.” He checked his watch. “He’ll be early. Too anxious, I think.”

  Mr. Tom was right—Austin was nearly here, although a couple minutes didn’t really count as early.

  A flutter of nervousness rolled through my belly, and I frowned when I realized it wasn’t mine. Looking myself over in the mirror, mostly just staring at the necklace, I felt Austin walking toward the door. Ivy House didn’t open it this time, waiting for Mr. Tom to launch into his formal butler shtick.

  “Grab some condoms,” Ivy House said.

  This surge of nervousness was all my own, my stomach flipping and then dropping, like I was in a free fall. I stood, frozen, feeling the front door open and knowing Mr. Tom was inviting Austin in, offering him a place in the sitting room and a beverage while he waited.

  I would’ve usually ignored Ivy House. Rolled my eyes, even.

  Tingles covered my body, my limbs shaking, and this time…

  This time…

  Hastening into the bathroom, I did just as she’d said, grabbing a couple, just in case, then stuffed them into my clutch and snapped it shut. He was a friend. He didn’t want to get involved. He wanted to keep his distance.

  We’d made mistakes before…

  Dabbing the sudden sheen of sweat from my forehead, I slipped the tissue into my clutch as well and slowly walked out of the room, composing myself. Mr. Tom was just leaving the front sitting room when I reached the bottom of the stairs.

  “Would you like a drink here before you go?” he asked me. “Mr. Steele said it was your choice.”

  “No, thanks.” I passed him, my back a little too stiff, and paused awkwardly at the door.

  Nathanial, the new gargoyle, whose warm brown eyes were undermined by his near-permanent scowl, sat in the far corner, his ankle crossed over his knee and fingers clasped in his lap. He stared at Austin while Austin leafed through a furniture magazine, not bothered.

  Austin looked up, eyes appreciative. He put the magazine aside and stood, his movements rippling with lethal grace. A black dress shirt with blue pinstripes hugged his muscular torso, showing off his girth and outlining his pecs. His biceps strained his sleeves and a black belt cinched around his trim hips. Dark blue jeans hugged his thighs, and his black shoes shone in the light. His rich cobalt eyes accented his rugged, incredibly handsome face.

  “You look beautiful, Jacinta,” he said, his move toward me more of a swagger.

  “Thanks,” I said, both hands on my clutch, held in front of me like a shield. “You do too.”

  “Ready?”

  “Yes. Yup.” I stepped toward the door and turned to the side, ready for him to lead the way.

  Instead, he stopped right beside me, standing close, almost predatory in his intensity. A shiver ran over me, my body suddenly tight and loose all at the same time.

  “I didn’t bring flowers this time,” he said, and I glanced at the blue orchid still standing proudly next to the front door, the gift he’d given me before our friend date.

  “It is too early to be slipping, Mr. Steele,” Mr. Tom said, standing by the door.

  A smile curled Austin’s lips. “But I did think of it. I’ll ask that you have patience.”

  I frowned at him. “Sure, but I don’t need flowers.”

  “Of course you do.” He nodded and turned, touching the small of my back. “Shall we?”

  “Who did you want on detail, miss?” Mr. Tom asked.

  “I will be accompanying you, miss, if acceptable.” Nathanial appeared in the sitting room doorway, in house sweats with his wings dusting his ankles, no small feat for a guy who was six-four.

  “Yeah, sure,” I replied, knowing there was no point in telling them they didn’t need to come with two alpha shifters on scene. “Maybe Jasper, too, so there’s someone I’m connected with.”

  “I’d like to go.” Hollace, the thunderbird, leaned against the wall at the top of the stairs, holding a book that rested against his thigh. “My liver is broken from trying to keep up with that Irishwoman at the bar last night. I need something peaceful to do, and this house keeps making the dolls knock on my door. It’s creepy.” He started down the stairs.

  It turned out that as soon as I healed him (after I’d taken him down), and he got a little information about why I didn’t know his role, he lightened up significantly. He’d answered my summons, and that to him was a willingness to sign on, as weird as the situation might be.

  I smiled. “Grab Jasper, would you?”

  Hollace stopped and then retreated. “Yup.”

  I nodded at Austin to get going.

  “If it pleases milady,” he said softly, then led me to the Jeep and opened the passenger door for me.

  “When do you plan on putting a bag over my head?” I asked while strapping myself in.

  He climbed in the other side and started the Jeep up. “I didn’t know you were into that.”

  “I’ve never seen where you live. I figured you were keeping it a secret.”

  “Ah.” He clicked in his seatbelt and away we went. “No, it’s just that your house is safer. Well, safer for everyone except for Kingsley. I think those dolls have been giving him nightmares.”

  “That guy doesn’t seem like he’d be scared of anything.”

  We turned onto a small road that led away from town, barely two lanes and with trees pressing in on both sides.

  “He’s not scared of much, that’s for sure. But Ivy House has a strange way of inducing fear.”

  We wound around up the mountain, no shortage of them in the Sierras, the headlights clicking on as the sunlight dimmed, the day giving way to night.

  “How are the new people coming along?” he asked, hitting a fork in the road and going left, winding higher still.

  I thought back on the past week.

  “Hollace and Nathanial are incredibly chill. Always very helpful. The phoenix just chirps because she’s too young to take human form, but she follows us around from room to room, or flies around the house. She has set fire to a few things, but the dolls run around with glasses of water to put them out, so that’s fine. They finally have a good purpose, but now we randomly have puddles, dribbles, and half-burned items littering the place.”

  “Sounds like a good time.”

  “Definitely not. Nathanial thanked me for summoning him, told me what an honor it was, and then basically just drifted into the background.”

  “If he works out, he could be incredibly useful. I think we need to bring in more gargoyles so you can have an extended pack. You should have an army of them.”

  “I would never be able to handle that many people answering to me,” I said, shuddering at the thought.

/>   “They’d answer to Nathanial, and he would answer to you or me, depending on the circumstances. Chain of command. You handle him. He handles them.”

  “And if he rises up against me?”

  “He won’t. He has fully submitted to you. But if he tries anything, you could have Ivy House kill him in his sleep so you don’t have to do the dirty work.”

  I smirked and looked out the window, at the dying light dancing through the pine needles.

  “Hollace and the phoenix are mythical beings,” he said. “They’re magical creatures with human forms. Their souls live forever, born into new bodies. I don’t know the exact details, but creatures like them only join forces once in a great while, every few lifetimes. You clearly got a couple that were ready to shed their vacation clothes and get to work. Cyra made us work for it, but she wouldn’t have answered the summons if she wasn’t intrigued.”

  “That makes me a little nervous.”

  “It makes me a little giddy. Kingsley is as jealous as they come.”

  The road opened up into a wide driveway leading to a two-story house. A huge, well-lit window looked out on an expanse of grass, pushed up against the woods at the back. Stone pillars bracketed the front porch, and the white door was flanked with colorful stained glass glinting in the porch lights. A wood deck hugged the second story and wrapped around the side. From my vantage point, I could see part of the house stepped up into the mountain, worked into the terrain. Its rustic look, all stone and wood and glass, fit in perfectly with the environment.

  “Wow, Austin, this place is gorgeous. I love the stone around the base. That’s a nice touch.”

  He exited his side and came around, opening my door and helping me out. “Thank you. I had it custom built.”

  “I thought you didn’t dip into your inheritance until you became alpha?”