by K. M. Waller
Shelby quirked an eyebrow but didn’t look up.
Dara chimed in. “I can give you a private tour if you’d like?”
When Lex glanced at Amira, she kept her expression neutral. She wanted Lex to leave Burberry in his rearview mirror by the end of the day, not stay through the weekend.
He started to respond when the mayor cut him off.
“Also, my son’s wedding is two weeks from Saturday. I’m sure Amira could use a date. Poor thing attends all these town functions alone and people are going to start wagging their tongues about her turning out like her spinster aunts.”
Dara snorted.
Amira’s cheeks warmed as she fought to stay composed. She wanted to remind the mayor and Dara that the term spinsters was antiquated, but held her tongue on that issue. She made a solid attempt to keep irritation from overcrowding her voice. “Mayor Henry, I’m not sure Lex is going to be in town for that long. I wouldn’t want you to be disappointed when he’s unable to attend your events.”
“The invitations will stay open.” The mayor turned a serious gaze toward Amira. “I assume that tomorrow’s bridal shower won’t be host to the same shenanigans as today.”
If she could whip up a spell by tonight, it most definitely wouldn’t. “No, ma’am. I assure you everything will be perfect.”
“Stupendous. Now excuse us while I check on the finishing touches in the museum.” She and Dara jaywalked across the two-lane street to the library. She yelled over her shoulder, “Come along, Shelby.”
Dara flipped her hair over her shoulder and waved one finger at Lex.
Shelby glanced up from her phone. “Sorry about Mom. She’s always looking for a way to put the town on the map. Last month we were descendants of Colonial spies. This month we’re witches. Next month we’ll have been the originators of Hemingway’s six-toed cats.”
Lex’s warm chuckle filled the air around them.
Shelby’s cheeks turned a slight shade of pink under his attention. She nodded in the direction of the library. “I’d better catch up.”
Amira waved her off.
Lex watched the women cross the street, his curiosity evident. “The mayor is really embracing the witch theme, isn’t she?”
“If she were a witch, it would explain a lot of things about her.”
“Like what?”
“Like how she gets re-elected every year. Or why her husband left town never to be heard from again.” Amira glanced at her watch and groaned. “And now we’re going to be late.”
Which meant her sisters and friends would have additional time to gossip about Lex and the day’s events.
∞∞∞
Lex didn’t intend to let Amira out of his sight even for an hour. He half-hoped game night could be code for spell casting time or however the three witches cooked up their love spells. Game night with friends was something ordinary people did. Still, he had to catch her and her sisters in preparations for a heinous act and couldn’t afford to let them come together without being nearby.
He’d already put in some serious time today with the kids and bridge club. He’d flirted with Amira and had given her every opportunity to set up a spell or honey trap. It punched his ego a little she hadn’t fallen for his charms yet.
He wouldn’t let all of his work go to waste. Being in the house while she changed would also give him some time to search for more compelling evidence. Or any evidence. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. What was he missing? If he weren’t so stubborn, he’d call Sparsh and run the situation by him, but Sparsh would feel obligated to tell Lex’s grandfather. Lex would rather drink daily love potions than admit to Gramps he struggled with anything—especially where witches were concerned.
He’d texted Jordie earlier in the day to do some basic research on love spells and potions so he’d know what to look for once he got inside Amira’s house. If nothing else, he could plant a tiny wireless camera and catch her spell casting on video. All he needed was one act of witchcraft against humans.
He followed along behind her Volvo through the heart of Burberry. Dusk had settled and people lined the streets walking their dogs or visiting the shops still open before returning to their comfy homes. Lex had grown up in boarding schools stateside and abroad. He didn’t even own a house. The rented penthouse in South Beach was the closest place he had to a residence. Small towns where everyone waved and called each other by their first names had never fit into his lifestyle. It fit Amira to a T. Why would she give up that comfort and safety? Adventure? He couldn’t believe a powerful witch hadn’t lived a life of twists and turns. More likely they’d run out of people to spell and needed fresh victims.
When Amira pulled her car to the front of her house, she unclipped what looked like the house key and left her car running. She yelled from the front porch. “I don’t have time to change anymore. I’m just going to check on the pets and come right back.”
Crap. The mayor had cost him his time for a little recon in the house. Now he had no choice but to suffer through to the end of game night and find a way to get invited in when the evening ended.
He called to her through his opened window. “We’ll take my car. There’s no need to waste gas by taking two vehicles.” No way was he getting stranded at game night, and he had a nagging suspicion Amira would attempt to get rid of him again. Must be hard to cast spells with an unwanted guest hovering.
As soon as Amira walked through the door, he yanked out his phone and hit the speed dial for Jordie. Voicemail picked up and Lex gritted his teeth. His assistant sucked at the assisting part sometimes. The kid should’ve been back by now. He left a terse message. “I need the information I asked for now. And send pictures.”
Lex trotted to Amira’s car and sat in the driver’s seat. He used the pretense of shutting off her car to look inside her glove box and the console. Nothing. When her shadow moved across the front window, he pulled her keys from the ignition. Her purse sat on the driver’s side floor, and as much as he wanted to sift through the contents, time had run out.
Amira exited through her front door and paused on the covered, wraparound porch.
He dangled her keys in the air. “I grabbed them to save time.”
“Can you get my purse while I lock up? It’s on the floorboard.”
Finally, a speck of luck smiled on him. He snatched up the purse by its straps and jiggled the contents while Amira had her back turned. All he could see was normal girl stuff. Lip gloss, receipts, shopping lists, a wallet, and a pack of sugar-free chewing gum.
Frustrated, he met Amira at his car and opened the passenger door for her. No matter what it took, he had to get inside her house by the end of the evening.
∞∞∞
If Lex wanted to come to her little get together, she’d allow that. If spending a couple hours with her girlfriends playing charades didn’t send him running for the hills, she’d do the spell—no more hesitation. If he begged off early with a superficial excuse, she’d believe he was legit. If he stuck around and sipped Malbec and shared fashion tips with her friends, she’d have her answer and justification for using magic on him.
They took Lex’s car to her sister’s house across town. The small two-bedroom townhouse had a great sunk-in den. Her two sisters and three of their friends got together once a month to let off a little steam, drink wine, and get goofy with games. Tonight would be charades, not Amira’s favorite game, but she’d give it her best shot.
Lex came around to the passenger side and opened the car door for her again. A little electric thrill ran up her spine. The aunts must have lathered on some extra chivalry mojo.
Her friend Susie answered the door and froze. If she hadn’t blinked in rapid succession, Amira would have believed the world stopped.
“Susie—Lex, Lex—Susie. Lex is, um, a friend of mine.” Wow, the lie rolled off her tongue with ease, and even held a little back off sister in the word “mine.”
“Any friend of Amira’s is welcome to gam
e night,” Susie muttered. Then as if a light went off in her head, she blasted them both with a toothy smile. “Please excuse my manners, I was just surprised. My fiancé would never come to a girls’ game night. In fact, we’ve tried doing co-ed once, but the guys got too competitive.”
Susie swung the door open wide and Lex and Amira walked into the front hallway. Lex leaned in close, and Amira could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck. She leaned a little toward the wall for support for her weakened knees. If his breath on her neck could do that, imagine what would happen if he leaned in for a kiss.
Stop that train of thought. Lex wasn’t real. Well, he was real, but any chemistry between them was a figment of spell casting.
“Girls’ night?” He’d spoken low enough so only she could hear the question.
She tried for cheerful and chirpy in her tone. “I told you it wouldn’t be your thing, but you insisted. You don’t have to stay. One of my sisters can drive me home.”
“Oh, no. I’m in for the long haul.” He brushed past her and followed Susie into the den.
Amira stayed behind to collect herself. With her heart banging against her chest and her breaths shallow, someone would think they’d just made out in the hallway instead of having a simple exchange of words. She had to get her libido under control or she’d consider keeping him.
Ally rounded the corner, her bewildered expression leading the way. “You have to tell me where you found him. And does he have a brother? Wait. That would be weird, wouldn’t it?”
“Shhh… keep your voice down. Actually, I need to tell you and Ris something together. Is she here yet?”
“She called off about an hour ago. Lied about having a headache. She’s the worst liar between the three of us. What’s going on?”
“I’m selling the Tea Haven,” she spit out. “Lex is a potential buyer and he’s checking out the place for a couple of days. He wanted to get a good feel for our small town, so I invited him tonight.” A half-truth at best, but the whole truth would only cause more trouble.
A wrinkle formed between Ally’s eyebrows. “Oh.”
“Are you mad I didn’t tell you before I listed it?”
“No.” Ally leaned against the wall. “Of course not. The Tea Haven is yours. But what are you going to do after you sell?”
Great question. “I don’t know yet. Find my passion, I guess.”
A burst of laughter erupted from the living room. Ally squeezed Amira’s shoulder, her smile encouraging. “We’d better get in there.”
Amira followed Ally into the sunk-in living room. Their friends surrounded Lex like a group of lionesses toying with an antelope.
Susie wiggled closer to him on the couch. She pointed at his hand. “Not married, huh?”
Lex smiled at her, the bold question apparently not fazing him at all. “No.”
One of Ally’s teacher friends leaned forward. “Serious girlfriend?”
Again he answered the question without a twitch. “Nope. I travel a lot, and it really doesn’t leave a lot of time for romantic entanglements.”
Ally handed Amira a glass of red wine.
Susie poked him in the arm. “Don’t hang around Burberry too long. This town has a reputation for love at first sight, like it’s been hosed down with love potion number nine. The local chaplain is constantly scheduling weddings. I think the church is booked until the end of the year. Even the elderly are known for getting their groove on here.”
Amira focused on the wine and drank deep. Over the top of her glass she cut her gaze to Ally, who gulped the contents of her glass too. They’d always suspected the cloud of love hovering over Burberry had something to do with their aunts.
Susie held up her hand, allowing everyone to admire her engagement ring, the princess-cut diamond glittering in Ally’s recessed lighting. Then she sighed and made eye contact with Amira. “Love matches for everyone except the Walker sisters it seems.”
Ally clapped her hands. “I think that’s enough awkward interrogation. Let’s start with charades, shall we.”
Amira silently blessed her sister for the change of subject. It wasn’t as if the Walker sisters didn’t want love. They just wanted it to be natural and free of magical pimping from the aunts.
Lex focused his gaze on her, and she pretended not to notice by downing the rest of the wine.
Susie moved over and patted the space between her and Lex. “Sit down here, Amira.”
Amira wanted to sit anywhere but there. Instead, she did as directed, but only because it put her into close proximity of hair grabbing.
Great goddesses, she needed a better plan.
∞∞∞
An hour into the game, texts from Jordie started pouring in. Lex ignored them, setting his phone to vibrate. They were in the middle of a fierce round of charades, and Lex pulled the card for his turn. His team consisted of Amira and her friend Susie. The other team was led by Ally and two elementary school teachers whose names he’d already forgotten. The theme was celebrities and fictional characters. Ally’s team was up by a point, but only because they’d drawn celebrities more than once and that was not Lex’s forte. No way was he going down to a trio of school teachers.
His competitive nature soared into overdrive, as did Amira’s apparently. Thanks to two glasses of wine, Amira’s wary disposition had relaxed. She’d pushed up the sleeves of her sweater and pulled out the clip that held most of her blonde hair. It now fell in wild disarray around her shoulders.
Her eyes gleamed, and she pointed to the card in his hand. “We’ve got this.”
Susie set the timer, and gave him the thumbs up. “Go!”
He flipped over the card. Wicked Witch of the West.
He set the card face down on the table and shook his head. Everywhere he turned—witches. First he did the sign for movie and an additional one for book.
“Fictional character from a movie and a book,” called out Amira.
He nodded and rolled his hands for her to keep going.
He stood in the middle of the living room and made a triangle hat gesture over his head.
“Hat?” Susie asked.
He nodded again and held up two fingers to indicate he acted out the second word. He climbed on a broom and pretended to ride through the living room.
“The Lone Ranger?” asked Amira.
He shook his head. With exaggerated moves, he made the motion of stirring a cauldron.
Susie stood up and started hopping. “Baker? Are you a baker?”
Amira gave Susie a gentle tap on the arm. “Baker isn’t the name of a fictional character.”
He shook his head as the timer ticked down. He did the hat, the broom, and added a cackling silent laugh. The last part made him feel like a bigger idiot than when he’d donned the apron earlier.
Susie clapped. “A witch! Uh, I mean the Wicked Witch of the West!”
“Yes!” His gaze drifted to Amira.
Her eyes rounded, and she glanced across the room to her sister.
Ally cleared her throat. “That’s a point for your team. Why don’t we take a break? Amira, come to the kitchen and help me grab more wine.”
Amira pushed past him and followed Ally out of the room. The atmosphere had changed. He shouldn’t have looked directly at her when Susie had guessed the answer, but he’d wanted to see her reaction. Pretending like nothing out of the ordinary had transpired, Lex made his excuses and pretended to search for a bathroom.
The first floor consisted of the living room, kitchen, and a small dining area. Decorated in nautical blues and whites, Ally’s sparse house didn’t allow for much clutter. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, wondering if he had enough time to check closets. He thumbed through his phone, committing the images Jordie had sent him to memory.
“Lex?” Amira came around the corner, her eyebrows raised. “Are you looking for something?”
He shrugged and stuck his phone in his back pocket. “I can’t help it. The real estate guy in me al
ways wants to check out the layout of a building.”
She gestured over her shoulder to the living room. “One of the girls got a call from her babysitter. She’s got to run so we’re going to call it a night.”
“Great.” When she tilted her head, he tempered his excited tone. “Back to your house? I’d really like a tour.”
Her shoulders drooped, and her guarded expression returned. “If you could just drop me off, that would be great. I’ve got a big day with the bridal shower tomorrow, and I’m really tired.”
They said their goodbyes to her sister and friends, and Lex drove back across town to Amira’s house. Even though she’d given him a pretty firm brush off, he wanted to try one last time to get inside the house.
He parked the car in her drive and before she could stop him, he exited and crossed the front to her side to help her out. “I wouldn’t be a true gentleman if I didn’t walk you to the front door.”
Amira sighed, and he got the feeling he kept her from something important. Another love spell maybe? Refreshing the spell to cloak her age with the body of someone young and extremely attractive?
Amira’s slumped shoulders gave him the approval he needed. A low growl emitted from the dark area of the wraparound porch.
“J-pup?” Amira climbed the stairs and the nicer of her two dogs nestled against her leg. Another low growl came from around the corner. “How did you guys get out?”
A screech followed her question. Amira held out her arm and a white parrot flew from a rocking chair to her forearm.
“What’s going on?” he asked, not sure what other animals would accost them on the way to the door.
“My front door is open.” She turned to face him, the confusion in her features deepening her frown. She pushed the door and it creaked open. “I’m sure I locked it when we left.”
Lex pulled out his phone and used the flashlight feature. “Let me take a look inside first. Wait here.”
Finally, something worked out in his favor.