“Did either of you see her in here?” I asked Eduard and Martin. They shook their heads and I turned to find the flirty waiter. “What did you see? Who else had access to the champagne?”
He glanced nervously at Harmony and she nodded. “They went through the flutes I poured during the best man’s toast. After that, the best man poured a second round and demanded a speech from the groom.”
Eduard reared back, a series of emotions playing across his face as he looked at Martin. “You did this?”
Martin shuffled from one foot to the other, not meeting his friend’s eyes.
“Whoa,” Harmony said. “This is gonna get ugly.”
“Shh!” I hushed her.
“You might have cost me everything!” Eduard roared, starting toward Martin. “Why? Tell me why!”
Martin tried to slip away, but Eduard grabbed him and pinned him to the wall.
“She deserves better,” Martin choked as Eduard’s fist clasped around his neck. “She deserves to be with someone like me! I was on the way to pour the second toast and overheard that girl bragging about her love potion. So, while she was busy giving the waiter her number, I swiped it. I didn’t realize it would be so lame and only last half a minute.”
“It worked like a charm,” Harmony bristled. “Also, not cool that you broke into my purse! Didn’t your mom teach you better?”
I ignored her and surged toward the two men. “Eduard, stop! Let him go. Don’t make this any worse.”
“I’m calling the SPA,” Marco said, starting toward the door.
I froze, thinking of Harmony and her wonky—and likely illegal—potion. “I don’t think that’s necessary. Right, gentlemen?”
Please, please, please.
Begrudgingly, Eduard backed away, spitting a final curse at his former best man. “Get out of here. I never want to see your face again.”
Whew.
Martin scuttled from the room followed by Kait, who paused at the door to shoot me a final fiery glare. “We’ll see what Hyacinth has to say about this come Monday. For now, I have someone waiting on me.”
Eduard sagged against the wall and shook his head. “What am I going to do?”
I held out my hand to Marco. “See, all better? But, if you don’t mind, I’d like to borrow your phone.”
He handed it over without question.
I dialed Belle’s number and was pleasantly surprised when she picked up. “Hello?”
“Belle? It’s Anastasia Winters.”
She started to sob. “I don’t want to talk to you!”
“Please, hear me out!” I begged, glancing at the expectant faces around me. I held up a finger and then stole away to the opposite corner and quietly explained the situation to the still-hysterical bride. She listened without interruption and when I finished, asked a few questions. I reassured her as best as I could and then handed the phone over to Eduard. He took the slim device with a grateful look.
I looped an arm over Harmony’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I’m ready to put this disaster of a day out of its misery.” I led the way back through the restaurant.
“Shouldn’t we wait and see what happens?” Harmony asked, her gaze fixed on Eduard’s back.
I shook my head. “I’ll find out soon enough. They’ll either go through with the wedding, or they won’t. There’s not much more I can do at this point.”
She nodded but looked reluctant to leave as I guided her back into the hall, though I wondered if she wasn’t more distraught at having to leave behind the row of pristine little cakes still dotting the top of the dessert cart.
Smiling, I squeezed her shoulder. “Dinner’s on me.”
She laughed. “That’s a relief. I’m not sure you’d go for the meal my budget currently affords.”
I smiled as a hostess stepped forward to open the door. Glancing at Harmony, I replied, “Luckily for you, I got Marco to agree to give you a job. You start training on Monday night.”
She blinked. “When did you manage that?”
I winked at her. “Remember, I’m very good at multi-tasking.”
We started down the sidewalk and got in line to hop on the next Shimmer Bus. It was time to go home.
“What a night!” I sighed, dumping the take-out bag onto the kitchen counter. A burst of steam plumed from the top, making my mouth water.
“I was just thinking that maybe all this fussy wedding stuff is more exciting than I originally thought,” Harmony replied with a giggle.
I rolled my eyes but smiled. “It’s not usually like that. If it was, I don’t know if I’d make it.”
At the very least, I would drink a lot more wine.
“Eh, you would. You’re tough, Stace.”
The sincerity in her voice stopped me. “You think so?”
She barked out a laugh. “Are you serious? Of course I do!”
Pondering this, I crossed the kitchen and pulled two long-stemmed glasses from a cabinet. There was half a bottle of chardonnay in the fridge and it was calling my name.
Harmony flopped onto my couch and propped her sneaker-clad feet on the coffee table. “Although, I don’t know, Stace. Seems like you might need me around here a little more than you thought. I did kind of save your butt tonight.”
I grinned as I poured the wine. “I’m pretty sure your wonky potion is what started all the trouble tonight.”
“Well, without me, bridezilla would have smashed a lot more dishes,” she countered.
I laughed. “All right, fair enough. Speaking of dishes, can you come set the table?”
“The table?” she repeated, as though it was a foreign concept.
“Yes? Where else would we eat dinner?”
Harmony pushed off the couch and sauntered to the kitchen. “You never eat on the couch?”
I raised my brows. “That’s an authentic Froggio!”
“Froggy-what?”
I scoffed.
“Sorry, sis,” she said, unpacking the boxes of noodles. “They didn’t exactly cover hoity-toity furniture brands in Academy.”
I rolled my eyes and turned away to get some plates and glasses. I passed them off to Harmony and she took them to the small dining table—another piece of furniture that cost me roughly a month’s wages—and set two places.
“There is something I wanted to ask you about,” I hedged, shuffling the take-out boxes back and forth just to give my hands something to do.
Harmony stopped on the other side of the island. “Sure.”
I tapped my nails against the polished quartz and then scoffed at my own reticence. Forcing myself to meet her eyes, I swallowed. “When did you learn to do that kind of magic?”
If my question surprised her, she didn’t show it. With a shrug, she replied, “I’ve always been able to do stuff like that.”
I planted my hands on my hips. “No you haven’t. I’m pretty sure I would have known about it!”
Harmony dropped her gaze. “To be honest, Stace, you’ve never paid that much attention to me. I was top of my class in school, despite my—”
“Troublemaking?”
She grinned up at me. “I was going to say adventurous spirit.”
I snorted and dropped my arms, then grabbed a pair of forks from the drawer to my right and handed one to Harmony. “Nice spin.”
“Thanks.” She took the fork but stayed in place. “It’s a simple spell. I’m sure you must know oodles of magic from all the weddings and stuff. I mean, just watching how those florists worked spells to enchant the flowers into perfect arrangements … it was stunning. Really. I mean it.”
I smiled at her appreciation. Maybe we weren’t all that different after all.
“Mom used to plaster the fridge with your report cards,” Harmony continued. “I’m sure you could out-magic me, anyway.”
I dropped my eyes to the white box on the counter before me. “Actually, no. I can’t.”
“What?”
My lips quirked to one side. �
�I know all about magic. How it should work, at least. It just never … does.”
I dared a glance up and found Harmony’s brow furrowed as she stared back at me. “So, you don’t do any of the magic yourself?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No. Not really.”
Her brows shot up. “Whoa.”
“I’m good at outsourcing, I guess,” I hurried to say, picking up my box of noodles and taking it to the table. “I know who to hire to get the job done. In a way, it’s like I’m good at picking out the best quality magic, but when it comes to doing any for myself … I’m afraid it’s a little bit of a lost cause.”
Harmony followed after me, carrying her own dinner. She sat down and immediately bypassed the plate in front of her, opting to dig her fork directly into the box of noodles. After she took her first bite, she pulled her feet up underneath her and settled into the seat. I opened my mouth to object, but realized I was too tired. I portioned out half the box onto my plate and laid the linen napkin onto my lap.
“I could help you, you know,” Harmony said around the mouthful of noodles.
“What?”
“With magic,” she said, twirling her fork to gather her next bite. “If you wanted to learn something sometime.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I busied myself with my own dinner for a moment. I’d never confessed my secret to anyone before, but if I couldn’t trust my sister with it, then who could I? She wasn’t the type to lord it over me, but still … it felt weird to have the words hanging in the air.
“I could help you with magic and in exchange, you let me stay here until I can get my own place.”
Gnawing at my lower lip for a moment, I mulled it over. It wasn’t the worst idea I’d ever heard.
“I’ll stay out of your way, tidy up after myself, and I promise to hold down my job at Luna’s until I can get a job at a potion shop.” She held up her hand, as though swearing an oath.
I pointed my fork at her. “No boyfriends, either.”
She frowned but then nodded. “All right. No boyfriends.”
Cocking my head, I considered her for a long minute.
She lifted her brows into sharp peaks. “Well, what do you say? Do we have a deal?”
“I have one more condition.”
Harmony twisted her lips. “Okay?”
I grinned. “No more love potions!”
She laughed and nodded. “Deal!”
“And while you’re at it, maybe put a security ward on your purse next time.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thank you for reading Cupid in a Bottle! I hope you enjoyed meeting Anastasia and Harmony as well as taking a sneak peek into life inside the magical world of the havens. Anastasia and Harmony will be back in late spring for a trio of wedding planner mysteries, so be sure to join my exclusive readers’ group to be the first to know when those books are available. You can sign up here: Danielle’s Readers’ Group and I’ll send you a free novella to welcome you to the club!
In the meantime, check out Holly Boldt’s series for more magic, mayhem, and mystery as Holly and her own crew of misfit paranormal friends get into all kinds of laugh-out-loud trouble in the Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries. Anastasia even makes a few cameo appearances!
The best place to start is with the Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Boxed Set. Triple your adventures and save some money while you’re at it!
Until next time,
~Danielle Garrett
www.DanielleGarrettBooks.com
About the Author
From a young age, Danielle Garrett was obsessed with fantastic places and the stories set in them. As a lifelong bookworm, she’s gone on hundreds of adventures through the eyes of wizards, princesses, elves, and some rather wonderful everyday people as well.
Danielle lives in Oregon, and while she travels as often as possible, she wouldn’t call anywhere else home. She shares her life with her husband and their house full of animals, and when not writing, spends her time being a dedicated servant for three extremely spoiled cats and one outnumbered puppy.
Follow Danielle Garrett online:
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Spells Like Teen Spirit
Ruby Blaylock
Summary
When teen witch Holly Watkins decides to use a love potion to get the guy of her dreams, all spell breaks loose. It’s up to her mother, Ellie, and Ellie’s coven to reverse the damage done by the potion before the Council of Magical Creatures discovers Holly’s misdeed and punishes her severely. Can Ellie keep her daughter out of trouble and return order to the love-crazed high school? With a little help from her friends, anything is possible, even a little romance with a handsome high school math teacher...
1
“I’m going to kill her.” Ellie Watkins waved the empty envelope in front of her friend and fellow witch’s face. “Poe, do you know anything about this?”
Poe’s pale face turned pink. “Oh, crap. Maybe?” She pushed her jet black hair behind her ears. “I had no idea she was going to order that.”
Ellie sighed. “How did Holly even know about this place?” Holly was Ellie’s sixteen-year-old daughter, also a witch, though she had just started exploring her magical abilities. The tattered padded envelope bore the label of a well-known magical supply shop that, unfortunately, wasn’t known for its high-quality supplies.
“Are you sure she ordered a love potion?” Mischa asked, sipping her coffee. The whole coven was at their usual morning-coffee meeting place, which is to say they were standing in the middle of Poe Landry’s empty driveway. “And are you even sure she found out about this place from Poe?”
Poe smiled weakly at her friend. “Yeah, I didn’t tell her about that place, exactly.” She cleared her throat and chewed her bottom lip. “I may have mentioned that I ordered a love potion online one time, but I definitely didn’t tell her where I got it.”
“Poe! You put the idea into her head—that’s bad enough.” Ellie covered her eyes with one hand. “Ugh. I didn’t actually find the bottle of potion, just the receipt, which means she probably has the bottle with her. I swear, if she tries to use that on some unsuspecting boy at her school—”
Seneca Wolfram put one hand up. “I wouldn’t worry about that, Ellie. Holly’s young, but she’s not stupid. And even if she did do something silly like that, well, those potions are novelty items, not true magic. It’s probably a weak infatuation spell that wears off in a couple of hours, if I know that place.” She smiled and squeezed Ellie’s arm. “Why don’t you just ask her why she ordered it? I’m sure she has a good explanation. I mean, we were all teenagers once. Didn’t you ever consider buying a love potion when you were Holly’s age?”
Ellie frowned. “No, I didn’t. We didn’t have access to the witch web when I was Holly’s age. My parents were way too strict. Which is why I ended up becoming a teen mom,” she added. “Which is exactly why I need to find out what in the heck Holly did with this potion.”
Britney Spears’s “Oops, I Did It Again” blasted out of Ellie’s phone. “It’s her,” she said, answering the call. “Holly, I’m glad you called, but aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?”
Holly’s voice came through the phone in a whisper. “Mom, I need your help.”
Ellie’s heart planted itself firmly in her throat. As angry as she was at her daughter, those five words changed everything. If Holly needed help, Ellie would give it. “What’s up, kiddo?”
Holly hesitated. “I did something and now there’s a problem.”
Ellie closed her eyes. “Did that something involve a boy?”
Holly squeaked out a reply. “Sort of. Mom, I’m so sorry, but I just wanted to ask Trey Simpson to the Valentine’s dance but I needed to be sure he’d say yes, so I …”
“So you what?”
“So I kinda sorta ordered a love potion from an online store. And I kinda sorta used it. At school. But it didn’t work.”
Ellie let out t
he breath she’d been holding. “Oh, thank god! I mean, what were you thinking? You know you’re not supposed to use magic in front of normies! And that includes potions, young lady.” Ellie cringed as the word ‘normies’ left her mouth. It was the slang term for non-magical beings, but she always felt like it made witches sound weird or something. “The Council of Magical Creatures wouldn’t go easy on you just because you’re young, you know.”
“Wait. What I mean is that it didn’t work the way I wanted it to.”
It took Ellie a long moment to reply.
“What. Did. You. Do?” Ellie was losing patience.
Seneca, Poe, and Mischa didn’t envy Holly.
“I have to get to class,” Holly said, evading the question. “We’re about to have some sort of big pep rally and we all have to be there, but—”
“Holly, what happened with the love potion?” Ellie strained to keep her voice calm. A vein throbbed at her temple. “Do I need to come to school?”
Holly hesitated. “Maybe. I put the potion in the water cooler by the second floor boys’ bathroom. Trey always refills his water bottle after second period because he says that his coach told him to stay hydrated.”
Ellie ground her teeth together. “You put the potion in the water cooler that everyone uses?”
“Uh-huh, but now, well, everybody is acting weird.” She covered her phone speaker, muffling her voice to say something to somebody she was with, then continued in a rushed whisper, “Mom, I have to go before Mr. Appleman yells at me.”
Ellie breathed out in exasperation. “Holly, for goodness’ sake, what is going on?”
Holly’s voice was clear again. “I put the potion in the water cooler and everyone drank from it.”
“Everyone?” Ellie’s jaw clenched in frustration.
“Well, a lot of people. And now some of the guys are acting all weird. Two boys got into a fight because ... because they both said that Mrs. Hammond was hot.” Mrs. Hammond, Ellie knew, was a seventy-something, wrinkled librarian with bifocals and a mean streak.
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