Usually Lily stayed behind the bar and mixed drinks while the waitstaff served them. But she’d fallen into the habit of coming over to take orders personally from Griffin’s table of lawyers—Kevin, Miles and Debbie.
Debbie was a recent addition to the group. When she’d invited herself along a couple of weeks ago, Griffin had thought Miles was the draw. But Miles was sure Griffin was her target.
If so Griffin should be happy to fall in with that plan. The tall blonde was focused and smart. He’d love to be interested in her, but when Lily was around he couldn’t seem to think about any other woman. He really should suggest a different happy hour spot.
But not tonight. Lily, dressed in a tight black top, skinny jeans and boots, was already on her way to their table with smiles for everyone and an extra wink for Griffin. One wink and his cock grew stiff as a swizzle stick.
After depositing a bowl of mixed nuts in the center of the table, Lily positioned herself next to Griffin’s chair, which meant that her spicy perfume quickly transformed him into a man with no brain. She took everyone else’s order before turning to him.
“Griffin, the usual?”
This close, he could feel the warmth of her body, and it was all he could do not to respond with a suggestion that would have shocked everyone at the table. Her full lips were slightly parted as she gazed down at him.
Tonight she wore glossy red lipstick. He wondered if it would smear if he kissed her, or if she’d invested in the long-lasting kind. He’d bet that lipstick would carry her through a make-out session with no worries. She was the sort of woman who would know all about cosmetics and how to use them to full advantage.
“Griffin?” she prompted. “The usual?”
Wonderful. She’d caught him staring brainlessly at her, probably with undisguised lust in his eyes. “Thanks.” His voice sounded rusty. “That would be great.” He always ordered a vodka tonic with a twist.
“Or maybe you’d like to shake things up a little? I make a great Harvey Wallbanger.”
He shouldn’t have looked into those brown eyes when she said that. Once he did, all he could think of was wall-banging sex, which probably had been her intention. She was wicked that way, and he shouldn’t like it.
She’d also cornered him. If he stuck with his tried-and-true drink, he’d look stodgy. His ego couldn’t stand to take the hit.
He smiled at her. “Sure, why not? I haven’t had a Wallbanger in years.”
She laughed. “That’s a shame.” Then she whisked off toward the bar.
Kevin, short and on the stocky side, shook his head as he glanced across the table at Griffin. “You’re an idiot, Taylor.”
“No kidding.” Miles, who looked like a surfer, thanks to sessions in a tanning booth, grabbed a handful of the mixed nuts. “Only a moron would pass up that kind of opportunity.”
“Thanks, guys,” Griffin said. “I think you’re both swell, too.”
On Griffin’s right, Debbie sighed. “Did it ever occur to you bozos that Griffin prefers a more subtle approach?”
“Exactly.” Griffin glanced at Debbie and wished like hell he could feel the same groin-tightening excitement for her that he felt every time he looked at Lily.
Debbie met his gaze. “We should have dinner sometime.”
So there it was. Miles was right and she was after him. Maybe he should explore that option. “That’s a good idea,” he said. If he put some effort into getting to know her better, he might find excitement lurking under the surface. Still waters and all that. “Saturday?”
“Sounds good.”
“Don’t mind us.” Miles grabbed another handful of nuts. “Conduct your personal business right under our noses. We don’t care, right, Kevin?”
“Right. We can conduct personal business, too. Hey, Miles, want to catch the Cubs game Saturday night?”
Miles nodded. “You bet. I’ll see if I can score some tickets.”
Griffin knew he was in trouble when he suddenly wished he could go to the game with the guys instead of spending the evening with Debbie. He turned to her. “You like baseball?”
“Not especially.” She must have seen something in his expression, because she hurried into a disclaimer. “I mean, I don’t know a lot about the game, but if you want to go, maybe you could coach me on the finer points. I’d be okay with a Cubs game.”
Now Griffin felt like a total louse. Debbie sounded way too eager to please, which meant she was into him much more than he’d suspected. He didn’t want a woman who was willing to immediately alter her behavior to make him happy. He shouldn’t have agreed to dinner.
Peripherally he noticed that Kevin and Miles were watching with poorly disguised interest to see how he got himself out of this little jam. Saturday was still four days away. He’d figure this out. “We’ll do dinner,” he said. Better that than watching her pretend to enjoy a baseball game for his sake.
He caught Lily’s scent as she approached, but he didn’t look up. He didn’t have to. The mental picture of her balancing a tray one-handed, which further stretched the material of her blouse over her breasts, was a vision he’d committed to memory weeks ago.
“One Wallbanger for Mr. Taylor.” She placed a cocktail napkin in front of him and set the tall glass of orange liquid squarely on the napkin.
Was it his imagination or did she sound winded? She hefted trays all the time, so he knew the exercise hadn’t taken her breath away. Was she breathing hard because she was close to him? That was an arousing thought, as if he needed another one.
After delivering the other three drinks, she returned to stand beside his chair. “Anything else I can get for you folks? Appetizers? A sandwich?”
No, it wasn’t his imagination. She was breathing faster, as if she was excited about something. Or someone. Jesus. Now he was imagining how she’d breathe if she got really excited, like during sex.
“Onion rings would be good,” Miles said. “How about an order of onion rings for the table?”
“Coming right up.” She left again.
Good thing, because Griffin didn’t need to hear her breathing fast and saying things like coming right up. She looked so hot she seemed to be giving off sparks. Kevin and Miles stared after her, obviously fascinated. Lily in normal mode was sexy enough. Lily charged up about something was damned near irresistible.
But he would resist, because he’d been observing her behavior for weeks. He’d listened carefully to her casual comments. Lily might be the sexiest woman he’d met in years, but she was also impulsive and unfocused. Hooking up with her would be asking for a repeat of his parents’ messy history.
His mom had told him that she’d been blinded by his dad’s charisma and enchanted with his spontaneity. She’d never stopped to think what it would be like to live with someone who never planned beyond the present moment. Griffin intended to stop and think about all those things.
That was one reason he was careful how many drinks he had at the Bubbling Cauldron. He always took public transportation back to his apartment, so driving wasn’t an issue, but losing concentration definitely was. Too much alcohol and he might forget why hooking up with Lily was a bad idea.
“Gonna drink your Wallbanger or just look at it?” Miles asked. “Because if you really don’t want it, pass it over.”
Griffin picked up the chilled glass. “Sorry. If you want a Wallbanger, you’ll have to get your own.” He took a hefty swallow.
Wow, that was amazingly good.
“I thought you were gonna let it go to waste,” Miles said. “You were doing that staring-into-space routine again.”
“Just thinking about a case.” Griffin took another drink of his Wallbanger and practically smacked his lips. He couldn’t remember when he’d enjoyed a cocktail so much.
“I guess you like it,” Kevin said. “I haven’t seen you looking that happy since the Carletons decided to settle out of court.”
“Yeah, that was a damned good day.” Griffin had managed to keep
the Carletons from wasting money in a nasty court battle. He wasn’t sure the senior partners appreciated his efforts to save his clients money, but fortunately he brought in enough business that they didn’t bitch.
“And this is a damned good drink,” he added as he savored the combination of orange juice and Galliano. “I might have to switch my regular order from now on.” He loosened his tie and unfastened the button at the collar of his dress shirt.
“Now I’m curious about your fabulous drink.” Debbie leaned toward him. “Let me have a sip to see what it tastes like.” She reached for his glass.
“Onion rings!” Lily moved between Griffin and Debbie, knocking the other woman’s hand away from the Wallbanger as she plunked the basket down on the table.
If Griffin hadn’t known better, he would have sworn Lily was deliberately trying to keep Debbie away from his drink. He appreciated the interruption. Sharing a drink with Debbie was the sort of intimacy that would only encourage her. Damn, he wished he hadn’t agreed to dinner. It had been an impulse, and he knew that following impulses only led to trouble.
Lily glanced at Debbie. “I’ll be happy to mix you a Wallbanger, too.”
“Yeah,” Griffin said. “Let me buy you one, Debbie. You don’t want to drink from my glass. My throat’s kind of sore. I might be getting a cold.”
Debbie looked alarmed. “I sure hope not. I’d hate for us to miss dinner on Saturday night.” She gazed up at Lily, and there was unmistakable triumph in her eyes. “Griffin and I have dinner plans for Saturday.”
Lily’s expression tightened. “How nice. Can I get you that Wallbanger, then?”
“No, I don’t think so. Not tonight.” Debbie basked openly in her status as Griffin’s future date. “Maybe I’ll have one Saturday night with Griffin, since he seems to like them so much.”
Griffin pretended not to hear the muffled snicker from Miles, who seemed to be enjoying the byplay immensely. He’d known Miles and Kevin since law school, and both guys could read him like a book. The I’m coming down with a cold routine was something they’d all used in the past to get out of a sticky situation with a woman.
“I’m glad you like the drink, Griffin,” Lily said. “I put special effort into that one. And the orange juice should be good for your cold.”
“I’m sure it’ll help.” Griffin took another drink.
“Want another?”
“No, I think one will do it.”
Lily smiled at him. “Yes, it probably will. They tend to be fairly potent, at least the way I make them.” Then she went back to her bartending duties.
There had been something secretive about that smile of hers, and Griffin wouldn’t put it past her to have doubled up on the vodka. He was feeling extremely mellow. Now would be a good time to leave before he said or did something stupid, like proposition Lily.
Finishing the drink, he pulled out his wallet. “That’s it for me. I’m heading out.”
Kevin blinked. “Hey, don’t you want some onion rings? You love onion rings!”
“It’s been a long day.” Griffin put money on the table. “I’ll see you all at the office in the morning.”
Debbie didn’t look happy about his sudden departure. She caught his arm. “About Saturday night: You’d better make reservations soon. It’s tough to get into the good restaurants, especially now that the weather’s nicer.”
Griffin nodded with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. “I’ll do that.” He wanted to jerk his arm away, but he eased out of her grip so as not to seem rude. Somehow between now and Saturday, he’d find the courage to tell Debbie they wouldn’t be going to dinner. Dating her when he felt no attraction and she had an obvious crush wasn’t fair to either of them. He’d tell her privately, though, so he wouldn’t embarrass her in front of Kevin and Miles.
Then he’d fix this nagging problem of his inappropriate craving for Lily.
The solution was blindingly obvious. He would never set foot in the Bubbling Cauldron again. Yes, that was the answer. Great Wallbangers or not, he vowed to keep away from the place. Yep. A new happy hour spot was in order.
Chapter 2
Lily watched Griffin leave the bar without looking back. He had all the signs of a man on the run. Was he really so afraid of his attraction to her? Apparently so.
If the elixir worked the way it was supposed to, she’d have the chance to find out why. Her heart was still racing from the usual high she experienced after doing magic, plus the excitement of taking this bold step with Griffin. She’d worked many spells in her life, but she’d never purposely tried to alter someone’s behavior.
There was a reason for that. The magical world frowned on spells that messed with the concept of free will. But if she left Griffin to his own devices, he’d be going to dinner with that Debbie person on Saturday night.
He didn’t want Debbie. Any fool could see that. He wanted Lily, but for some unexplainable reason he wouldn’t allow himself to have her. In a sense, her spell would simply remove his self-imposed blocks and allow him to be true to his own nature. It was a noble act on her part.
Well, maybe not so much. She intended to benefit a lot from that spell, and noble acts were supposed to be about self-sacrifice. Lily had never been into self-sacrifice.
She wasn’t good at waiting, either, especially when jacked up on magic, but somehow she’d have to get through the next three hours to find out whether her spell had taken hold or not. It could work in less than three hours, of course, which meant that Griffin could show up at any time, ready to rumble. That thought was enough to send shivers through her already revved-up system.
“Hey, Lily, you up to making a few drinks, or are you on permanent break?”
Lily looked down the length of the bar at Sherman, a waiter with long hair and a smart mouth. “Cool your jets, Sherman. What do you need?”
“An appletini, a Black Russian, and two Wallbangers, if it wouldn’t disturb your moment of Zen.”
She ignored the crack. “Who ordered the Wallbangers?”
“The lawyer dudes.”
“I’ll get right on it.” Lily smiled. Little did Miles and Kevin know that their Wallbangers wouldn’t taste nearly as great as Griffin’s. The elixir was designed to enhance the flavor of any drink to increase the chances it would be drained to the last drop.
But Lily decided to add a little extra vodka to the drinks for the boys, which would be some consolation. She worked with practiced efficiency, sailing each drink down the bar toward Sherman as it was finished. She’d filled the last order when her sister, Anica, burst through the door and hurried over.
She wore her favorite blue sweat suit because the spring nights were still on the chilly side. Her wind-blown blond hair looked as if she’d run all the way from the bus stop, and her blue eyes were filled with anxiety as she spoke to Lily in a low, urgent tone. “Tell me you haven’t done it yet.”
“Done what?” Although Lily pretended not to understand, she had a good idea Anica was talking about the elixir. Anica must have found out about Lily’s plans through some sort of magic of her own.
“Made an elixir for Griffin.”
Yup, that was it. “What makes you think I would?” Lily could guess what had happened. Anica, a hovering big sister worried about Lily and her crush on Griffin, had taken magical action.
“All right. I admit I asked Dorcas and Ambrose to—” Anica’s confession screeched to a halt as Sherman appeared by her elbow. “Hi, Sherman.”
“Hey, there, Anica. Lily, can I get a Singapore Sling and a cosmo?”
“I’m on it.” Lily flicked a glance at her sister, who had the good grace to blush. Yep, Dorcas and Ambrose Lowell, a matchmaking witch and wizard who lived in Big Knob, Indiana, had been peeking into Lily’s life, courtesy of Anica’s meddling. Lily had a right to be upset about the invasion of privacy, but she knew Anica was acting out of concern. Lily couldn’t find it in her heart to be angry, especially because Anica was too late to stop her.
“The place we picked for the engagement party, Donatello’s, had a last-minute conflict, so he’s gone there to talk about alternatives and pick up a refund if they really can’t work it out.”
“That sucks,” Lily said. “How are you supposed to book another place in four days?”
“You should have it here,” Sherman said. “I wondered why you didn’t do that in the first place.”
“Well, I could tell Lily wasn’t too crazy about that idea.”
And that was why Lily couldn’t be angry with her sister about the scrying session. Anica did try to do the right thing. “It’s true that I wasn’t crazy about having it here,” Lily said.
“I don’t see the problem.” Sherman grabbed a bar rag and wiped up a wet spot on the bar. “It’s not like Lily would have to work. Chad’s the bartender on Sunday nights.”
“But we’re talking about this Sunday,” Lily said. “Devon wouldn’t rent out the place on such short notice.”
“Sure he would.” Sherman waved aside that protest. “Sunday night’s dead, anyway. And Chad will be overjoyed to get the extra money for a party like that.”
“But if Chad ran into any problems, he’d want me to help.” And if Lily’s plans worked out, she’d be in a killer dress, escorted by a very attentive Griffin. She didn’t want to end up behind the bar, mixing drinks.
“Hey, I could fill in if it came to that. I know enough, and I think it would be a cool venue for the party.” Sherman was obviously warming to the idea. “I could haul out the mirrored ball from the back room.”
Lily chortled. “Anica, you should see the look on your face. She doesn’t want a revolving mirrored ball, Sherman. It wouldn’t go with her . . . uh, style.” She’d been about to say in-laws. Jasper’s parents were on the stodgy side and would be horrified if they ever discovered that their future daughter-in-law was a witch. But Lily wouldn’t criticize them in front of Sherman.
Chick with a Charm Page 2