“There’s something I bet you’ve never said before.” He laughed, a genuinely happy sound that made Tessa smile. She needed to watch all this smiling and laughing. It was all new to her. And it probably caused wrinkles.
She ripped a red satin ribbon from a clown’s outfit and wound half of it around a headband. When Marcus handed her the halo she wound the rest of the ribbon around it.
“Voila,” she cried triumphantly, holding up her creation proudly. “I’m just like MacGyver.”
“Who?” Marcus looked puzzled.
“You don’t know who MacGyver is?” Tessa shook her head. “He was a character on a television show and he could make anything out of nothing. The show was on in the eighties.”
“Eighties?” Marcus gave her the once over and then cocked his head to the side. “How old are you?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Tessa grabbed his arm. “Come on, Potter, let’s go get something to eat.”
***
“That’s your third banana, Tessa.” Bethany’s expression was one of worry. “Do you know how many calories that is?”
“Don’t know, don’t care.” Tessa popped the last bite in her mouth and then patted her lips with a napkin. Now that she knew the way down the scale and out of this mess she wasn’t going to worry about calories, or exercise, or anything other than getting what she wanted.
She turned to look at Bethany. “I like your costume.” Bethany was Mrs. America, at least according to the white sash across her bosom. The poor thing looked uncomfortable, like she wished she was a thousand miles away. Tessa felt sorry for her, yet another new experience.
“Do you and your husband go out on the town very much?” Tessa asked. Chatting with another woman, mortal at that, was not something she had much experience with. Or finesse either, judging by the tears that welled in Bethany’s eyes. “I mean, when he’s not deployed. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say anything wrong.”
Bethany shook her head. “No, you didn’t. I just miss him.”
“Tell me how your kids are doing,” Tessa said, knowing Bethany’s children were a safe subject.
Bethany smiled. “They’re with my brother Cody on his ranch in Texas. He’s a bachelor and, while he loves being an uncle, I think he’s in over his head. But the kids are having the time of their little lives.”
As they talked they watched the wait staff clear the dining room tables and move furniture aside to make room for a dance floor. The atmosphere was far more festive than usual. Bright gold and green streamers hung from the ceiling and purple and red balloons floated this way and that, giving the room a Mardi Gras feel. The normal air of deprivation was gone. She guessed this had something to do with the fat free frozen yogurt station being set up in one corner but it could just as well be the band setting up against the back wall. Either way, it was a nice change from the usual round of after dinner jumping jacks.
But where was Liam? Tessa eyed the door for the hundredth time. She was bursting to share the news with him that she’d figured the way out of this set-up, which meant she’d found out a way to get to Europe.
And then she saw him in the entrance way. He was dressed as a major league baseball player, right down to his fitted grass stained pants. Fiona, dressed as Marilyn Monroe, hung on his arm. Even worse, Fiona held Jinx’s leash in an offensively possessive manner. Tessa narrowed her eyes. Marilyn could have Tessa’s fairy godfather, she didn’t care. Much. But her cat? Oh, no, that was going too far.
Chapter Ten
It practically killed her but Tessa resisted the urge to rush over and grab Jinx’s leash from Fiona’s hand. If her new theory was correct, doing so would make her pack the pounds back on. Instead she would wait for them to come to her. But it wasn’t easy to watch Jinx prance after Liam and Fiona as they stopped to chat with other guests.
Liam had an easy natural manner with people that Tessa found intriguing. Not attractive, she told herself, just interesting. It wasn’t only women who appeared to enjoy his company either, men seemed to appreciate his quick wit and humor as much as the ladies did his good looks and charm. The man was all smiles and sunshine. The perfect fairy godfather. Except for the fact he hadn’t done one single thing for her since he’d popped into her life. She sighed.
Bethany glanced her way. “What’s wrong, Tessa?” She followed Tessa’s gaze to where Liam stood. “Oh, you’re watching Coach Kennedy.”
Tessa bit her tongue. Hard.
“I can see why you think he’s handsome. He’s certainly a nice man,” Bethany continued, apparently unfazed by Tessa’s silence. “Who’s that woman with him, the one with the cute dog?”
“Marilyn Monroe,” was as civil an answer as Tessa could manage.
“No, really,” Bethany craned her neck to get a better look at Liam’s companion. “She’s gorgeous. Not an extra pound on her.”
“So?” Tessa didn’t have the patience to listen to any more of Bethany’s commentary. “What does that matter? Just because she’s thin doesn’t mean she’s any more attractive than either of us.”
Bethany’s doubtful expression annoyed Tessa even further.
“Oh, for goodness sake, Bethany, don’t buy into the crazy idea that a woman’s beauty can be measured by her clothing size. That’s so stupid. I’m just as beautiful as she is and I outweigh her by a good fifty pounds.”
Bethany raised her eyebrows.
“Okay, seventy pounds,” Tessa conceded. “But the number isn’t the point.”
“You mean you’re not a little jealous of whoever she is?” Bethany persisted.
“Not one tiny little bit,” Tessa lied.
Claudia joined them, a cup of fat-free frozen yogurt in hand. She held it up for them to see. “Lovely sight, isn’t it? The strawberries are insanely delish. Now if there were just a bit of chocolate drizzled over the top it would all be good.”
Bethany groaned. “Don’t talk to me about chocolate.”
Claudia grinned. “Okay, so what were you two ladies discussing?”
“Tessa was watching Coach Kennedy and his date,” Bethany said.
“Oh, I want to see.” Claudia turned so that she was facing in the same direction they were. “I want to know who has Tessa so worked up.”
Tessa groaned. “I’m not worked up. Or even curious about that woman.”
“That woman, huh?” Claudia laughed. “I’ve seen her around a time or two but I don’t know who she is. She is gorgeous, in a young, blond sort of way.” She craned her neck to take a better look. “Check out her tattoo.”
Tattoo. Ugh. Tessa never understood why humans wanted to draw on themselves. Ink themselves, whatever they were calling it these days.
“Wow, those are some wings,” Bethany said, her voice full of awe.
Tessa froze. Wings? What in the hell was going on?
“They’re gold. Wow. I’ve never seen that shade before. They look like fairy wings,” Bethany said.
Tessa couldn’t stand one more “wow” out of Bethany. Not when her head was about to explode. Was Fiona a fairy godperson? What was she doing here? And what were she and Liam up to?
Tessa felt like she was drowning in a sea of unanswered questions. Feeling Claudia’s gaze upon her, she turned. A strange thing happened, something she’d never experienced before, but it was almost as if Claudia understood her confusion and her wish to be alone.
“That’s enough gawking, Bethany.” Claudia took the younger woman by the arm. “Let’s go get you some of that yogurt.”
After they’d gone to join the frozen yogurt line, a still numb Tessa accepted a diet soda from a waiter. She leaned against the wall, feeling no desire to mingle.
“Having fun?”
Tessa started. She hadn’t heard anyone come up beside her. She turned, a polite but dismissive smile pasted on her lips.
“Aunt Trudy!” Tessa squealed. She’d never been so happy to see anyone before. “I can’t believe you’re here.” She threw herself into her a
unt’s arms and hugged her close. “Your timing couldn’t be better! I’m so happy to see you.” And she meant it.
Her aunt, dressed like Cleopatra, returned her smile. “You look beautiful, Tessa.”
“Thank you,” Tessa beamed. “And you look less tired than usual.”
“I see you still know your way around a compliment. Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m doing here?”
Tessa grinned. “I don’t have to. I already know.” She set her glass of soda on a small side table. “Give me a moment to run upstairs and get my things. Oh, never mind, there’s nothing here I need to take with me. Let me just fetch Jinx and we can leave.”
“Wait, Tessa.”
Tessa froze, feeling as if she’d just been doused with a bucket of ice cold water. She knew that tone of voice and it meant she wasn’t going to get what she wanted. She slowly turned to face her aunt.
“I thought you came to bring me home.”
Her aunt shook her head. “It’s not time yet, my dear.”
“Not time?” Tessa repeated dully. “But I’ve got it. I understand everything now, everything you and the council wanted me to learn.”
“Let’s go sit somewhere so we can talk.”
“I don’t want to talk,” Tessa protested. “I want to leave. Now.” She grabbed her aunt’s arm. “I can explain everything on the way back, tell you everything. You’ll be so pleased.”
“Tell me what you think you’ve learned.”
Tessa stepped back and frowned. “You say it’s not time for me to go back, and I don’t believe you came to ask me what I’ve learned, which means you’ve come to tell me something.”
Her aunt’s silence was answer enough. Damn. It couldn’t be good news. But Aunt Trudy and her precious coven had already taken away her magic, her figure, even her cat, for crying out loud. There was nothing else she cared about, except for her dream of representing the coven in Europe.
“You brought me news?” Tessa’s emotions swung from despair back to joy. “I’m in? The United Paranormal Council chose me?”
“No, Tessa. They haven’t chosen anyone. Although I did hear that the field has been narrowed down to two candidates.”
“And I’m one of them?”
“You are.” Her aunt smiled.
Tessa couldn’t contain her joy. She didn’t even care if her happy dance drew stares. “When are they going to issue a final decision?”
Her aunt shook her head. “Back up, Contessa. You’re getting ahead of yourself.” She took Tessa by the arm and led her out through the French doors and onto the patio. “Even if you are selected you would still need the Upper Hallows Council’s approval as well. After all, you’d be representing not just yourself but all of those who have come before you.”
Tessa plopped down on a chaise lounger. She leaned back and closed her eyes. “I give up. I have no idea what you want from me.”
Her aunt sat on the end of Tessa’s lounger. “Tell me what you think you’ve learned that you think changes everything.”
This she could do. “I’ve figured out that if I do something nice for someone, or even say something nice, my body shrinks.”
“And from this you surmise precisely what?”
“That by acting nice I can get whatever I want.” But as she spoke the words Tessa realized they hadn’t come out right. The look on her aunt’s face confirmed this. “I meant to say --”
The other woman held up her hand. “I know what you meant.” She shook her head, looking more remorseful than Tessa had ever seen her. “I came to see you too soon.” She stood.
“Wait, Aunt Trudy, don’t go.” Tessa got up. “I want to hear what you have to say, what you think.”
“You know, my dear niece, this is the first time you’ve ever said anything like that. I leave you, then, content knowing that you’ve made some progress at least.”
Before Tessa could stop her, Aunt Trudy was gone in a tiny puff of blue smoke. Tessa coughed and waved it away with her hand. “Good riddance,” she called out, her trembling voice belying her words.
She flopped back down on the chaise, feeling more than a little sorry for herself. Why would there be two fairy godpersons here if neither one of them was doing a thing for her? Hadn’t Cinderella’s fairy godmother helped her score big time? It wasn’t fair. Why hadn’t the council given her a genie instead? Three wishes would be exactly what she’d need and, assuming her genie were half as handsome as Liam, she could have handled rubbing his lamp to see what he could do for her.
***
Liam stood in the shadows and watched Tessa. She sat on a chaise lounge, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. Her long fingernails tapping on the arm rest gave her restlessness away. Did she have any idea how attractive her new curvaceous figure was? He doubted it. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. It was her feelings, not her curves, that he should be concerned about.
“Cute halo. It suits you.” Liam stepped around the front of her chair. Her startled expression was priceless. “A penny for your thoughts, Angel.”
“Never mind what I was thinking.” Tessa swung her legs around and stood to face him.
Not one for backing down, his Tessa. His Tessa. The words rolled through his mind but he couldn’t believe he’d ever be so fortunate. Especially not after she found out.
They stood facing each other, a crackling sexual chemistry surrounding them like a force field. Liam let his gaze unabashedly wander over Tessa’s face, caressing her features. Her full lips entranced him, and when she wet them with her tongue he couldn’t contain his desire. He slipped one arm around her back and drew her closer. He used his free hand to tip her face up. When her eyes closed, eyelashes dark against her creamy skin, he lowered his mouth to kiss her but then stopped, reason pulling him back from the very edge of desire.
This woman was a witch. A witch who practiced silent spells. And damn, but she was a powerfully seductive creature who had nearly ensnared him. He loosened his hold on her. “You’re no angel, Contessa.”
Her ever so hard to read eyes stared up at him for a long moment before she pulled back and slipped out of his arms, breaking the spell.
She took a deep breath. “Where’s my dog?” she finally demanded in an uneven voice.
Liam let out a low whistle and a moment later Jinx came running through the open doors, his leash dragging behind him. Liam reached down to pat the terrier, which only caused its tail to wag harder, which in turn only caused Tessa to look more put out.
She held out her arms. “Jump.”
Jinx stayed put, cocking his head sideways to signal his confusion.
“Sit.” Liam snapped his fingers. Jinx sat. Liam turned to look at Tessa and was surprised by the pain in her eyes. He resisted the urge to reach out to her. Her sadness, her sense of loss, her confusion about Jinx’s form, they were all emotions he knew she needed to experience.
“Does he want to go for a walk?” Tessa asked, her voice filled with uncertainty.
“Ask him.”
She looked down at the dog. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She knelt down. “Do you want to go for a walk?”
In answer, Jinx jumped to his feet, barked and ran circles around her.
“That’s a yes, I take it,” she said, sounding resigned.
They reached for the leash at the same time. Liam’s hand brushed Tessa’s, and judging by her surprised expression, she felt the same electric sparks of energy he did.
He smiled. Progress at long last.
Chapter Eleven
“Start with what you know, Tessa,” Marcus said from the treadmill next to hers.
Tessa grabbed her towel from the treadmill handrail and wiped her face. “At this point, I don’t even know what I know, Marcus.” And that was the truth if ever she’d told it. When it came to getting her magic back she felt as if she were on an emotional treadmill, sweating it out but getting nowhere. At least her body was slimming down, but that was the only progress she seemed t
o be making. She’d spent the last two weeks since the masquerade party avoiding Liam. He’d tried more than a few times to speak to her alone but she’d stuck close to Claudia, Bethany or Marcus. Not that this would stop him if he’d really wanted to talk to her, she told herself. The man had magical powers, didn’t he?
Marcus reached over and pushed the incline arrow on her treadmill. “You’d better step it up, sister. Coach Kennedy is watching you.”
Tessa slapped his hand away. “Don’t even think of touching that arrow again, Marcus, or I’ll turn you into a frog.”
Marcus laughed. And that, at least, was something positive. The change in Marcus during the last few weeks had been nothing short of amazing. He’d faithfully attended and participated in anger management classes with her. And he’d thrown himself into his workouts. He was looking good.
Tessa had managed to get him to open up about the minor league baseball team he’d been kicked out of when his weight got out of control.
His idiot team manager had cut Marcus from the team via email. The jerk. She didn’t blame Marcus for being angry, but she was proud of the way he was working through his resentment. She wanted to help him. If only she had her magic.
“Come on, talk to me, Tessa.” He increased the speed on his console and started a slow jog. “We’ve got thirty more minutes before we move on to free weights so we might as well solve all of your problems since we’re going nowhere on this damn thing. What’s eatin at ya?”
Where to start? How to start? She didn’t have much experience conversing with mortals. They were so sensitive to anyone different, even amongst their own kind. But, as far as humans went, Marcus was pretty cool. She’d never really had a friend before but she liked hanging out with him. And maybe he could help.
“There’s this guy--”
“Ha! I knew it,” Marcus interrupted her. He shook his head. “He messed with you and now you don’t know what’s what with him.”
“In a manner of speaking.” Perhaps messed with wasn’t a fair way to describe things but Tessa wasn’t feeling particularly charitable. “And on top of that, I’m up for this amazing job promotion that would mean relocating to Europe, which is my one dream. But this guy is standing between me and the job.”
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