“I don’t know if Lucinda was leading him on, or if she intended to follow through, but Connor said he overheard her speaking with her lawyer before the rehearsal started and found out she was giving Dimitri the entire estate and renouncing her title. When he confronted her at the rehearsal dinner, she confirmed it, and they fought. When Lucinda gave her toast, he flew into a rage and attacked her.”
I shook my head. “She wasn’t even going to give Dimitri the title. Not as long as Alice remained human.” I paused and swallowed the lump in my throat. “It’s so senseless. With her dead, he gets nothing.”
“Which,” Caleb interjected, “is why he was so eager to take Rosalinda’s offer to pay him to lie about Alice. I’m not sure how the two of them crossed paths, but at some point after the rehearsal, Rosalinda approached him and asked if he’d be willing to help her claim the Vanguard seat in the Court.”
I scoffed. “Why do I get the feeling Rosalinda would have had him killed just to keep him quiet as soon as he held up his end of that bargain?”
Caleb didn’t argue. He looked around the kitchen. “Come on,” he said, “I’m almost done here. Let me take you home.”
“I want to see Alice,” I told him.
He frowned.
“Dimitri is turning her,” I said softly.
Caleb’s face fell, but he didn’t look surprised by the news. He ran a hand along his jawline and then nodded. “Jessica will be dealt with back at headquarters,” he said. “She should have never used that hex. Especially not in the presence of a human. I don’t know what she was thinking.”
I looked at him and realized he was genuinely confused by his partner’s actions. “For a detective, you sure are missing a big clue.”
“What do you mean?”
A small smile tugged at my lips. “She was protecting you. She only fired that spell when you were getting your furry rump handed to you by a crazed vampire.”
He looked offended. “I had it handled.”
“Uh huh.” I laughed softly. “How are you?”
He touched his shoulder and I remembered seeing a wound there after he shifted back to his human form. “I’ll be sore for a few days, but I’m all patched up for now.”
“That’s good to hear,” I told him, flipping my hand over to weave my fingers through his.
“Anastasia,” he said, looking up from our intertwined fingers with an earnest look, “it will be hours, maybe even days, before Alice is able to speak with you. The process is … unpleasant. Let me take you home.”
I glanced past him and saw Hannah standing in the doorway. She nodded, confirming what he’d said, and I exhaled slowly, suddenly feeling drained of all energy. The nervousness was gone and instead, I felt as though I could sleep for a month. Maybe more.
“All right,” I said, sliding from the stool.
Caleb kept a hold of my hand and walked me from the mansion. As we neared the end of the long driveway, I glanced back over my shoulder, out the back windshield, and while I hoped to never darken the doors of the Vanguard mansion, I hoped it wasn’t the last time I’d see Dimitri or Alice again.
The next night, I went to Luna around dinner time and approached the hostess station, my hands twisting together nervously.
“Will it be a table for one, miss?”
I smiled politely at the apple-cheeked hostess and shook my head. “I’m not staying for dinner, actually. I’m Anastasia, Harmony’s sister. Is she available? Just for a quick minute?”
The girl glanced over her shoulder. “I think she just went on her break. Let me go see if she’s in the back.”
“Thank you.”
I took a step back, melding with the handful of patrons waiting to be seated. Luna was one of the Seattle Haven’s most popular restaurants, and reservations were highly recommended unless you didn’t mind waiting an hour or more to be seated.
Harmony appeared a few minutes later, her expression blank. “What are you doing here, Stace?”
“I tried calling you,” I told her. “Can we talk?”
Harmony crossed her arms. “I have ten minutes.”
I looked over my shoulder at the waiting patrons. “Can we go outside?”
Harmony shrugged but followed as I went to the doors and held one open for her. “Listen, Stace, I’m not mad,” she said when we were outside. “I appreciate you letting me stay with you the last month and for getting me this job, like I said in my note. But, it’s pretty obvious it’s not a good long-term solution for either one of us and I—” her voice broke and she shook her head, her lips pressed tightly together.
“Harmony?” I asked gently.
She looked at me, tears shining in her eyes. “You’re all I’ve got left, Stace. Mom’s off doing who knows what. Dad’s gone. No one else seems to stick around. Just you.”
Tears sprang to my own eyes and I threw my arms around my little sister’s shoulders. Harmony broke apart in my embrace and trembled as she cried silently into my shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere,” I whispered. “I came down here to ask you to come back home. With me. I’m sorry for flipping out on the phone.”
Harmony sniffed and pulled away from me. “You mean it? You want me to come back?”
I nodded and wiped at my eyes. “Please.”
She laughed and nodded, even as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “Okay.”
Three weeks after Conner’s arrest, I received a post card from Prague. The front of the glossy card showed a beautiful sunset, framing a stone castle upon a hillside. I smiled as I turned the card over, already knowing who it was from.
* * *
We never would have made it here without you, Ana. Thank you for helping us find our happily ever after. We’ll raise a toast to you tonight.
* * *
XO,
* * *
Lord and Lady Vanguard
* * *
In the days following the investigation’s conclusion, they’d come to me and asked for help planning a low-key elopement. A week later, I stood as the sole witness to their garden wedding and then saw them off to their three-week European honeymoon. My commission was forfeit but Dimitri had insisted on paying me—in reality, overpaying me—for my assistance, and my condo lease was safe for the time being.
Hyacinth cooled her temper when the Haven Herald made the official announcement that contained a statement from the happy couple that lavished praise on the firm. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I’d booked three weddings in the meantime. Despite her personal feelings toward me, she couldn’t ask the partners to cut me when I had three big events on the books.
As a bonus, Kait had been walking around like she’d swallowed a basket of lemons ever since the Herald article came out. CeeCee told me she’d been the one to refuse delivery of the order of custom furniture Kait had ordered in anticipation of me getting the boot. A little tidbit I’d tucked away for future torment ammunition, should the need arise.
Not that I planned on ever getting tangled up in such a mess ever again.
But, as the Scotsman Robert Burns said, the best-laid plans of mice and men (and apparently wedding planning witches) often go awry.
* * *
Author’s Note:
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Thank you for reading Newly Wed and Slightly Dead. I hope you enjoyed it! Anastasia was first introduced at the very beginning of my Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries series and has a few cameo appearances throughout. Early on, I knew she deserved her own series and started imagining all of the complicated scenarios that could possibly arise when the supernatural world clashes with the wedding world.
Anastasia and Harmony return in the sequel to this book, Couture and Curses.
If you’ve not read the prequel to this series, please enjoy it for FREE by visiting my website.
And if you’re looking for another magical mystery, please check out my other books. A complete list can be found on my website.
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Until next time,
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Danielle Garrett
www.DanielleGarrettBooks.com
Also by Danielle Garrett
Return to Beechwood Harbor today by visiting www.DanielleGarrettBooks.com
About the Author
As a lifelong bookworm, Danielle Garrett has always loved dreaming of fantastic places and the stories they have to share. Through her love of reading, she’s followed along on hundreds of adventures through the eyes of wizards, princesses, elves, and some rather wonderful everyday people as well. This lifelong passion led her into the world of writing and she has now achieved the dream she’s held since the second grade and become an author herself.
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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. When she’s not writing, she can be found serving as the dedicated servant to three extremely spoiled cats or chasing down the most recent item the puppy has turned into a chew toy.
Visit Danielle today at her website or say “hello” on Facebook.
www.daniellegarrettbooks.com
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