One Bad Witch
Page 18
“Guess this is a good time to tell you that I’ll be joining you in the haven,” Adam said. “My consulting work with the SPA has turned into a full-blown contract, and I’ll be there at least twice a week.”
“Aha. I was wondering when you were going to tell me about your top-secret meeting with Mache.”
“You knew?” he exclaimed.
I nodded. “Agent Bramble let it slip that you were in talks and mentioned something about a security clearance.”
Adam smiled at me. “Kind of come full circle, hasn’t it? When you first moved here, I don’t think there was enough money in the world that would have convinced you to voluntarily step foot in an SPA building, and you weren’t allowed to brew potions, and now you’re on the short list for teaching potion courses at SPA headquarters.”
“I was thinking the same thing on my walk back after that meeting. It’s all a little surreal feeling.”
“Kind of makes me wonder how much more things will change in the next few years,” Adam said, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.
“I’m not in a hurry,” I assured him, smiling as we continued walking along the unofficial path through the forest. “All that matters is that we’re in it together.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, gorgeous.”
Chapter 22
The rest of the week passed in a blur, and before I knew it, it was All Hallow’s Eve, and Evangeline’s party was in full swing. I hadn’t seen Nick since the night of Narissa’s arrest and I suspected we’d both been avoiding each other. I wasn’t entirely sure he’d show up for the party, but he walked through the front door a little after eight, a bottle of wine tucked under one arm. I was crossing through the living room to refill one of the punch bowls from a large pitcher when he stepped into the house and stomped his shoes off on the welcome mat. He looked up and offered me a timid smile.
I hurried to dump the contents of the pitcher and then scooped up a fresh cup to take over to him. “Welcome to the asylum,” I said, raising my voice above the music.
“I hope there’s a bowl of Tylenol out with the candy dishes,” he said. “I can feel a headache coming on already.”
I winced and then took his arm. “Come on, the kitchen is better.”
Evangeline spotted us on our way through the living room and launched herself into Nick’s arms. “Nicky! You’re here!”
Nick cringed as she squeezed him around the neck.
“Sorry,” I mouthed.
Evangeline released him and swooped off to greet another guest with a bone-crushing embrace.
“Sorry about that. She turns into a python when she’s tipsy,” I told Nick, steering him back toward the kitchen. “We really should make her wear a warning label.”
The kitchen was mostly vacant, and the skull-pounding music was muffled as long as the door stayed closed. I exhaled and gestured at the table full of the candy dishes Evangeline couldn’t fit out in the living room. In typical Evangeline fashion, she’d gone a little overboard in her party preparations, and I was pretty sure we were going to be eating Halloween-themed candy until New Years. “I don’t have Tylenol, but we do have candy corn and peanut-butter cups shaped like pumpkins.”
Nick set aside the bottle of wine he’d brought and selected a chocolate from one of the crystal dishes on the table and started to unwrap it. “Thanks.”
“How’ve you been?” I asked, putting the empty pitcher in the sink.
“I’ve been better,” he replied. “I had my final meeting with the SPA today, and they don’t think I’ll be called to testify when Narissa goes before the council.”
“Well, that’s something,” I said, turning back around to face him. “When Gabriel had his trial, I had to be there every day. It was awful. He’d just stare at me from across the room with these soulless eyes.” I blinked hard, willing the memory away. “I swear, I still have nightmares about those eyes.”
Nick nodded, chewing his candy thoughtfully.
“Anyway, I’m glad you won’t have to go through that.” I moved for the fridge. “You want some punch? I have a spiked and not spiked version.”
“Spiked, please,” Nick said.
I smiled and poured us each a glass. “Sounds like you need it.”
He took the punch and raised it in a mock toast. “Let’s just say it won’t hurt my feelings a bit to put this whole year in the rearview.”
“I don’t blame you.” I touched his glass and we each took a sip. “Are you okay with everything?”
Nick shrugged. “More or less. Mostly, I feel bad for her.”
“I can see that.” I nodded. “I’m really sorry about how it all went down.”
“If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me. I should have trusted your gut, since apparently mine was wearing blinders.”
“It happens. I’m just glad we’re talking again. I missed you, ya know.”
“I do. I missed you too.” Nick smiled. “So, tell me, what’s next for Super Agent Holly Boldt?”
I laughed. “A whole lot of work, none of which will involve chasing down bad guys or tailing murder suspects through the harbor.”
Nick chuckled. “We’ll see how long that lasts.”
“Actually, I’m expanding my potion business,” I told him. “I’m going to be looking for my own workspace to rent, and I want to start interviewing for an apprentice to help me.”
“Wow!” Nick raised his glass to me again. “Congratulations.”
“Well, it’s not set in stone yet. Expansion takes money, and I’m at an awkward point where I need more space but don’t exactly have the funds for it. But, I’ll figure it out next year.”
“Would you be open to taking on an investor?” he asked.
I squinted at him. “What do you mean?”
He hitched a shoulder. “I don’t know how much you need, but things have been going well for me with my business, and I still have some of the reward money from the Paul case we did together last year. My financial advisor tells me I need to diversify. I’ve started looking into real estate, but I’d be happy to invest that money into your business instead.”
I blinked a few times. “You’re—you’re serious? You would invest in me?”
He laughed. “You say that like it’s crazy.”
“Well, that’s because it kind of is!”
Nick smiled. “I don’t see it that way. It’s a smart investment. Your business is growing fast and has unlimited potential. You obviously know what you’re doing and I can help with some of the business decisions, if you need. I can be a silent partner until you get to a place where you can buy me out.”
“You’d really do that for me?”
“Of course! You’re my friend, Holly. Besides that, I’m a believer in the product,” he said, gesturing at his hair. “That hair stuff Evangeline talked me into a few months ago is pretty good.”
“Pretty good?” I crossed my arms and feigned a pouty lip. “Come on, you’ve never looked better, and I’m taking credit for it.”
Nick laughed. “Seriously, I’d like to sit down and talk about it.”
“What will the pack think about that?” I asked.
Nick’s smile faltered for a moment, then he shrugged. “I don’t suppose it matters. I surrendered my own membership.”
I coughed, sputtering on my drink. “You did?”
“In all this chaos over the last week, I realized I already have the thing I was looking for: people who love and accept me for who—and what—I am. Sure, I’d like to be in a relationship someday, but I don’t think the pack is the best place for me to go searching.”
“She’s out there, Nick. I have no doubt about it.”
“I know.” He cleared his throat and set his drink of the counter before extending his hand to me. “So, we got a deal, partner?”
“It’s a deal, partner.”
THE END
Also by Danielle Garrett
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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.
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.
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