by Esme Addison
“Actually, nothing for Minka today. I’ll take a chai latte. For here.” She looked at Dylan. “And I’m paying for his.”
His smile was indulgent. “I invited you, Alex. It’s my treat.”
Alex swallowed. She didn’t trust Dylan and she didn’t want to feel indebted to him. But then he said, “No strings attached. I promise.” He held up his right hand as if taking an oath.
She nodded. “All right. Thank you. Why don’t you grab us a table? I’ll bring the drinks over.”
He bowed slightly. “As you wish.”
Amused, she watched him for a moment, wondering if all the men in Bellamy Bay were this courtly. His old-fashioned manners seemed almost antiquated, and yet she found them very appealing.
When Dylan settled into a corner table, Alex turned back to Celeste with a grin. “Your favorite CFO, huh?”
Celeste giggled. “Just laying the groundwork for a job after I graduate. I interned at his company last semester. It’s either that, work at the military base nearby, at Carolina Shipping, or move away to a bigger city.” She set out a cup-and-saucer set and began working the espresso machine. “I have a few limited opportunities to use my MBA in Bellamy Bay, but I’d prefer to work at Wesley, Inc. And my mother would be very happy if I didn’t move away.”
“I get it. Makes sense. You and your mother are close?”
When the espresso machine sent out a puff of steam, Celeste retrieved a slice of lemon from the refrigerated cabinet behind her and placed it on the saucer. “The closest. We’ve always had a great relationship. I couldn’t imagine my life without—” Her eyes widened. “Oh, Alex, I’m so sorry. I know what happened to your mother—and I—I’m being so insensitive. I—”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine. If my mother had lived, we would’ve had the same relationship. Don’t apologize for that.”
The barista’s face was flushed with embarrassment, and Alex could tell by the way she moved that she was flustered. Poor girl; she hadn’t meant anything by the comment, and Alex understood that. She wanted to distract Celeste before she dropped a mug or something, and when the pretty gold-and-diamond earrings she wore caught the sunlight streaming in from the front window, Alex knew just what to say. Smiling, she gestured toward her ear. “Another gift?”
Celeste touched an earlobe. “Oh, this?”
Alex relaxed when she saw a smile return to the young woman’s face.
Celeste nodded. “What can I say, he likes to spoil me. But honestly, I worry that it’s his way of making sure I stay happy and quiet about our relationship.”
Alex took a moment to consider her words. “Be careful, Celeste. If it’s true love, you shouldn’t have to hide it.”
Emotion flickered in Celeste’s eyes before she pasted a smile on her face, and Alex wondered if she’d overstepped. But Celeste looked unbothered by the comment. “One minute.” She picked up the espresso, rounded the corner, and hand-delivered it to Dylan.
Alex watched the exchange with some amusement, hoping that Celeste got the job she wanted at Wesley, Inc. Dylan gave her cash for the drinks, winked, and told her to keep the change.
When Celeste returned, she seemed to have forgotten all about the awkward moment between them. “So, how’s your aunt doing?”
“Keeping busy. The house is sparkling and we’re eating well.”
This time Celeste’s smile was genuine. “I’m happy to hear it. You know, your aunt and my mother are good friends. Miss Lidia was always coming over for coffee when I was growing up.” She chuckled. “I remember thinking their conversations about herbal remedies were so boring.”
The scents of cinnamon and cardamom wafted around Alex, comforting and relaxing her as the tea Celeste prepared began to steep. But it didn’t completely relieve the pressure in her chest, that tight ball of anxiety that had appeared the moment she’d seen Dylan in the shop.
“And then they’d go into my mother’s craft room, their heads together, whispering and making tonics and such. Of course, I think it’s cool now. I mix my own herbal tea blends sometimes too. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to work here. I love coffee and tea,” she enthused.
“That’s great,” Alex replied, slightly distracted as she glanced over at Dylan, who was checking his phone. What does he want to talk about?
“Sometimes I think that’s why my boyfriend is with me,” she giggled. “For my tea blends. I make this great calming blend with holy basil and valerian. It’s his go-to relaxation aid after a stressful day of work.”
Alex nodded, her thoughts and worries still on Dylan. “What’s so stressful about his work?”
Celeste shrugged, her eyes becoming guarded. “I don’t want to go into details, but he’s been working on some sort of deal, and the other party refused to budge in their position. It’s been really upsetting for him.” An exasperated huff escaped her lips. “I wish I could help him with this. I wish there was a tea or some sort of potion I could make for him that would magically fix everything for him.” She snapped her fingers. “Poof, problem solved.” But then the disturbed look on her face passed and she grinned. “But we both know there’s no such thing as magic.”
At her last word, Alex stared at her. “What did you just say?”
But Celeste only laughed. “It’s nothing. Just me ranting. Sorry about that; not very professional of me.” She pushed a steaming mug toward her. “Your chai’s ready.”
Dylan was seated at a small table by the window. As she approached, he rose and pulled out a chair for her.
“Thank you for the tea.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Dylan waited for her to sit before taking his own seat. Then he said, “You don’t trust me.”
He was right, but she’d hoped she wasn’t being so obvious. Then the realization struck that he could be reading her mind. She shifted in her chair, self-conscious. “That’s not true,” she said carefully, and left it at that.
“It is, but I hope to change that. Are you in town for long?”
Alex’s thoughts went to the job offer she’d just received at Barber Industries. She hadn’t called Carter back yet. She planned to accept—after all, it wasn’t every day that an opportunity like that came along. But she was reluctant to leave before she set things right for her aunt and cousins. Once this situation was resolved, she’d be on her way.
“Maybe a few weeks,” she replied. “I’m not certain.”
He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You asked me about the matter with Pepper Bellamy.”
“The attack, yes.” She didn’t want to downplay the gravity of the incident. “Did you learn something?”
“In fact, I did.”
He took a slow sip of his espresso before answering. He set the white ceramic cup down on the saucer. “So. It turns out you were correct. A family member visited Pepper yesterday and took the journal.”
“Visited?” Alex echoed. “That person assaulted Pepper.”
“Oh, come on.” Dylan leaned back in his seat. “She’s physically fine, Alex. And no one is going to change that. Look,” he said, cutting her off as she began to object. “I’m not defending this conduct. It was wrong. But you need to know that it’s over. I spoke to that person and reminded them that this was out of line. It’s not something that anyone needs to bring to the Council, all right?”
“The Council?” she whispered. “What is that?”
Now Dylan looked up at the exposed beams on the ceiling and said, “I keep forgetting you don’t know how any of this works. The Council is the oversight board, that’s all.”
“Oversight for what?”
He gestured between the two of them. “People like us. And given our surroundings, that’s all either of us should say about it.”
Alex slowly nodded. “All right.” She moved her tea to the side so she could lean closer. “But Dylan, I think that’s unfair. You come in here and tell me one of your family members attacked someone, but you took care of it so I should let it go? And
are you going to tell me who it was? Your mother? Your sister?”
“You don’t need to know who did it. What’s important is that the situation has been handled.”
“Well, whoever did it needs to be punished.” Alex leaned forward, her cheeks warming with anger. “There should be consequences for their actions.”
He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “What kind of consequence are you looking for, exactly? Do you want to call the police? Tell them someone erased Pepper Bellamy’s memories with magic? If you make that call, please promise you’ll let me listen in.” He shook his head, still amused. “I’m not laughing at you. There are only a few of us around here, and we’ve all lived with this … knowledge. And then you grow up with Mundanes, and—sorry, Alex. It’s kind of cute.”
She gritted her teeth. “And that’s kind of condescending, Dylan.”
“I don’t mean it, I swear.” He set a hand over hers, but she withdrew from the contact. “Fine. Fair enough,” he said. “Look, I’m not a bad guy. A family member made a mistake with Pepper, but that person had nothing to do with Bennett’s murder. These are unrelated things.”
“Really?” She lifted her chin. “Prove it. Get me that journal.”
He rubbed at his jaw as he considered the request. “It’s not that easy.”
“It seems like it should be that easy.”
He shot her a dark look but didn’t respond.
She could tell that Dylan was unaccustomed to people pushing back against him. What was it like, she wondered, to work at the top of a powerful company that shared your name? Probably pretty nice.
“Dylan,” she said, mustering some sweetness, “I want to believe you. But I barely know you, and you’ve admitted that a member of your family was responsible for attacking Pepper and stealing the journal. How can I trust you when you tell me this same family member had nothing to do with Randy Bennett’s murder? Pepper was reporting on that murder.”
He leaned forward, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “Why don’t you join me at a party tomorrow night. It’s a charity auction at our home. You can meet my mother and sister and see for yourself that they’re not murderers. You want to believe me?” He shrugged. “You can get to know us.”
“I don’t know—”
Dylan slid his chair closer. “Just say yes,” he whispered, his fingers landing softly on her wrist. “Just give me a chance to prove it to you.”
And Alex, her head blurry from the contact, instantly said, “Yes.”
Chapter Thirteen
Alex closed Botanika so Minka could leave early. Her poor cousin hadn’t even taken a lunch break. Besides, after her coffee with Dylan, Alex needed some time alone to reflect. After she locked the doors, she swept the floors and thought about what she knew. Someone had killed Randy Bennett and framed Lidia. Someone—a member of the Wesley family—had attacked Pepper Bellamy and stolen her great-great-grandfather’s journal. Dylan swore the two events weren’t connected, but Alex suspected they were. She just couldn’t prove it … yet. Now that she had an invitation to the Wesley estate, this was her chance to find that journal.
Her cell rang and a name flashed across the screen. Carter Hawthorne. Alex’s stomach clenched, but she had been avoiding him long enough. “Hello, this is Alex.”
“Alex,” came the energetic reply. “It’s Carter. So good to hear from you.”
“You too,” she said, and smiled. It was nice to hear from an old friend.
“Listen, I don’t know if you got my message, but all of us were just shocked to hear you’d left. I assume it was messy.”
She wasn’t about to explain that she’d been passed over for promotion. That would be mortifying. “Yes, it got a little ugly there,” she confessed. “I’m better now.”
“Glad to hear it. You haven’t gone anywhere else, have you?”
“No, not yet. I’m visiting some family in North Carolina. Bellamy Bay. Do you know it?”
“I’ve heard of the Outer Banks.”
Alex chuckled. “Further south.”
“Then no, I don’t know it.” She could hear the grin in his voice. “Is it nice? I’m due a vacation; maybe I should come down sometime.”
“Yes, very,” Alex said. Aside from the occasional murder. “I should’ve called you back sooner, but I’ve been distracted with some, uh, family issues. But I want you to know that I appreciate your offer and I’m very interested in working for Barber Industries. I just … I can’t give you a definite answer yet. Because of the family things.”
“You don’t know how happy that makes me, Alex. Not your family problems, of course. Sorry.” Carter laughed. “We’d love to have you on board, so you take the time you need, okay? What would you say—give me a call in two weeks to let me know what you think? We’ll hold the position open for you.”
“Wow,” Alex gasped. “That’s very generous, Carter.”
“I learned long ago that it’s worth waiting to find the right person for the position. So, two weeks?”
“Thank you. Yes, we’ll talk in two weeks.”
They disconnected the call. Alex locked up the shop and began the walk home.
A bracing wind brushed right through her, bringing her back to the present. No, first things first. The job offer at Barber was attractive, but she couldn’t leave town until she knew that the charges against her aunt had been dropped and the killer had been locked up. Family first.
Alex opened the door to the Queen Anne. “Hello?” she called.
Athena ran into the foyer and whimpered at her feet, ears down, her entire body wagging with happiness. “Hey, sweet girl,” Alex cooed as she bent to pet her. “How was your day?” Athena yelped and lifted her front legs into the air, overcome with joy. “Everyone deserves to have someone who loves them this much,” Alex said with a laugh, and gave Athena a good scratch on her shoulders.
Lidia, Minka, and Kamila were sitting in the living room, deep in conversation. “I’m afraid the cat’s out of the bag, Kamila. We can’t undo—” Lidia paused when she noticed Alex. “Hello. We were just talking about you.”
Alex noticed the tight set of Kamila’s shoulders. “What’s going on?”
Minka grabbed a large blue throw pillow and took a seat on the floor. “We were just saying how happy we are that you’re a part of this family.” She gave her sister a meaningful look. “In every possible way.”
Alex noticed that Minka’s voice was unusually cheery, even for her. She glanced at her other cousin, feeling like she was missing something. Kamila remained withdrawn. While the conversation continued around her, Kamila moved to the floor to scratch Athena behind the ears.
“There’s so much more to teach you. So much history to share,” Lidia added with a smile, her voice soft with emotion. “I just wish your mother was here.”
“If Aunt Bianca was here, she wouldn’t want Alex learning anything and certainly not practicing anything!”
The outburst came from Kamila. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes glistened with anger as she turned toward her mother and sister. “Have either of you stopped to think about that? What you’re doing isn’t loving. It’s dangerous and irresponsible.”
With that, Kamila rose to her feet and stormed out of the house into the back gardens, shutting the door firmly behind her. Alex looked between her aunt and cousin, who were sitting in stunned silence. Then she stood. “I’ll check on her. I have to take Athena out, anyway.”
She found Kamila sitting on a wooden bench beside the fountain, her hands buried in the sleeves of her sweat shirt. “I’m not angry at you,” she said as Alex approached. “I shouldn’t have yelled like that.”
Alex took a seat on the marble bench across from Kamila. “What did you mean when you said my mom didn’t want me to know about magic?”
Being older, Kamila had known her mother well. She must have more memories from that time, Alex reasoned.
Kamila avoided Alex’s gaze, but reached out toward Athena as the dog snif
fed the base of the fountain. “I don’t know what Mom told you, but it wasn’t your father’s fault that you forgot about magic,” she began. “He wasn’t the one who didn’t want to raise you as a Magical. Not at first. It was your mom. She’s the one who had a problem with the lifestyle.” Kamila leaned her elbows on her knees. “I just get angry that my mom and sister are bringing you into this world when your parents were so against it.”
Alex moved to sit beside Kamila. “Tell me what you know. I want to understand.”
Kamila kicked at a pebble and frowned at the bricks at their feet. “She had a moral objection to magic. She was the first Magical I ever heard of doing that. Rejecting magic and choosing to live as a Mundane, I mean. I stopped practicing magic because of her, but it wasn’t always that way,” she clarified. “Ciocia Bianca could practice magic with the best of them. From what I understand and remember, she was very powerful. But something happened that made her stop.”
The hair on the back of Alex’s neck rose. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe it was nothing. But I remember her having these big arguments with my parents about how it’s unethical to practice magic in this world, and how we don’t understand what the long-term effects can be.”
“Is that why you don’t practice?”
“Yeah,” Kamila said. “I stopped when I was a teenager. And I wish my mom and sister would stop. They’ve convinced themselves that what they’re doing is harmless because it’s so-called good magic. But there’s no such thing, Alex. Magic is magic, and it comes with a cost. It tears apart families. And I’ve seen it ruin people. Look at the Wesleys. You think Tegan was always like that?” Kamila wiped at her eyes, which had gone glossy with unshed tears. “Mom said that when she was younger, she was different, happier. But now? She’s cold. Heartless. She does nothing without the explicit purpose of gaining something from it. In fact, I’ve heard she only married into the Wesley family because she thought they possessed the Warsaw Tarcza, the Warsaw Shield. All she wants is to accumulate power.”