Witch Way Now: A Paranormal Romantic Comedy (Raising Hell Downunder Book 4)

by Rhiannon Hartley

  "Parents are the worst at match-making," Beatrix said, frowning. "It's like they think you should be grateful for anyone they happen to find. They don't give a crap if you have nothing in common, or if they, you know, smell horrible."

  "Well, I haven't had that particular problem," Jacob raised his eyebrows. "None of the girls that my mum has tried to point me towards have been smelly. Just kind of boring."

  "Was the girl you got Prada from boring?" Beatrix asked. She knew that was invasive, but after all, the man was living in her house. She was entitled to a few personal questions.

  "Not exactly," Jacob said, turning his head away. "Let's just say we had different values. I thought she was... Well, she wasn't who I hoped she'd be, anyway." Jacob took another sip of coffee and looked away. "You didn't tell your mother about the bond."

  "Of course not!" Beatrix said, scoffing at the very idea. "Like I said, she'd lose her mind. Come down here, hell-bent on destroying it. Your internal organs would be collateral damage."

  Jacob winced. "Thanks, then," he said. "I kind of like my intestines where they are."

  "It would be a shame to destroy your gains from the gym, anyway," Beatrix said, meaning to joke but blushing as she said it.

  "Why Beatrix, I didn't realise you had been checking me out," Jacob said, smirking suddenly. "If you'd like a proper look, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

  "Ooh, yes please!" Shauna said, coming up suddenly behind them. "If you're offering."

  Jacob laughed shortly. "I think Beatrix might just kill me if I started an impromptu striptease in her workshop."

  "I absolutely would," Beatrix said quickly, covering her mouth and wishing she hadn't said anything.

  "Shame," Shauna shrugged. "Anyway, I was about to go and pick up the boys. Just checking you didn't need anything else?"

  "Those toadstools are in the deep freeze, aren't they?"

  "Of course," Shauna said promptly. "And everything is cleaned up and ready for Monday."

  "Of course it is," Beatrix smiled. "You're always so efficient. I'm lucky to have you."

  "There is one other thing..." Shauna began and looked at Jacob as though he too might want to hear this. "I think you should speak to Onyx. He really is sorry, and he's not been himself."

  Beatrix looked over at Onyx in the far corner of the workshop. He was blasting The Cure on his red and black spikey headphones and had barely said good morning to her. She knew he felt guilty, and she hated to see him so distraught. But the truth was, she was still angry. Angry that he had been so stupid after everything she had told him.

  "I know," Beatrix sighed. "But I... Fuck, it wasn't just a small mistake. And someone else had to pay the price." She looked at Jacob.

  "Well, there were probably more gentle ways I could have found out about the whole magic thing and the paranormal underworld," Jacob shrugged. "But Onyx seems like a good guy. He was polite to me, even when you thought I was evil. I don't want him to suffer too much."

  "I don't want him to think what he did was okay," Beatrix admitted. "If I say I forgive him..."

  "You really think he'd do this again?" Shauna said. "He's learned his lesson, Bea. Give the kid a break."

  Beatrix chewed her lip. "What do you think?" she asked Jacob suddenly. "If he worked for you, and he had destroyed a big deal because he thought he could do something you had told him hundreds of times not to try."

  "Well," Jacob began. "If he was truly sorry, then I'd forgive him. No question."

  "Really?" Beatrix frowned. "Just like that? I thought business was more cut-throat."

  Jacob laughed shortly. "Maybe my dad wouldn't," he conceded. "But Onyx isn't just your employee. You said he's been your friend for years. You can tell how sorry he is. If it makes any difference, I forgive him."

  Beatrix looked away, chewing her lip and thinking. "I'll talk to him," she said finally. "Thanks, Shauna. Remind me to make you head of HR if we ever get that big."

  Shauna laughed loudly, picking up her backpack. "Not a chance, hun," she said. "I couldn't stand that kind of a job. I'm a practical person."

  "And I'm lucky that you are."

  As Shauna left, Jacob set down his coffee cup and looked at her. "You know, this could be a perfect time for me to be super busy with my headphones on," he said. "Not paying attention to you at all. If you wanted to have a confidential chat with an employee."

  Beatrix rolled her eyes, but she knew he was right.

  ✽✽✽

  When Onyx went home that afternoon, he looked a lot happier than he had that morning. It had been less awkward than she thought to say what needed to be said. And Jacob was right. Onyx wasn't just her employee; he was her friend. And he had been a friend to her when no one else had. She should have known better than to forget that.

  "Ready to drive out to my place?" Jacob asked as Beatrix checked, for the millionth time, that everything was in its place and either freezing, resting, or infusing correctly.

  "Fine," Beatrix said, wrinkling up her nose. "But let's make it quick. I don't like the city."

  "And here was me about to offer to take you to my favourite local Indian afterwards," Jacob said. "What a shame you're so prejudiced."

  "Indian?" Beatrix repeated. "Is it good? I haven't had a decent biryani in ages, and—" she cut herself off, aware of how keen she sounded.

  "So maybe I can tempt you to have dinner with me?" Jacob said, his grin turning to a smirk. "Come on, I owe you for the serums anyway. And who can turn down a freshly baked samosa?"

  "Okay, okay!" Beatrix shook her head. "You found my weakness! I'd have dinner with a demon for a good Indian banquet."

  "It's a date then," Jacob grinned.

  "It is not," Beatrix said severely, "a date."

  "Fine," Jacob said. "Just two neighbours who happen to be magically bonded together sharing a meal. Will that do?"

  "I suppose it will have to," Beatrix said, but she couldn't help smiling.

  11 Jacob

  "So, what's the excuse for me coming over to your house?" Beatrix asked as Jacob parked in the driveway. "Because it's pretty weird for the woman who owns land next to your development to be just hanging out with you."

  "Not weird at all!" Jacob disagreed. "Maybe you really enjoy my company."

  Beatrix rolled her eyes, and Jacob held up his hands. "Okay, fine," he said. "I did tell Ant that the landowner next door seemed less than thrilled with my presence. We'll have to make something up." He did not, of course, tell Beatrix that he had told Ant about her in some detail. Or that Ant had cyber stalked her and approved of her high cheekbones and boss bitch attitude.

  "Maybe I'm borrowing something?" Beatrix suggested. "No, that would be weird. We're not friends."

  "Well, Ant's an artist," Jacob suggested. "Maybe I told you about his work, and you wanted to check it out. Because you're an art fan."

  "I know absolutely nothing about art," Beatrix said, shaking her head.

  "Sometimes I think Ant doesn't either," Jacob chuckled. "Just... Ask him questions. Say you like his metaphors."

  "You really think he'll go for it?"

  "Have you got any better ideas?"

  "No," Beatrix sighed. She got out of the car and looked up at the house. "This place is huge," she said. "It's just the two of you here?"

  "It's a family property," Jacob explained. "My dad thinks the zoning here is going to change any day now, so he can sell off the land to build flats. Until then..." He shrugged.

  Jacob pushed his key into the lock and hoped that whatever art materials Ant had brought home weren't any worse than the mannequins had been.

  "Is that you, Jake?" Ant called. "Or are you a handsome burglar come to ravish me?"

  Jacob laughed and turned to Beatrix. "He's a little extra," he explained.

  "I can cope with extra," Beatrix said, hiding a smile. "I work with Onyx, remember?"

  "It's me!" Jacob called back. "I've got someone with me!"

  Ant appeared in the hallway, wearing o
nly pink bike shorts and hi-tops. "Damn it, Jake!" he scowled. "You should have warned me! I would have at least put on a shirt!"

  "I doubt that," Jacob deadpanned. "Ant, I want you to meet Beatrix. She owns the land next to the development and–"

  "Beatrix LaGrange, the skincare goddess!" Ant said, suddenly looking excited. "I'm so honoured to meet you. I thought you didn't like this guy!" He indicated Jacob with a jerk of his thumb.

  "We've come to an understanding," Beatrix shrugged.

  "Beatrix here is an art fan," Jacob said quickly as Ant looked at him questioningly. "I mentioned your work, especially that latest project with the mannequins and—"

  "I just had to see it!" Beatrix said, sounding genuinely enthusiastic. "I really hope you don't mind. I kind of talked Jacob into it. I agreed to let him take me to dinner if he brought me over here."

  "Oh, you drive a hard bargain, girl!" Ant said, sounding delighted. "I love it!"

  "I'm, uh, just going to grab a few things," Jacob said. "I'm going to be sleeping out at the site office for a little bit."

  "Seriously, dude?" Ant asked, his attention snapping back to Jacob. "Family business can't at least spring for a hotel?"

  "It's not too bad," Jacob said, wishing he had said he was staying in a hotel all along. "Just got a few early starts, you know tradies."

  Ant seemed to accept this. "Well, it's your choice," he shrugged. "But come home soon, okay? You get weird when you're alone too much."

  "And you don't?" Jacob grinned.

  "Honey, that ship has already sailed," Ant told him. "Beatrix, my darling, let me show you my latest pieces. Jacob hates my mannequins, but I bet you'll appreciate them."

  "I'm sure I will!" Beatrix said, putting on a wide-eyed expression. "I can't believe I get to see your art in process."

  "Oh, it's all process," Ant said, taking Beatrix by the arm. "Come into my studio."

  "I thought that was our living room!" Jacob called, and Ant waved a dismissive hand. Jacob smiled to himself. Well, at least their ruse seemed to be working so far. Ant's belief in his own genius was helpful sometimes.

  He ran up the stairs to grab a few more shirts, clean underwear, and pyjamas more comfortable than his gym gear. He could only hope that the house wasn't large enough to activate the bond.

  When he came back downstairs with a neatly packed suitcase, he could hear laughter coming from the kitchen. He followed the sound and discovered Beatrix and Ant sitting at the kitchen island, each sipping one of his favourite beers.

  "You've found my stash," Jacob said mildly. He didn't really mind. With an older brother like Tom, he was used to a lack of private property.

  "Well, I did offer her wine, but she likes beer," Ant said, shrugging. "And you don't mind. You're the most generous guy I know."

  "You can have as much as you want if you keep talking me up like that," Jacob said, grinning. "I'm still trying to convince Beatrix here that I'm not evil."

  "Oh, honey!" Ant sighed. "Jacob? He's one of the good guys. I mean, he was my best friend at school. Can you imagine how someone like me fit into an all boys' boarding school? Shit was hard. But Jacob was always by my side. And he never forgets his mother's birthday, donates to every cause that hits him up, and has talked his dad out of turning at least three green spaces into blocks of flats."

  "Keep talking!" Jacob laughed, but he snuck a look at Beatrix, wondering how she'd react to Ant's praise of him.

  "Oh, I know he's not evil," Beatrix shrugged. "Really, I should have known from the start. He's got a dog. That's always a good sign."

  "Where is Prada?" Ant said suddenly, frowning. "She never lets you out of her sight."

  "She - uh - made a friend," Jacob explained. "She's having a sleepover."

  "My dog - Gumbo - is in love with her," Beatrix explained. "Obsessed, right from the beginning. She walks all over him, makes him beg for her attention, but he loves it. They're hanging out at my place."

  Ant laughed, looking thoughtful. "I see," he said. "She pretends she doesn't like him, but really she's just playing hard to get. It's a good game, for sure."

  Beatrix stood up suddenly, looking embarrassed. "Uh, where's the bathroom?" she asked, looking around.

  "Just down the hall," Jacob pointed. "You don't have any art in there, do you? Or any of your handwashing hanging up?"

  Ant laughed uproariously, but Jacob had seen his jocks draped over the towel rack before. "It's perfectly guest safe, I promise," he said. "Cleaner was here yesterday."

  "Thanks," Beatrix said, disappearing down the hall.

  "So that's the famous Beatrix," Ant said, taking a sip of his beer as Jacob helped himself to one. "I like her."

  "She's pretty cool," Jacob said cautiously.

  "And she must have changed her mind about you," Ant said. "Or she wouldn't be here. I know it's not about my art. Although she was very complimentary about what I've done with the rhinestones around the crotch of those mannequins."

  "I don't even want to know," Jacob sighed, flicking open the can of beer. "Like I said, I just had to pick up a few things before we went to dinner, and—"

  "Dinner is definitely a positive development," Ant agreed. "Last I heard, she wanted you banished from the face of the earth."

  "What, you don't think I'm charming enough to change her mind?" Jacob put on a mock-pained expression, clutching at his chest. "You wound me, Ant. I thought we were friends."

  "Mate, you could charm the knickers off a nun," Ant smirked. "Actually, you did. Remember that Halloween party?"

  "Doesn't count. She was a naughty nun," Jacob laughed. "That was definitely not a Catholic church approved wimple."

  "But this Beatrix, she seems like she's an independent kind of girl. I mean, she started her own business. I'm just surprised she changed her mind so quickly," Ant said.

  "Well, I think she's still making up her mind about me," Jacob admitted. "But she doesn't think I'm evil anymore, and she's willing to eat food in the same room as me, so long as we don't call it a date. That's definite progress."

  "Cheers to that, my friend!" Ant tapped his beer can against Jacob's. "Damn, dude. There's, like, a million girls who'd want to go out with you. And you have to go for the one chick who doesn't."

  "Maybe I'm not interested in the millions who want me," Jacob shrugged. "And besides, it's not like you can talk. Aren't you still obsessed with that performance artist who says he's being celibate for a year to focus on his creative process?"

  Ant made a pained noise. "God, yes," he said. "Beautiful, unavailable Charles. Why do I torture myself this way?"

  "Well, it's not like we can choose who we're attracted to," Jacob said. "Or if they're interested in us."

  "Who's interested in you?" Beatrix said, coming out the hallway. "Is she feeling well?" She raised her eyebrows, teasing him.

  "We're talking about Ant's love life," Jacob said quickly, hoping that Beatrix hadn't overheard too much.

  "Or lack thereof," Ant said miserably.

  Beatrix wrinkled her nose. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "But I'm sure you'll meet someone. I mean, you're an artist with abs. How hard can it be?"

  Ant looked down at his admittedly well-toned stomach and laughed. "True!" he said and gave Beatrix a fierce hug. "I like you, Beatrix."

  Beatrix was stiff under the sudden hug, Jacob saw, but she quickly relaxed, laughing, and hugged him back. "You'll definitely meet someone," she said reassuringly.

  "We should get going," Jacob said, unsure how much longer their charade would last if love lives were the topic of conversation.

  "Yeah, you promised me Indian," Beatrix said. "I'm freaking starving, and I can just taste a cold beer."

  "So I guess I'm designated driver back to Shepherd's Crossing," Jacob laughed.

  "Oh, of course you are," Ant cut in. "After all, you're always the perfect gentleman."

  ✽✽✽

  "This is amazing," Beatrix said, closing her eyes as she used a piece of her roti to soak up the
last of the sauce. "Definitely worth a trip to the city."

  "I'm glad you think so," Jacob grinned. "I promised you it'd be worth it."

  "It totally is," Beatrix agreed. "You know, I didn't have Indian food until I was nineteen, living in Sydney in this horrible share house. We always ate the same thing at the commune - stew with some kind of meat, lots of vegetables, wholemeal bread. It was healthy, I guess, but you get tired of the same thing. And then suddenly there was all this flavour, and spice, and..." Her eyes grew dreamy at the memory.

  "I didn't try it until I was older either," Jacob confessed. "My dad? He isn't a fan of anything that isn't a steak. Getting him into an Italian restaurant is hard enough, let alone anything more exotic. You should see the look on his face when there's sushi as a canape at some industry event."

  Beatrix laughed. "I don't think my mother even knows that sushi exists," she said thoughtfully. She paused for a moment. "You know, I did actually like your friend Ant's art."

  "Seriously?" Jacob said, raising his eyebrows. "You didn't think it was a bit...gaudy?"

  "Oh, it totally is," Beatrix agreed with a nod of her head, her red ponytail bouncing up and down. "But that's what I like about it. It's so maximalist, it's so fun. He's not holding anything back, just putting everything he wants into it."

  "I thought you were a minimalist kind of girl," Jacob said. "I mean, your house..."

  "Okay, I probably wouldn't want one of those mannequins in my house," Beatrix admitted. "I like to keep things pretty serene. But I still liked his work."

  Jacob smiled at that, unsure why. Maybe it was because he knew it was true. Beatrix wasn't the kind of person who'd say something just because she thought he wanted to hear it - not like most of the women he met. He always felt like they were trying so hard to appeal to him that he didn't know who they really were, what they really felt.

  "You're thinking about something deep and meaningful, aren't you," Beatrix said, taking a sip of beer and looking at him through her long lashes. "You've got that look on your face."