by K. M. Waller
The smile appeared faked but the gentleness in the depth of his eyes came across as real. He was being so good-natured that Amira felt it necessary to make amends.
“Really, send me the bill for the pants and shoes, and I’ll get them taken care of. Darn, too bad we won’t be riding in together now.” She lifted one shoulder in a half shrug as she waltzed past him and climbed into her car. The nerve to pinch off an arm hair had left the building when Hydepup pulled his stunt. Amira didn’t look at Lex as she waited for him to get in his car and allow her to back out.
It was possible now he’d just leave. Podunk towns, tea rooms, and temperamental rescue dogs wouldn’t be his thing. No way, no how. She twisted her mother’s charm between her fingers as she glanced at the spell sitting in her purse.
Her cell chirped a text from Ally. Great goddesses. She was late to meet her sisters. Should she tell them her theory on Lex or try to get through another day on her own?
∞∞∞
Lex drove the short distance to the next street over. His sock and shoe made a squishy sound when he hit the brakes, the smell of urine heavy in the air around him. The one-story, stucco house his assistant had rented cost him three times the amount of a hotel stay. The older couple who owned it only agreed to leave for two weeks after Jordie offered an all-expenses paid vacation to Las Vegas.
Jordie’s grey work van took up the entire driveway, forcing Lex to park on the street in front of the mailbox. He hadn’t wanted the younger man to join him, but after an initial assessment, he’d realized another set of hands would move the assignment along quicker.
Jordie met him at the door. “Dude. That was quick.”
Lex glared at his young assistant, toed off his three thousand dollar Italian leather loafers, and stomped through the door. “Why are you here? I asked you to run surveillance on the other two sisters. And stop calling me dude.”
“Just trying to keep it casual,” he grumbled.
Lex didn’t respond and instead grabbed his unpacked suitcase from the floor. He tossed it to the bed. Three hundred dollar slacks covered in urine. Damn dog. Why couldn’t it have been some big nasty hellhound? Then he would have… It wouldn’t have mattered; he didn’t harm animals. But still, most any kind of animal knew better than to disrespect a man’s pant leg.
Amira’s burst of laughter hadn’t held an ounce of malice. The warm sound had almost been enchanting. Part of the glamour, he assured himself. He’d been getting as close-up and personal as he could to look for any sign that she was sixty years older than she seemed. Mannerisms, speech, voice patterns. Nothing gave her away.
They must be some of the most powerful witches in the world to hold a spell of that magnitude. But the reverse-aging spell wasn’t their crime. Were they selling mind-controlling love spells as a side job? Or did they interfere in the townsfolks’ lives for the laughs? Either way, he needed to get some proof she harmed or planned to harm humans to turn her over to the Council.
Jordie approached from the hallway. Crinkling of a potato chip bag and the strong odor of sour cream and onion preceded him. He stood in the doorway and spoke with a mouth full of chewed chips. “Why does it smell like pee in here?”
“Bring me the dossier we’ve started.” Lex peeled off his soiled socks and pants.
Lex hadn’t needed an assistant or protégé—however their relationship was defined—but three years ago, an acquaintance from the agency pulled Jordie from a vamp nest in South Georgia, just shy of being dinner. He’d been seventeen at the time, and the boy had begged not to be returned to the foster care system. Gramps had refused to let Jordie reside in the safety of LSP’s headquarters. No big surprise there. Good old Gramps didn’t believe in taking in orphans, only passing them off—preferably to boarding schools. Jordie expressed an interest in becoming an agent at LSP, so Lex agreed to foster him until he could change his mind. Lex wanted to give his ward opportunities outside of the paranormal world, something Lex had had to accomplish on his own.
Jordie returned with the file and sucked the tips of his fingers. Lex gritted his teeth and tried to focus on the bio pages. Each of the sisters lived separately but alone. Not married, no kids. They were well-established within the community. Respected. Why would Amira sell unless they intended to move on to a new location? Were they planning on leaving with a bang and that was why they were the focus of an assignment? Something big was on the way, and as much as he despised being forced into an assignment, he hated the idea of paranormals harming the unsuspecting townsfolk.
Jordie wiped his hand through his curly ebony hair and left a trail of crumbs. “What did you get from sister-goodies?”
Jordie had a nickname for everyone. Lex assumed this referred to Amira and her baking abilities.
Lex flipped through the pages of property tax records and other database searches. “Not much. Her neighbor says she keeps to herself and mostly spends time with her sisters, which makes sense. Did you get any surveillance done or are you couch-surfing this morning?”
“I followed your orders like a good little minion and did some quick recon. By the way, recon is fun.” Jordie pulled a small digital camera from his back pocket. “Hotties galore. Uptight-sister jog-walks—mostly walking—at five a.m. and Pinkie-pie rolls out the door eating corn dogs for breakfast. Both early risers. Not quite what I expected from some old biddies in disguise. Goodies is the only one with pets. They call them familiars, right?”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
Jordie handed the camera to Lex. “How is it you’re a legacy kid in the LSP and you don’t know anything about witches?”
“I’ve learned plenty about witches. I just don’t care to retain any of it.”
Lex clicked through the photos and studied each closely. Jordie was right. Both sisters looked perfectly normal, the same as Amira. Well, the younger one looked a little too punk, but that was normal for a girl of her supposed age. Wasn’t it? He’d hoped they’d be easier to distinguish from regular people. Three women dressed all in black, carrying black cats in their arms, and riding brooms would’ve been nice. Instead they looked like three vibrant young women enjoying normal daily activities. He thought back to the portrait Gramps kept of his first wife in his office. That witch had wild black hair and crazy eyes.
These witches excelled at their glamour. But why? In a retirement community, they’d blend better if they appeared elderly. Lex clicked through three more pictures of corn dog eating before he came to a halt at the last one.
Jordie erupted into a fit of laughter. “Dude, you totally got peed on. That picture is going in the LSP newsletter next month.”
Lex held back a surge of irritation that called for thumping Jordie on the back of the head, since he didn’t want to give his young protégé brain damage. He tossed the camera back to Jordie. “Delete that picture. Don’t call me dude. If you’re done acting like a ten-year-old, I need you to run back to HQ and check out more surveillance equipment. Everything you can gather to cover the three residences and the tea shop.”
“What’s the plan?”
Lex reached for a vase sitting on the dresser that held a bundle of flowers the owners had left behind. He removed the flowers and shook the water off the stems. “The plan hasn’t changed. I’m going to keep using the real estate angle, but add a little Romeo spin. See if I can’t get her and her sisters to use their love spells on me to move up our timetable. I’m a rich bachelor dumped in her lap. If she’s a bad witch, she’ll use that to her advantage to gain a big payday. All we need is one witchy slipup and we can let the Council work out the rest.”
Jordie shoved the camera in his pocket. “I don’t know. I think they call that entrapment in law enforcement.”
He stood and gave Jordie’s shoulder a pat. “We deal with supernatural forces. We don’t have to fight fair.”
Chapter Four
The angle of the sun rising cast a warm glow inside the Tea Haven. Amira poured her sisters a cup of lemon ginger tea. Ri
s refused to have any conversation before white chocolate scones were placed in front of her. Amira pulled two leftovers from the oven and placed them on the counter.
“Happy now?” Ally shoved a plate across the table to their youngest sister.
“Almost.” Ris shoved half a scone in her mouth. She stared at Ally and chewed at tortoise speed.
“You’re worse than my third graders.” Ally tossed a crumpled napkin at her. “It’s a student holiday, and I actually want to get to the school and enjoy the quiet hallways.”
Ris snickered. “Only you would enjoy going to work on a day off.”
Amira glanced down at her watch. She needed to tell her sisters about selling the Tea Haven before Lex showed up. She should tell them everything, but knowing the aunts were as focused as ever would break their hearts. The aunts were doing something completely different this time around. They’d crossed the line and spelled an innocent man. Most people would argue there wasn’t a difference between spelling the sisters and spelling a regular human, but Amira would win that argument. Having a spell cast on the sisters was like spraying them with an attractive perfume, and just as easily washed off. The other compared to mind control. Bad magic.
After she got Lex out of town, she’d find her great-aunts and have a long overdue chat. They’d gone too far. First, she had to show them she could cast off whatever magic they threw her way.
Amira didn’t enjoy lying to her sisters, and if she could get one truth out of the way, it’d be easier to concentrate on the Lex problem. “If you’re both finished, I have something to discuss.”
Ris reached for the other scone, and Ally popped her hand.
“What’s the rush, sis?” Ris rubbed the top of her hand. “Have anything to do with that man spotted on your porch this morning?”
Amira’s body went on high alert, her heart rate increasing. She shrugged but it felt like more of a twitch with her tightened muscles. Feigning innocence, yet worrying about how much they’d actually heard from the nosy neighbors, she picked at the edges of her fingernail. “What man?”
Ally looked from her to Ris. “What man, Ris? You started it. Finish it.”
A brisk knock at the back door interrupted the mini-interrogation.
Amira bit the inside of her cheek. She’d hoped for more time before Lex showed up. Two deep breaths and she decided to just let it out. “Listen, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you guys. I’m—”
The light knock turned into a pounding, and Ally walked over to unlock the door. “No need to break the door, Jack.”
Ally had assumed it was their delivery guy, but Amira knew better. Lex strode into the tea shop’s kitchen, and her sisters nearly lost their jaws, they dropped so fast.
“Holy smokes,” Ris said.
“I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?” Lex asked.
He’d changed into a pair of jeans and a faded Metallica t-shirt. He held a bundle of reddish-gold daisies in one hand. If she found dressed up Lex sexy, dressed down was irresistible. The mold of his jeans and T-shirt were enough to make her forget she cared about any meddling aunts.
Almost. She grabbed her mother’s talisman and rubbed it for solidarity, hoping the pure sexiness radiating off the man in front of her didn’t fry her brain cells.
Ris stood and circled Lex. “Is this the guy that was on the porch? Was he coming or going?”
Amira’s face burned. “Ris! Honestly.”
Ally stepped forward. “Excuse both of my sisters and their manners. We were expecting the delivery guy. I’m Ally Walker and the motor mouth is our younger sister Ris. And you are…?”
“Lex Dimas. I’m Amira’s temporary neighbor.”
He was?
He moved farther into the kitchen. “I’m renting the Brewsters’ house around the corner. I met Amira and her dogs while they were on a walk this morning.”
“I didn’t realize the Brewsters had moved. I swear I just saw them last week,” Ally said.
“I’m sort of house-sitting for them while they are on a much needed vacation.” The mega-watt smile turned on full-blast and melted away any further questions of the Brewsters.
The information clicked for Amira. The Brewsters were old family friends—of her aunts. How convenient they disappeared just as Lex had shown up. Even a temporary residence was a little too permanent at this point.
“The Tea Haven doesn’t open until ten a.m.,” Ris said. “And are those flowers for Amira?”
Her sisters asked too many questions.
“Amira invited me to the tea shop for an early breakfast. I thought a nice bouquet would be a good way to say thanks.”
Amira bobbed her head up and down, going along with the lie. Lex handed her the flowers and she crushed them to her chest. She appreciated him keeping her secret about selling the Tea Haven, but now it appeared she had a hidden boyfriend instead. She couldn’t decide which was worse.
Ris snickered. “I see what you wanted to tell us now.”
Ally grabbed the youngest Walker by the arm and steered her toward the door. “That’s fantastic. We have to go. You two enjoy yourselves.”
“No, wait!” Amira’s shout startled everyone. She brought down her tone a bit. “Ris, you promised to help me later today. I have a mommy group and the Biddies Bridge group, both coming in at eleven. You’re the one who double booked, remember?”
“Oops. Another reason I shouldn’t answer the phones. I’d love to help, sis, but I have to take care of that…thing.” Ris nodded toward Lex. “You’ll be fine without me.”
Before Amira could respond, Ris and Ally tore through the door. The thuds of car doors slamming soon followed. She’d just been abandoned.
The heady scent of the flowers reminded her to put them in water. She opened a cabinet and stood on her toes. Unable to quite reach, she planned to get the stool when Lex brushed against her arm. The zing coursed through her again. Great goddesses, that needs to stop.
He reached over her head and grabbed a clear vase from the top shelf.
“Thank you,” she said as he handed it to her. “And thank you for not saying anything about being a potential buyer. I’m going to tell my sisters next chance I get.”
He glanced around. “Do you usually run the shop by yourself?”
She arranged the flowers, glad to have busy work for her shaking hands. “I told you I had low overhead and a steady stream of tea drinkers. I usually don’t have two groups in at the same time though. Ris pitches in when she isn’t busy getting a new tattoo. I guess I’ll have to cancel one group.”
“I can help. How hard could it be to pour tea? And this will give me a hands-on look at how operations are run.”
Amira snorted a laugh, and then sobered when Lex didn’t smile. He was serious. The selfless gesture brought a tingle to her chest. She had to give it to her aunts. This was one powerful spell. A real estate mogul just offered to pour tea in her little shop. It was a million times worse than she’d thought. But she still had to get rid of him.
On the other hand, she did need help and it wasn’t like her to cancel on her customers last minute. Also, it might provide her with the opportunity to get a piece of hair. She rubbed her arms to ward off the ick she felt about casting the spell and focused on how to get through the day with Lex by her side.
“Sure. Why not? We need to dig in quick to get ready. I bake the scones fresh every morning. Then we make tea sandwiches and set all the dining tables with mismatched tea sets. It’ll take us all morning to get prepped. Plus, I’ll have a few regulars stop by too.”
He spread his arms wide. “Where do I start?”
Amira tied on a full-length apron. “Have you ever baked gluten free, nut free, sugar free scones before?”
His eyebrows knitted together. “Those sound terrible. Honestly, I’ve never baked anything above chocolate chip cookie level. And the last time I did that, I was ten.”
Amira pulled several mixing bowls from beneath the counter. “Wh
o did you bake with when you were ten? The nanny, the butler, an au pair or some famous chef?”
He shook his head and gloom passed over his features. “My mom loved to bake cookies. We did it together at least once a month before she died.”
She set the bowls down and leaned her elbows on the counter. “You lost your mom when you were ten?”
“My dad too. A car crash.”
Goddesses divine, she could get lost in the sadness in his eyes. Had the aunts known that about him? “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Every poor little rich boy has a tale of woe.” His chest rose in a deep breath, and he put his smile back in place.
“Who raised you? A loving butler named Alfred Pennyworth?” She hoped her joke would lighten the mood.
He chuckled and dipped his head as if sincerely amused. “If only. There were many butlers and many nannies, but none as cool as Batman’s butler. My grandfather got custody of me, but he didn’t have much time for children, so I spent a lot of time in boarding schools.”
Shoulder to shoulder with Lex, she placed the ingredients she’d grabbed from the pantry in front of him. Common sense told her to stop asking questions about his personal life, but her heart ached for the connection they shared as orphans. “No siblings?”
“Just me.” His tone took on a sharp edge.
She took the hint and stopped prodding. If nothing more than to stop any accidental touches and subsequent zings between them, she set up to work on the opposite side of the table. “I have a great chocolate chip scone recipe to honor your mother. I’ll let you work on those while I work on the healthy, unlikeable version. We’ll say those are in honor of your grandfather.”
The expression on his face shifted to bemusement.
“What?” she asked.
“You’re not what I expected.”
She swept her gaze over his face and landed on his lips. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“If it makes you feel any better, you’re not what I expected either. I Googled real estate moguls and read the article on you in Fortune. I expected you to come at me with paperwork, haggle on terms, offer a lowball price. But you haven’t done any of those things.” Instead he’d shown up with flowers, kept her secret about selling, and hadn’t thought twice about offering to help. Almost too perfect.
