But people didn’t work like magic, and there were no textbooks for her to memorize on how to deal with them. If there were, her life would be so much easier. Maybe then she would know how to react to Sebastian’s polar-opposite personality. If he said A, she knew she should say B. If he did X, she would have already memorized the appropriate Y and Z response and could whip it out with aplomb. Lily’s lips twitched upward at the thought even as a familiar knot of anxiety formed in her chest. She sighed. Books just made more sense than people did—they didn’t have annoying habits, they never said anything awkward, and they definitely didn’t get their feelings hurt. If only men were more like books…
An image of Richard Grant, FBI agent and former dating interest, popped into her head. While not perfect, he had certainly fit her ideal of a proper gentleman. A pity he had lied to her and used her as bait in one of his investigations. She wondered how things might have turned out different if he’d actually intended to date her, not just use her to arrest her father.
Shaking her head again, she tried to rein in her wildly galloping thoughts and focus on the spell. Sebastian had a good heart and he made her smile—when he wasn’t annoying the heck out of her. Why had she even been thinking about Richard in the first place?
“All right, I give up.” Sir Kipling’s irritated meow once again brought her attention back to the present and away from her complicated dating life. She blushed, glad her magical talking cat couldn’t also read minds.
“What do you mean you give up?” she asked, looking over her shoulder to see him rise in a lazy stretch before he jumped off the chair and stalked over to her spell circle.
“I give up this pointless waiting while you daydream about men.”
“I was not—”
“Yes, you were. Your scent changes when you’re thinking about Sebastian. You smell like—”
“Okay, okay. I’ll take your word for it,” Lily said, absolutely not wanting Sir Kipling to finish that thought. She shuddered to think what sort of awkward comments he would make if she ever managed to settle down with someone and have an actual love life. Better not to think about it. Life was best taken one step at a time, after all.
Lily frowned, a crease forming on her brow as she looked down at the little wooden ball, then at her watch. It was getting late, and she had already made considerable progress, having finished the last dimmu runes and applied the sealant. Various tools, bottles, and brushes littered the oak worktable, a testament to her labors. She still needed to clean up here, take a shower, and dress—and it wouldn’t hurt to leave time for a nice cup of tea to calm her nerves before Sebastian arrived. Perhaps Sir Kipling was right. She would finish his cat toy another day when she was less distracted. She was about as good at not worrying as Sebastian was at not getting into trouble—which, ironically, was one of her greatest sources of worry. Well, at least worrying about a date with a handsome man was better than worrying about having no date at all. With that thought to comfort her, she gave a rueful smile and got to work cleaning up.
* * *
(Don’t want to stop reading? You can continue the story HERE)
Afterword
Thanks so much for reading Lily and Sebastian’s continuing adventures! Don’t miss future books in the Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus universe by signing up to my mailing list at www.lydiasherrer.com/subscribe for new release alerts, behind-the-scene sneak peeks, book giveaways, and chances to help me out in the story-making process.
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You can also discover more backstory by checking out the Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Universe Glossary here on my website.
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Also by Lydia Sherrer:
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Universe
* * *
The Lily Singer Adventures:
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 1: Beginnings
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 2: Revelations
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 3: Allies
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 4: Legends
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 5: Betrayal
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 6: Identity
(Book 7 coming in 2021!)
* * *
The Lily Singer Adventures Novellas:
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: A Study In Mischief
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Cat Magic
* * *
Dark Roads Trilogy (Sebastian’s Origin)
Book 1: Accidental Witch
* * *
Other Works:
* * *
Ashes of Hope: A Post Apocalyptic Dark Fantasy Short Story
Acknowledgments
Many overflowing thanks to the people who made this book happen. There were my faithful beta readers who met ridiculous deadlines, not to mention my ever-loyal super fans who give me motivation to keep writing with their unabashed enthusiasm. Then there’s my wonderful editor, Lori Brown Patrick, who still seems to think I’m worth her time. Much thanks to my exceptionally skilled and patient cover artist, Tony Warne, and illustrator, Serena Thomas. Both of them have to put up with my picky perfectionism and, believe me, I’m fortunate they haven’t kicked me to the curb yet. Huge, huge thanks to the vibrant and positive writing groups I’m a part of on Facebook who share so much advice, aid, and encouragement. I’ve grown exponentially in the midst of such amazing fellow authors. I’m also indebted to Pat and Cindy Tinney, Stephen Logsdon, Tony and Kae Thompson, David and Jun Mcinteer, and Ted and Beth Thomas whose generosity helped make this book happen. Most special thanks to my wonderful parents, who brag on me shamelessly, and sisters, who only roll their eyes a little bit when I start talking about books. And lastly, to my beloved husband, my best friend in the world and the most faithful and hard-working partner I could ever ask for.
About the Author
Award-winning and USA Today-bestselling author of snark-filled urban fantasy, Lydia Sherrer thrives on creating characters and worlds you love to love, and hate to leave. She subsists on liberal amounts of dark chocolate and tea, and hates sleep because it keeps her from writing. Though she graduated with a dual BA in Chinese and Arabic, after traveling the world she came home to Louisville, KY and decided to stay there. Due to the tireless efforts of her fire-spinning gamer husband and her two overlords, er cats, she remains sane and even occasionally remembers to leave the house.
LOVE, LIES, AND HOCUS POCUS
The Lily Singer Adventures Book 4: Legends
Copyright © 2017 by Lydia Sherrer
All rights reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-0-9973391-7-8 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-9973391-8-5 (ebook)
Published by Chenoweth Press 2017
Louisville, KY, USA
No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated wi
thout the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Under no circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Cover art by Molly Phipps www.wegotyoucoveredbookdesign.com
Chapter illustrations by Serena Thomas
Formatting by Polarus Studio
ISBN: 978-0-9973391-8-5
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Legends Page 28
