by Maeve Hart
Jacques already knew how to get the women in my family on side. All it took was flattery. His approach was a little obvious, I thought, but I didn’t mind as long as it worked.
LATER ON, the small talk continued while we ate our meal. That was, until Granny spoke.
“I can’t help feeling you look familiar, Jacques.”
This was exactly what I feared and I held my breath.
My mother said, “Of course he does. He’s been in the news, and he’s been in the papers about a dozen times this year alone. He’s a public figure.”
Jacques chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“I knew who you were, as soon as Fauna told me we were coming here today,” Aunt Flora said. “And I never listen to the news and seldom look at a newspaper.”
My mother looked at Jacques and said, “I saw you in the magazines with a woman—what was her name again?”
“We don’t need to talk about Jacques’ ex-girlfriends, Mom. If that’s what you were going to do.”
“Behave yourself, Destiny. I wasn’t going to do anything of the sort. Eloise, was that her name?”
Jacques nodded. “Eloise and I parted ways some years ago. We’re ancient history.”
“Whatever happened to her?” my mother asked, tipping her head to one side.
“I’m not in contact with her, so I can’t really tell you, sorry.”
I glared at my mother, letting her know I was angry. I’d asked her not to bring up that woman’s name.
“You’re much nicer than Donald,” my grandmother blurted to Jacques.
“Thank you,” Jacques said.
“It’s not much of a compliment really because I didn’t like the fellow, but so far you’re passing the test,” Granny said matter-of-factly.
“That’s good to know.”
I rolled my eyes. “I warned you they’d be like this,” I said to Jacques.
Aunt Flora giggled. “It just shows how much we care about you, Destiny.”
“That’s true. It’s good to have family,” my mother said.
“And what about your family?” Granny asked, her green eyes fixed directly on Jacques.
That was something we hadn’t rehearsed. So much for Jacques’ suggestion of winging it. We should’ve invented a past for him that sounded believable.
“I’m an orphan and never knew my parents. I was raised by a wealthy man and was fortunate enough to inherit quite a sum of money.”
“So you don’t know any of your relatives at all?” Granny asked as her green eyes scrutinized him.
“None of them. And more than that, it was a closed adoption, so I can’t find out anything about them.” He shook his head as though he were disappointed and had a mouthful of iced water.
“Is the man who raised you still alive?” Flora asked.
My mother said, “He just said that he inherited the man’s fortune, said that would mean he was dead.”
Flora shook her head, and said quietly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that bit.”
My grandmother put her knife and fork down. “The man who raised you wouldn’t let you know anything about your family? That’s just deplorable!”
I had to wonder why Granny was so upset. Jacques hadn’t even said that.
“I never really asked. He might not have known himself. I had a happy life, so I didn’t want to ruin anything by asking about my parents or trying to find elusive relations. As far as I know, I have none.” Jacques raised his hands slightly with his palms facing upward.
Granny shook her head and then narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t sound right to me.”
“What do you mean, Granny?” I asked.
She looked at Jacques. “Are you saying a single man adopted you?”
“No, I had… I was adopted by a mother and a father. I had two adoptive parents.”
“Oh, well you never mentioned a mother.”
“That’s because she died when I was around ten.”
I listened to the lies rolling off Jacques’ tongue. I hated him being in this position, but there was no other way around it unless I wanted to watch mayhem unfold and tell them I’d become a shifter.
“Well, that’s very sad,” my mother said.
“That is very sad,” Granny agreed. “And what were their names?”
“Granny, what is this—the Spanish Inquisition?” I asked.
“I’m just interested in your new boyfriend, is that a crime?”
It was time to tell them that we were engaged, if for no other reason than to throw them off the track of all these probing questions.
“Jacques and I have something to tell you.” I looked at Jacques.
He nodded. “Tell them.”
“You tell them.” I gave a girlish giggle.
He leaned in to me, and said softly, “I think you should be the one to tell them.”
“No, you do it.”
“For crying out loud, someone tell us,” Granny said.
I laughed inside, knowing they all would’ve hated our loved up interaction.
“Destiny has agreed to marry me.”
Flora was the only one who looked pleased. “Congratulations, you two. That’s just wonderful and so exciting. I had a sneaking suspicion that’s why we were here tonight, but I didn’t want to say anything and ruin things.”
“You might have forewarned me,” Granny said, glaring at her daughter.
“I didn’t know,” Mom said, still sitting there dumbfounded.
I pulled the ring out of the bag, popped it on my finger, and showed it to my mother.
“It’s lovely. Congratulations,” my mother said.
I held out my hand toward my grandmother. “What do you think of the ring, Granny?”
“It’s quite something.”
“I knew you’d like it.” My grandmother liked anything flashy.
Aunt Flora said, “It’s absolutely stunning, Destiny. I’ve never seen anything quite so beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I could feel the tension at the table. It was embarrassing for Jacques that Granny and my mother weren’t hiding the fact that they weren’t happy about me getting married. I tried to soften the awkward moment. “My family doesn’t exactly believe in marriage,” I told Jacques in front of them, although I’d told him that before.
“It’s not for everyone, I guess,” he said. “But I do hope you’ll all come to the wedding.” He looked at them in turn.
“When is it?” Granny asked the question as though she’d need to check her diary.
“We thought we’d have it in March,” Jacques said.
That caught Granny’s attention. “March you say? What date in March?”
“March the thirtieth.” Jacques seemed to pull that one out of the air.
“This year that’s the ninth week of the lunar year.” Granny’s eyes bored through me and then she glared at Jacques. “What made you want to have your wedding on that very date?”
Then I remembered Granny had once uttered, Under the full moon the walls are the ninth week. It must’ve been that the ninth week of the lunar year held some significance the way Granny was carrying on. I stared at Jacques, who had told me that what Granny had said was a key to something vital. Why had he picked that date? Was he deliberately goading Granny into a fury? Or was he fishing for something she knew that he didn’t?
I had to gloss things over. “We didn’t know what week it was, Granny. It’s just a date that Jacques and I picked, that’s all. Why do you ask like that?” I tried to put her on the spot so she would be thrown off the track.
“You don’t know?” Granny asked me.
“No, obviously I don’t. What is there to know?” I asked
She shook her head. “Now is not the time or the place to discuss those sorts of things. But you and I should have a talk later, Destiny.”
Jacques signaled to the waiter, and he came over. “I think we’d like to see dessert menus now.”
“Very good, sir.”
Af
ter Jacques and everyone else ordered dessert, I excused myself and went to the ladies’ room. When I pushed the door open, I noticed my grandmother was behind me.
CHAPTER 11
“Destiny, I want to have a word with you.”
I turned around to face her. “Yes?”
“We didn’t leave on good terms last time you were at my house.”
I moved further into the ladies’ room. That’s because you told me you tried to kill my fiancé, I felt like saying. “That’s right, I remember.”
“I only ever wanted to protect you.”
“And you were mad with Donald because you thought he touched something in your spell room, right?”
“Yes, something like that is very hard to obtain. It’s not every day someone gets to kill an Alpha.”
Her words filled me with horror and I had to steel myself so it didn’t show on my face.
She continued, “Anyway, do you forgive me?”
I had to forgive her because I believed she did things in ignorance. “Yes, I do, because we’re family and family should always forgive family and stick together.” Would she want my forgiveness if she knew I was a shifter?
“Thank you. I have been so worried. You’re my only grandchild, the only one I’ve got to pass my magic onto since both my girls are beyond the age of reproduction. Their eggs have withered and died by now along with any hopes I had of having a male child in the family.”
“Maybe if you hadn’t raised them to hate men, things would’ve been different.”
“Destiny, how could you say such a thing?”
“It’s a little hard to have babies without men.”
Granny fluttered her lashes. “Not these days. Anyhow, you will pass my spell book onto your children, won’t you? I’m guessing that man out there will want to reproduce and have little clones running around.”
I hesitated. “Clones? Are you calling my future children clones?”
“Now don’t get your feathers ruffled. It was only a joke.”
I ignored her comment. How could I tell her that her spell book, the Book of Shadows, would not be passed to my children because I wasn’t interested in magic and my children no doubt would be shifters? “Granny, you know I’m not interested in magic and I never have been.”
Granny’s mouth fell open as though that was news to her. “What about all those questions you were asking me the other day?”
She had me there. I couldn’t tell her I was simply after information. “I was exploring the idea and that’s all.”
Granny pushed past me and headed to a stall and shut the door. I went into one as well and closed myself in. My grandmother hadn’t picked up anything peculiar or familiar about Jacques so I was thankful of that. When I’d finished, I opened the door and was in the middle of washing my hands when Granny came out.
She stood beside me and washed her hands in the adjacent basin. “You know, there’s something different about you.”
I turned off the tap and shook my hands. “What’s that?”
“Since you met Jacques.”
“Could it be that I’m happy?” I ripped off a piece of paper towel to dry my hands.
Granny chuckled. “That must be it. Well, he might be good for you then.”
“He makes me very happy.” I passed Granny a paper towel and she wiped her hands.
“I can’t force you to be interested in witchcraft, but will you at least take my spell book when I die and give your children an opportunity to follow the craft?”
“I will and I’ll pass on your stories and all your history.”
“Thank you, Destiny. That’s all I can ask.”
While we walked to the table Granny said, “I’m glad we had this little chat.”
I put my arm around her shoulder. “Me too, Granny.”
Everyone had ordered the same thing for dessert—chocolate mousse with ice cream strawberries, and cream.
I stared at the dessert in front of me considering it looked too good to eat. The mousse was perfectly rounded, there was one scoop of ice cream on one side, around the perimeter were strawberry halves, and a perfect swirl of cream sat atop the mousse. My mother was the first to try it. She stuck her spoon into the dark chocolate creation.
“This is delicious,” she said once she’d swallowed. “The best I’ve ever tasted. Now what time will you two be at the gallery tomorrow?” My mother looked at Jacques and me.
“What time do you open these days?” I asked, picking up my spoon.
“I normally open at ten, give or take.”
Jacques said, “We’ll be there around lunchtime. Between eleven and one, I’d say.” He looked at me and I nodded.
“Very good; I’ll be expecting you. And are you in the market for some new art, Jacques?”
“Mom!”
“What? I’m just asking.”
“We’re just having dinner. Can you stop trying to sell your art?”
Flora and Granny giggled.
“That’s quite all right,” Jacques said, smiling. “I’m always looking for something that catches my eye.”
“Good. That’s all I was asking,” my mother said, staring at me with a face that said, I told you so.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. She reminded me of one of those pushy realtors, only she was selling art.
WHEN JACQUES and I were alone back at the penthouse, I repeated Granny’s conversation as I sat on the couch with Jacques, talking about the night.
“I never asked you, but will our child definitely be a shifter?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
“Not to me it’s not, but Granny hoped to pass all her magic knowledge to someone.”
“It looks like it’s going to die with her.”
“That’s a bit sad for Granny.” I had to stop myself from asking about Eloise. She was gone, and I was here. Even if he had been in love with her at one point, that was in the past. I tried my best to push her out of my mind, wishing my mother had never brought up her name.
“You know, it’s going to be hard to raise a shifter child. They don’t know it’s not appropriate to change whenever they want.”
“Oh no. Really?”
He nodded. “I’m afraid so. We’ll have to lay low for a few years and keep him away from your family, and everyone for that matter.”
“We’ll have to keep him or her at the compound?”
“Yes.”
“We’ve got a lot to think about.”
“That’s just another reason why it’s easier if you keep away from your family.”
CHAPTER 12
A s we traveled to my mother’s art gallery the next morning, we went over our plan from the day before. “I know my mother’s going to pull you around the gallery to show you each and every painting, so while she’s doing that, I’ll look in the visitors’ book.”
“Sounds easy enough. Keep your phone with you so you can take a photo of his handwriting if you find it.”
“Good idea, and then we can take it back and analyze it next to the envelope. You still have it, don’t you?” I asked.
“It’s in my den.”
“Good.” I felt a whole lot better now that my family had met Jacques and got along well with him. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.
Jacques pulled his phone out of his pocket when it sounded. “Ah, my uncle’s in town. He wants to meet with us.”
“We could have him over for dinner. Do you want me to cook something?”
“I definitely don’t want you to cook anything.” He shook his head vigorously.
“I’m not that bad.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I’ll ask him to join us at a restaurant for dinner.”
Good. I didn’t like cooking. “That would be lovely. I can’t wait to meet him.”
Jacques texted him back while I told the driver, “It’s just on the next block here.”
Normally Jacques drove, but today he had his driver take us. Thankfully, there was a
spot so the driver could let us out directly in front of the gallery and we wouldn’t have to walk too far.
As we approached the doors of the gallery, they opened. I was always a little startled when that happened because I always expected to push something.
Mom walked briskly to meet us. As usual, she looked lovely and perfectly groomed. She was wearing a bright fuchsia dress with matching shoes. Around her neck was a fancy necklace that I recognized as one of Fauna’s pottery creations. Fauna was always experimenting with new uses for her pottery, and had turned her hand to making pottery beads, glazing them bright colors and stringing them on fine pieces of silk.
“Here you are. Welcome.” She handed me a camera, all the while looking a Jacques. “Jacques, do you mind if Destiny takes a photo of you and me for social media?”
He chuckled. “I don’t see why not.”
“We’ll stand in front of that painting.” She pointed to a painting and I guessed it was the most expensive one there.
As I took the photos in front of the painting, I hoped she wasn’t going to broadcast to the world that her daughter was engaged to Jacques Hunter, the hunky billionaire. But knowing my mother, she probably was going to do just that. I was hoping to keep the whole thing low-key, but my mother, as always, was after more business and more people through the door of her gallery. I knew my mother’s idea was that the more rich people saw other rich people at the gallery, the better for her sales. When I was done, I handed the camera back to her.
My mother looked at the camera in her hands and then gave it back to me. “Would you put it on my desk over there, Destiny?”
“Sure.” I took hold of it and headed back to her desk while she put her arm through Jacques’ and began her tour just like I’d known she would.
Now was my chance. I hurried to the stand by the door where she had the visitors’ book. I flipped back through the months until I came to the days after Donald’s death.
Quickly, my eyes scanned the names and then I found his name. Yes, it was a match! I pulled my phone from my bag and took three photos. I don’t know why I took three because they were of exactly the same thing. I opened the book back to today’s date and casually walked over to join my mother and Jacques.
