by Rose Pressey
“See, I knew you didn’t like my choices,” she said.
“No, it’s not that. Just maybe a little less.” I pinched my thumb and index finger together.
“Oh, for heaven’s sakes, what is the point of this conversation? I can’t stand it anymore. I’d rather go to jail than listen to this,” Monique said.
“Don’t worry, they’ll be here soon to take you away,” I said. I looked at Gigi. “Who’s the leader of the Dallas coven now? I just wondered if she noticed anything strange about what you did. Or if she noticed anything strange about what Monique did.”
“I don’t think there’s a leader there now.”
Why hadn’t I been notified of these things? “Would you like to be the leader of the Dallas coven? You’ve shown that your magic skills are appropriate for it. Of course we’d have to do a full background check,” I said.
“It would be amazing,” she said. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“That’s my way of repaying you for everything you did out there. You stopped your sister,” I said.
She shrugged. “It was the right thing to do.”
I looked at Liam and Nicolas. “Of course, you guys are the leaders of New Orleans and Enchantment Pointe again.”
“Try not to screw it up this time,” Nicolas said to Liam.
“Hey, I’m not the one who got us tied up,” Liam said.
“You guys can discuss that later,” my mother said. “What about Ben?”
I wasn’t sure if she was asking me or him. I thought she was worried that he might be leaving now.
“I’m sure I can find a position for Ben with the Underworld since his magic is so impressive too. That’s of course if he wants that,” I said.
My mother looked at Ben for an answer. I hoped for her sake that he said the right thing, the thing that she wanted to hear. She wanted him to stay around. Did he want the same thing?
Ben took my mother’s hands in his. The next thing I knew, he was down on one knee. “Will you marry me?”
I stared at the whole scene wide-eyed with an open mouth. I couldn’t believe it. Had Ben seriously asked my mother to marry him? Yes, that was exactly what I was witnessing.
I waited with bated breath for her answer, as did Ben and everyone else in the room. Even Monique seemed interested in what was going on—after all, she was his ex.
The long pause was beginning to make me nervous. Ben too.
Finally, my mother said, “Yes, yes, I will marry you.”
Ben wrapped his arms around her. They embraced in a kiss while the rest of us clapped. I couldn’t believe that my mother was getting married. I liked Ben though, so I knew she would be happy. I hugged my mother and then Liam and Nicolas shook Ben’s hand.
“So when is this happening?” Annabelle asked.
My mother was standing next to Ben. “Oh, I don’t know. We’ll have to think about that.”
Ben took my mother’s hand in his again. “How about we get married now?”
She stared at him for a moment. “Are you serious?”
He shook his head. “I’m very serious.”
She smiled and said, “Okay, let’s do it.”
“I figure there’s no reason to wait,” Ben said.
It was a bit of a rush, and I wasn’t sure what the hurry was, but I supposed they were in a hurry. They were in love, so that was okay with me.
“What do you mean by now? As in tonight?” my mother asked.
“We can get everything together,” Ben said.
I hugged my mother and then Ben. “Of course, I insist that you get married at the manor.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” my mother said.
“How’s that for you, Ben?” I asked.
“Sounds perfect,” he said.
“Now I can plan a wedding,” I said with a smile.
“No wedding planners.” She smirked.
Monique glared at me.
“We can have it right out by the river.” I gestured.
“That sounds wonderful,” my mother said.
“It will be beautiful,” Gigi said.
“I have a lot of work to do in a short time,” I said.
Thank goodness the board members had finally shown up.
“Take your filthy hands off me,” Monique hissed as they pulled her from the chair.
They took Monique and her men away. She would be in the county jail until the trial. I wasn’t sure how she would have a defense for what she’d done. She complained the whole time that she was escorted out to the car that she was still the leader—that just because I had the book didn’t mean that I should be the leader.
“You’ll see how Ben is. Trust me, you will be sorry.”
Ben shook his head. “She must have really hated me.”
“It seems like she hates everyone,” I said.
We watched as the car drove away. The heaviness was lifted. Now I had to redecorate the manor back to the way it was before this mess.
Chapter 29
It was my mother and Ben’s wedding day. Their engagement had lasted twenty-four hours. It had been a chaotic time getting everything prepared and set up in such a short time. Well, I guessed the witchcraft had helped quite a bit. I’d prepared the wedding cake and taken care of all the refreshments. Nicolas had made sure that all the seating arrangements were correct and Liam had rounded up someone to perform the ceremony. Plus, he’d hired a band for the reception. I wasn’t sure we should have trusted him with that selection.
Annabelle had taken care of the décor outside. And she had done an amazing job. There was a tent nearby with lights underneath the canopy for tonight’s reception. It would mimic being under the twinkling stars. The area was draped with white fabric and flowers in different shades of pink. There was a pergola at the end of the aisle, just waiting for the lovebirds to say, “I do.” The seats were all full of my mother’s friends and family.
Unfortunately, Ben’s side was mostly empty except for Gigi. I was the maid of honor and Nicolas was the best man. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo. My mother had picked out a pink silk dress for me. It didn’t look that bad, with a draping neckline that came down slightly and a tapered lace waist. The hem came to just below my knees. My mother looked beautiful in her white dress. She didn’t wear a veil, but instead some flowers in her hair. She held her bouquet of pink roses.
Music started and we all waited for my mother to appear. Finally, she came from the side of the manor and started walking down the aisle. Ben was all smiles as he watched her. She had a slight mishap halfway down the aisle, but she managed to right herself before falling flat on her face. We would have never heard the end of that. Maybe we shouldn’t have made the walk so long. We were almost by the water. But she had insisted on that location. She wanted to be in the spot where Ben had saved her.
The tops of the trees swayed wildly. I didn’t know if they were happy or warning me of something bad to come. I was just letting my imagination get the best of me. After what had happened, I was still stressed out. I needed to just relax and enjoy this beautiful day. The sky had been clear and blue, although there were gray clouds rolling in quickly. We needed to hurry and wrap this up before everyone got soaked.
The ceremony began and we listened to my mother and Ben recite their vows. As I stood beside my mother, I couldn’t help but feel eyes on me. I looked out over the crowd. Everyone seemed to be paying attention to my mother and Ben. But that was when I noticed someone else. He was watching me. When our eyes met, he looked away. I’d never seen him before. Was he friends with my mother or did he know Ben? I would have to ask when I got a chance.
As my mother and Ben said, “I do,” I had to stop looking at the stranger. Now that the ceremony was over, I searched for him again. There was too much action going on and I’d lost sight of him. Everyone was congratulating the bride and groom. I didn’t want to let this man out of my sight. I wanted to point him out to my mother. I scanned the crowd, but it was as if h
e had vanished. I glanced down at the necklace dangling from my neck to make sure that the key was still there. I knew no one had switched it this time.
I watched as Ben and my mother walked down the aisle together as husband and wife. I couldn’t help but feel a little bit sad. I had gained a stepfather, but a little bit of me felt as if I was losing a bit of my mother. I shouldn’t feel that way and it was definitely selfish of me. I just didn’t want to give up my time with her. And I hoped that we still spent as much time together. Now I would just have to get used to having Ben around. I liked him though so that was fine.
Nicolas came over to me and kissed me softly. “It’s our turn next. We could do it today.”
“Yes, except my mother would be extremely hurt if she didn’t get a chance to plan my wedding, even though she was fine with doing hers in a rushed fashion.”
Nicolas laughed. “That’s just the way she is, so we’ll make her happy.”
I was glad that my mother and Nicolas got along so well.
“It seems like you’re distracted,” he said.
I looked at him. “I guess I am a little.”
“What’s the problem?” he asked.
“It’s just that I noticed someone here. I’ve never seen him before.”
“There are a lot of people here whom we’ve never seen before,” Nicolas said.
“Yes, but there was something odd about this guy,” I said.
“What makes you say that?” Nicolas asked.
“For one, he was staring at me.”
“Maybe he thinks you’re beautiful,” Nicolas said.
“I think it was more than that.” I looked out over the crowd again and that was when I spotted him. “There he is,” I said, pointing at the man standing by the magnolia tree.
He disappeared before our eyes. Was he a spirit too?
The End
About the Author
Rose Pressey is a USA Today bestselling author. She enjoys writing quirky and fun novels with a paranormal twist. The paranormal has always captured her interest. The thought of finding answers to the unexplained fascinates her.
When she’s not writing about werewolves, vampires and every other supernatural creature, she loves eating cupcakes with sprinkles, reading, spending time with family, and listening to oldies from the fifties.
Rose suffers from Psoriatic Arthritis and has knee replacements. She might just set the world record for joint replacements. She’s soon having her hips replaced, elbows, and at least one shoulder.
Rose lives in the beautiful commonwealth of Kentucky with her husband, son, and two sassy Chihuahuas.
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