Anica. She would have a royal fit at this turn of events. Lily had to pray that she hadn’t called this morning, and that if she had, Griffin had let it ring. Surely he wouldn’t answer her phone. Surely not.
She walked into the living room to find him in jeans and a chambray shirt, lounging on her sofa, reading the Tribune. A cup of coffee sat on the lamp table beside him. Daisy lay at his feet looking quite pleased with herself.
He glanced up from the paper. “Your sister called.”
“And you let the machine get it, right?”
“No, I didn’t. I was afraid the phone would wake you, so I answered.”
She closed her eyes. “Zeus’s balls.”
“What?”
“Never mind.” Opening her eyes, she took a deep breath. “What did Anica say?”
“She was surprised to hear me answer.”
“I can only imagine how surprised she was.”
“She said the two of you had planned to get together to discuss the plans for moving her engagement party to the Bubbling Cauldron. She asked if you’d call her when you got up.”
Now, there was a call Lily didn’t want to return. “I’ll do that in a little while. But first, not to be rude or anything, but don’t you have to be at the office?”
“I told them I was taking the day off.”
“Really.” She appreciated the impulse, sort of, but she had things to do today. For example, she needed to talk to her sister about the engagement party. That conversation would now be made much more difficult because Anica would want to know what the hell Griffin had been doing answering her phone first thing in the morning.
“I thought we could hang out here for a while, ease into the day. Daisy’s been walked, the coffee’s made, and I have fresh croissants in the kitchen.”
All this was a little metrosexual for her, but she hated to seem unappreciative. “Thank you. That’s great.”
His gaze swept over her. “Nice robe.”
“It’s a hand-me-down.”
“I doubt the previous owner filled it out like that.”
“Thanks.” Her traitorous body reacted to his heated look, but she didn’t have time for hanky-panky. If she didn’t call Anica soon, her sister was liable to show up here. Lily tightened the sash on her robe. “I need to shower and get dressed.”
“Go ahead and shower. Want me to bring you some coffee?”
From the way he was looking at her, she could guess that bringing her coffee would result in shower sex. After all, he knew where the condoms were. She couldn’t deny the jolt of excitement at the thought of Griffin using the hand-held shower head on her willing body, but she couldn’t indulge either of them right now. As it was, she’d have to do some fast talking to convince Anica everything was fine.
And it was fine. Griffin might be going slightly off the deep end, but she’d correct his course. Once she got him back into his normal nine-to-five routine, all would be well.
In the meantime she had a few fires to put out. She could do that more efficiently once she was showered and dressed.
“That’s okay,” she said. “I’ll grab some coffee and a croissant on the way out.”
“You’re leaving?” He looked stunned. “I thought the two of us could—”
“Nice idea, but it won’t work today. I need to meet Anica at the Bubbling Cauldron. We have to make plans for her party, and we can’t do it while the place is open for business. That would be awkward.”
“I see.”
“Taking the day off is a nice gesture, Griffin, but it’s sort of impractical right now. This is a busy time.” And it would get much busier once Anica started chewing her ass for letting Griffin spend the night.
Griffin folded the paper, set it on the sofa, and stood. “Then maybe I should head on over to the office.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea.”
He crossed the room and took her by the shoulders. “Tonight, then.”
“Tonight?” She was confused. She didn’t remember making a date with him, and besides, she had to work.
“I’ll come by the Bubbling Cauldron near closing. I’ll take you home.” He looked into her eyes as he gently kneaded her shoulders. “And then I’ll take you to bed.”
Heaven help her, but she wasn’t going to refuse that offer.
Chapter 8
“You spent the night where?” Kevin sat with Griffin at their favorite hot dog joint half a block from the office.
“I guess I just snapped.” Griffin scrubbed a hand over his face. Lack of sleep was catching up with him. He’d ordered black coffee to go with his kraut dog. “All of a sudden I couldn’t stay away from her another minute.”
Kevin nodded. “She’s hot, I’ll grant you that. She must be really hot for you to call in sick.”
“Yeah, well, that was pretty dumb.” Griffin still felt sheepish about assuming he and Lily would spend the day together. Of course she had plans. And he had an important court hearing he’d almost missed.
“I’ve never been so glad to see anybody as when you walked into the hearing this morning. Estelle Altman almost peed her pants when she found out I’d be taking your place.”
Griffin glanced across the table and grinned. “Maybe she was just excited to be working with you.”
“’Fraid not, buddy boy. You’re the one she wants as her lawyer, and I think she’d take you in every other way, too, if you were open to that. If you wanted a hot cougar, she’d be there for you. Mark my words.”
“I have enough troubles with Lily.”
“Listen, anytime you have too many women hanging all over you, let me know. I may be short, but I have a helluva package.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Griffin laughed. Kevin’s overabundance in that department had been a running joke all through college. “You do all right for yourself. You don’t need me to pimp for you.”
“I have reasonable success, but I’ve never run into the woman who could inspire me to call in sick when I had major things going on at the office. So how did that all shake out? Obviously you went back to the bar later on.”
Griffin described his restlessness, the need to run, and then the overwhelming urge to see Lily.
Kevin’s eyes widened. “That doesn’t sound normal, man. I mean, it wasn’t like you had a relationship going on.”
“Only in my head. And I kept telling myself she was the wrong woman for me, so I stayed away.”
“Note to self: Denying a strong sexual attraction can make normal guys act in irrational ways. You ran from your apartment to the bar?”
“Yeah, but—”
“That’s got to be a good five miles, maybe closer to seven.”
“I suppose.” Griffin hadn’t taken the time to figure out the mileage. “It didn’t feel that far.”
“No, because your gonads were providing rocket power. I have to hand it to you, Griff. You worked a full day, made that run and then played mattress bingo the rest of the night. Keep up that shit and you’ll be a legend in your own time.”
“I’m a little bushed, to be honest.”
“Glad to hear it; otherwise I’d be totally intimidated. So I guess you’ve changed your mind about Lily, huh?”
Griffin blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I know your MO, buddy. You don’t have sex with a woman unless she’s a possibility for that walk down the aisle.”
Griffin choked on his coffee and then had to spend time mopping up the mess.
Kevin’s gaze was filled with speculation. “Judging from your reaction, you haven’t given a whole lot of thought to matrimony during this gig.”
“No.” Griffin cleared his throat. “No, I haven’t, and you’re right, that’s not like me. I don’t let myself get carried away by the sex. Or I haven’t, until . . .”
“Now,” Kevin finished for him.
“Right.” He mopped up the last of the spewed coffee. “I need to take a look at that.”
“If you’re open to a little
advice . . .”
Griffin glanced up. He’d been friends with Kevin for more than ten years. They’d seen each other through drunken frat parties, brutal final exams, pressure-filled job interviews, and the tricky world of office politics. Miles was a good buddy, but Kevin was the one Griffin would seek out in a crisis.
That’s why they were sitting here having lunch. Griffin had needed a reality check, and Kevin was offering him one. “Yeah,” he said. “Shoot.”
“Cut yourself some slack. You’re allowed to have a relationship that’s based on sex. People do it all the time. Hell, I do it all the time. Just because you have a little fun doesn’t mean you’re going to make the same mistake your folks did.”
“How do you know I won’t?”
“Because Miles and I won’t let you.”
As Lily got off the bus and rounded the corner, she spied Anica pacing back and forth in front of the Bubbling Cauldron. Her flowered dress looked happy and springlike, but Anica’s rapid pacing indicated the exact opposite of happiness. And it was all Lily’s fault.
To make matters worse, the original plan of meeting at the bar before it opened had been scrapped because Lily had overslept and then she’d had to deal with Griffin. She’d managed to get him out of her apartment without having sex again, but it had been a challenge. She’d been so tempted, but she knew they’d end up spending the whole day in bed if they started it there.
Finally she’d returned Anica’s call. Her big sister had been upset by the turn of events but hadn’t wanted to talk about it on the phone. Anica had already contacted Devon, the magical owner of the Bubbling Cauldron, and, as Lily had predicted, he was thrilled to host her engagement party.
Lily had been relieved that at least that much was working out well. Considering how late it was already, she’d suggested meeting Anica there for lunch. She’d told Anica to go on in and order if she got there first.
Anica always beat Lily whenever they met anywhere, and she’d done it again. But she hadn’t gone inside. Obviously she wanted a chance to chew Lily’s ass in private before they walked into the bar.
To fortify herself for this encounter, Lily had worn a short denim skirt, thigh-high boots, and a short-sleeved red sweater. A snug red sweater. Anica would never wear something so sexy in public, and Lily felt like proclaiming her individuality.
She had more than a chip on her shoulder. She walked up to Anica with a railroad tie balanced there.
Anica ruined the whole rebellion shtick by taking one look at her and grinning. “Hey, it’s your funeral. If you want to screw up your life beyond belief, that’s up to you.”
Lily stared at her sister. “Who are you, and what have you done with Anica?”
“Okay, I was upset at first, but I got over it.”
“What are you talking about? You were upset two minutes ago! I saw the way you were pacing. Pacing is never a good sign.”
Anica held up the cell phone in her hand. “I was talking to Jasper, and I needed to be outside so I could hear him. He’s getting more uptight by the minute, which is making me uptight, too. He’s convinced that because we’re holding the party at the Bubbling Cauldron, his parents are going to realize that I’m a witch and all Hades will break loose.”
Lily felt the railroad tie of belligerence slip from her shoulder. “I’m sorry, An. Do you want to tone down our plans? Eliminate the magic elements?”
Anica widened her eyes in disbelief. “Uh, no. The more Jasper frets, the more I want to do a couple of outrageous things. Like you said, nonmagical people won’t notice anything except cool special effects.”
“I must be rubbing off on you.”
“Too bad I’m not rubbing off on you.”
“See, see? You are upset with me.”
Anica sighed. “How can I be? I’ve seen the way you look at Griffin. I gave it my best shot last night but I had a feeling you’d cave. After you do magic, you’ll agree with whoever’s talked to you last, and that wasn’t me.”
Lily decided not to mention that talking hadn’t been the main mode of coercion. “It might work out okay.”
“It might. But if it doesn’t, I hate to watch you go through the same kind of agony I did with Jasper. Eventually Griffin will find out about the spell, you know.”
“Maybe not. Maybe I could put a moratorium on us having sex until the spell gradually wears off. In the meantime, we could do fun things together. We could bond the way couples do during that montage in the middle of a movie, where there’s no dialogue or anything, just romantic music.”
“Lily, you’re demented. You and I both know you’re not going to stop having sex with him.”
Lily thought about the way Griffin looked naked. “Yeah, probably not.”
“So he’ll get more and more attached to you, and then your conscience will bother you so much you’ll confess about the spell. He won’t be happy. I can vouch for that. Jasper was furious with me.”
“Because you turned him into a cat. Hel-lo. Griffin’s still very much a man.” And how. “So what does he have to complain about? I put a spell on him so now all he wants to do is have lots of sex with me. I’m good at sex. What guy would complain about an arrangement like that?”
“The guy who likes to believe he’s in control of his own destiny. And that’s all of them, by the way.”
Lily wished her sister didn’t sound so wise, so blasted right. Then there was the other teensy problem, the one Anica didn’t know about yet. Griffin showed signs of invading Lily’s time and space. She hadn’t figured on that.
She should have. Daisy would be with her night and day if Lily allowed it. But Daisy was a dog, so Lily could make her stay at the apartment while she went to work. Daisy didn’t have the freedom to show up whenever. Griffin did.
“I guess I’ll take it one day at a time,” Lily said.
“You could always try reversing the spell.”
“Are you crazy? I’m not going to try a spell reversal on Griffin right before Mom and Dad arrive. Just my luck I’d screw it up and they’d be here to witness the whole thing. You’re lucky they were out of the country when you had your little episode with Jasper.”
“I was definitely lucky.” Anica gazed at her. “Are you still coming with me to the airport in the morning to pick them up?”
“You bet. Did you get a rental car?” Neither of them owned a car, both because of the expense and the trouble with parking. They made do with public transportation except for unusual situations, like picking up their globe-trotting parents from O’Hare.
“I did. Jasper offered to let me use his car and loan it to them for the weekend, but . . .”
Lily laughed. “I know. Dad’s driving. Wizards don’t make the best drivers in the world. You got insurance, right?”
“All they offered.” Anica fidgeted with her cell phone, flipping the cover open and shut. “Speaking of Jasper, um . . . you won’t tell on me, will you?”
“I won’t tell on you if you won’t tell on me.”
“I promise not to tell Mom and Dad, but I have to warn you that Dorcas and Ambrose know.”
“Anica! What’d you do, call them up right after you found out Griffin had spent the night?”
“No.” Anica looked insulted. “Dorcas called me. She knew you were thinking about it and she wanted an update. I’m not going to lie to a member of the Wizard Council, Lily.”
“I wish they didn’t know. They’re coming to the party, which means they’ll be talking to Mom and Dad.”
“They won’t tell Mom and Dad.”
“How can you be so sure?” Lily tried not to panic, but she really didn’t want her parents to know what she’d done.
“First of all, Dorcas and Ambrose aren’t the kind of people who go around spilling other people’s secrets, which is good for me because they know about me turning Jasper into a cat.”
“True.” Lily hadn’t thought about the fact that the Lowells were keeping secrets for both sisters.
“
And second of all, they’re not allowed to interfere unless somebody asks them to, like I did when we couldn’t figure out how to turn Jasper back into a guy.”
“And you didn’t ask them to do anything regarding me and Griffin, right?”
Anica gazed at her. “No, because this is your deal.”
“Thanks, An. Thanks for letting me handle it.”
“I couldn’t have asked them, anyway. It would have to be either you or Griffin who asks.”
“Oh.” Lily laughed. “I see. You’re being noble by default.”
“No, I really wouldn’t have asked, even if I could!”
“Right.”
“Anyway, your secret’s safe with them. They won’t tell, and I won’t tell as long as you’ll keep my secret.”
Lily smiled at her. “Blackmail is a glorious thing, isn’t it?”
“Uh-huh. Now let’s eat. I can’t plan a magical party on an empty stomach.”
Griffin had found a private moment at the office to tell Debbie he wouldn’t be going out with her on Saturday night. He’d explained that there was someone else. From the way she’d rolled her eyes, he thought she probably knew who that was.
She’d made a snide remark about men who preferred blatant sexuality to women with a more refined appeal, and he’d said nothing. Intellectually he preferred subtle to blatant himself. But his mind wasn’t running the show these days.
Debbie didn’t join the group when Kevin, Miles and Griffin headed over to the Bubbling Cauldron for their normal happy hour. Griffin had given Kevin permission to bring Miles up to speed on the situation, so both friends were eager to see how the new status would affect their routine.
“You’re welcome to take her into the storeroom for a quickie,” he said, “as long as I get my drink first.”
Griffin knew that sparring with Miles would only make him ramp up the teasing. “I’ll see if she’ll go for that,” he said as they walked in the door. “I’ve never had storeroom sex.”
“Oh, I have,” Miles said, looking worldly.
Chick with a Charm Page 8
