by Esme Addison
Sighing, she leaned in for a hug.
He held her close. “I had a nice time tonight,” he said.
“I did too.” She pulled back slightly, her gaze falling to his lips.
He moved forward, planting a kiss on her mouth.
They stayed that way for a moment before Alex pulled away.
“See you soon?” he said, a look of contentment spreading across his face.
“Of course.” And she was still smiling as she drove away.
* * *
Alex stood in the doorway of her aunt’s home. A seafoam-green Queen Anne style with cream trim and black shutters and roof, the historic home was surrounded by rows of purple tulips that ran alongside the wraparound porch, with orange and yellow daffodils leading up the brick walk to the front door.
Her home for the foreseeable future. Alex had made herself comfortable in the same house her mother had grown up in. Clearly decorated with love, the house featured bright uplifting colors, hardwood floors that always shined and smelled of lemon oil, furniture that was freshly dusted, and bright white walls. Vases of fresh flowers from the garden out back decorated and perfumed the foyers with clean, sweet-smelling scents. Antique nautical maps, framed in burnished copper, lined the hallways, and trays of decorative sea glass glittered blue and green in the sunlight.
Alex’s dog, Athena, who was almost three years old, jumped up on her hind legs to greet her with a wagging tail. Full-grown, with a glossy coat of brownish-black fur, the sweet dog had become hers when her father became sick and could no longer care for Athena.
She took a few moments to rub her head and neck, and pepper her with kisses. Then, she kicked off her shoes and placed them in the hall closet, and wandered into the kitchen to see who was there. In this house, someone was always in the kitchen.
Much like the other areas in the home, the kitchen was a bright cheery space filled with large windows that let in sunlight. With white glass-front cabinets, gleaming stainless-steel appliances, and lemon-yellow accents, the kitchen’s modernity was a striking contrast to the historic character of the home. A large wooden table filled the eat-in kitchen and was the focal point of the room—when the stove wasn’t in use, of course.
Alex groaned with pleasure when the smells of sugar and butter reached her nose. Her aunt had been baking something. Minka appeared with a plate of cookies. “Have one?”
With a rueful grin, Alex had to say no to the kolaczki, a Polish cookie made with a delicious cream cheese dough and filled with pureed fruit sprinkled with powdered sugar—it was one of her favorite treats.
“But they’re raspberry,” Minka said in surprise. “From the backyard. How can you resist?” she teased.
“No way. I just shared a slice of apple pie with Jack that was the size of my head.” She laughed. “It was so good, though.”
“Bread & Putter,” Minka said knowingly. “Their portion sizes are ridiculous, but that’s why people love it.” Minka set the plate on the table. “Tea then? Our Sweet Dreams blend?”
“Sounds perfect right about now. Thanks.”
She sat down and watched as her cousin, wearing fuzzy pink pants and a white tank top with pink polka dots, heated up a kettle. She grinned when Minka’s shoes came into view. Bedroom slippers, they were large fluffy shoes made to look like pink elephants.
A moment later, Athena stood and walked into the hallway. Alex watched her movements.
Minka noticed too. “Oh, that’s probably Kamila. She said she’d stop by tonight for dessert.”
There was the sound of a key turning in the front door lock, and Kamila entered the kitchen, with Athena trailing her. Still dressed in her summer police uniform of navy-blue shorts and light blue polo shirt with the Bellamy Bay Police Department logo on the pocket, she grinned at them. A couple inches taller than Alex, she had a physique that made it clear she went to the gym—every day—paired with attractive girl-next-door looks, with straight, shoulder-length, caramel-blonde hair and light blue eyes.
She snagged a cookie from the plate and ate it, then grabbed another one. She was looking at Alex. “Okay if I give this to Athena? She’s doing a great job of not begging right now.”
Alex laughed. Her girl was well trained and sat at her feet with her head resting on her paws. She was between her chair and Kamila’s and didn’t beg for food like most dogs, but her eyes were certainly tracking the movements of every cookie that left the plate. “Go ahead, and then tell her she’s a good girl for not asking.”
Kamila did so and allowed Athena to eat the cookie from her hand.
Alex looked at Kamila. “Learn anything about what happened today with the outage?”
Both hands on her hips, Minka looked puzzled. “Honestly I thought it was something hinky with the moon. It’s full tonight and for the next few days. It’s the absolute best time to cast spells, by the way.” Minka directed this to Alex, who laughed. “If you’re taking notes.”
“Let’s not have Magical school right now, please.”
Minka faked a scowl at her sister. “Anyway, my point is crazy things can happen then. It’s been scientifically proven that the moon effects people, nature, events.”
Kamila gave her a sister a “get serious” look. “Far as we know, just a good old-fashioned power outage.”
Alex’s brows knitted together. “That also made cell phones stop working … temporarily?”
Minka moved to a window, pushing the curtains aside to stare into the night sky. The moon was full. Luminous and milky white, it almost lit up the sky. “Probably, but still …” She looked over her shoulders at her family. “It’s not a bad idea to be on the lookout for strange things.”
Chapter Three
Alex spent all morning filling candles and gazed at the collection of jars full of locally sourced beeswax with satisfaction. In honor of the upcoming festival, she’d challenged herself to create a candle that evoked mermaids. If it turned out well, it would be the official souvenir of the event.
None of her friends or coworkers in New York would believe that she was proficient at candle making, but after many training sessions with her aunt, she felt comfortable doing it by herself.
The clean, crisp scents of ocean, air … and cotton candy and raspberries hung heavy in the air, and six rows of creamy white candles flecked with pink metallic flakes were cooling in the backroom when she heard the front door jingle. This would be their first customer of the day. Wiping her hands on her apron, she stepped onto the main floor and saw a very pretty woman bent over a candle, inhaling its scent.
“Hey, Celeste. What brings you to Botanika today?”
At the sound of Alex’s voice, Celeste righted herself and grinned at her. “My mother wanted me to make sure you all were coming to dinner tonight. And I have a little shopping to do on my lunch break.” She waved a piece of paper at Alex. “I have a list.”
“Kamila is working, Minka has a date, so it will just be me and Aunt Lidia tonight.”
“Great. I’ll let my mom know. Come hungry. She makes a lot of food.”
Alex laughed. “Noted. Now let’s see what we can do about that list of yours.” Alex rounded the counter and took the paper from her friend.
Alex had met Celeste at Coffee O’ Clock, the coffee shop down the street that she probably frequented too often. She’d been an MBA student then, working part-time as a barista. With Celeste’s mother, Josephine, being Lidia’s best friend and the town being so small, they’d continued to run into each other, even when Celeste left the coffee shop and started a new job. Along with Jack and Pepper, Alex counted Celeste as another friend she’d made in Bellamy Bay.
About the same height as Alex, with a svelte dancer’s build, Celeste was twenty-three, with long dark hair, a caramel complexion, a sprinkling of freckles on her nose, wide-set hazel eyes, and full lips. She wore black pumps and a chic summer skirt suit in light gray, with a violet shell underneath.
Alex grabbed a basket and began moving around the sh
op floor, looking for the items on her list. She looked over her shoulder at Celeste, who was sniffing a rose-colored bar of soap. “How are things at Wesley Inc.?”
Celeste put the bar down and picked up a green one instead. “Amazing. Literally my dream job.”
“That’s wonderful that they hired you right out of grad school.”
“I got lucky, that’s for sure.”
“I don’t know about luck. You graduated from the MBA program at Bellamy College magna cum laude and obviously impressed Dylan and Tegan so much when you did your internship that they approved your application for their junior executive program. I think that was all you.”
Celeste made a self-deprecating face. “Oh, you’re right. I worked my butt off.” She laughed good-naturedly. She picked up three of the green bars and showed them to Alex. “I’m getting these. I need a good detoxing soap. And it smells like cucumber and melon—so, refreshing. I love chlorella and spirulina in my morning smoothies, and now it will be in my soap.” She moved to the counter. “Anything special done to the soap I should know about?”
By “special,” Celeste meant enchanting. Like Alex, Celeste was also a Magical.
Alex grinned, then lowered her voice. “The ones with the blue marbling have been charmed to remove any negative energy from the body.”
“Oh yeah, I need that.” She replaced two green bars with two that had blue streaks and handed them to Alex.
“You’ve got negativity in your life?”
Celeste laughed. “It’s nothing.”
“Okay. So, what are you doing in your new job?”
“I’m working in a new division headed by Mr. Wesley.”
“And what are you doing?”
“I can’t say. I had to sign an NDA—that’s a nondisclosure agreement—and get a top-secret government clearance. It’s all very hush-hush but exciting.” She grimaced. “But I can’t talk about it. Sorry.”
Alex could feel the tension coming from Celeste even as she smiled, and wondered why her question vexed Celeste so. Now she was dying to know what Dylan was working on. But of course, she wasn’t talking to him. And now Celeste was fidgeting and probably hoping she’d stop asking questions.
“How are things with your new guy?”
“I don’t know what it is about him,” she said with a dreamy look on his face. “I just want to be with him all the time.”
Alex tried not to make a face. For some reason, she didn’t think the former history professor turned museum director was the right man for Celeste, but she faked a smile. “You two are serious, huh?”
A goofy grin spread across her face. “I think so. And you’ll get to see him this week at the unveiling of the mural.”
Alex nodded. As part of the mermaid festival, a famous artist had been brought to town to paint a mural, commemorating the town’s heritage, on the side of the welcome center located in the park. “Speaking of the festival, I finished my candles.”
“That’s great. I can’t wait to see your handiwork.”
“They’re still cooling.” Alex laughed. “But I’m bringing them to the festival planning meeting. If they make Pepper think of mermaids, I’ll be happy.”
She watched as Celeste moved around the shop. “See anything else you want? Or are you ready to check out?”
Celeste turned to look at her, her eyes bright with interest. “Did you get everything on my list?”
Alex checked. Fresh verbena. Basil. Anise. Dried seaweed. Crushed oyster pearl. “You’re in luck. We have everything you need.”
“Awesome.” She paid for her purchases and chatted while Alex packaged everything up. “Between you and me, I’m a little nervous about representing Wesley Inc. on the festival planning meeting committee.”
Alex shot her a reassuring grin. “You’ll be fine. Didn’t you say you and your mom have always helped out?”
“Yes, but this year is the first time I’ll be reporting back to Tegan. Of course, that was always Bryn’s job …”
Alex waved a hand. “Please don’t mention Dylan’s sister. Why isn’t Tegan representing the Wesley family?”
“She thought Lidia would be there and you know how those two don’t get along. But now it’s even worse. Tegan holds Lidia responsible for sending her daughter away.”
Alex snorted. “Bryn Wesley killed two men just so she could make a land deal. She’s responsible for where she is right now. And all to impress her mother and hopefully get a promotion?”
Celeste hesitated. “Well, I think there was a little more to the story than that.”
“What do you mean? I thought Bryn went on a killing spree so she could make a CEO of Wesley.”
Celeste glanced around, then lowered her voice. “I am not supposed to tell you or anyone this, but I know I can trust you.”
“Of course,” Alex said. “Tell me.”
“Bryn thought that The Warsaw Shield might be hiding on the Old Wesley property. That’s the real reason she wanted it, and she thought it held a value beyond being an artifact worth preserving for the Magical community.”
“What possible use could a mermaid’s shield have outside of being featured in a Magical museum?” Alex chuckled. If that’s even a thing. “All it did was block things, right?”
Celeste gave Alex a knowing look. “No, it is supposedly much more than a defensive tool. Let’s just say it has protective abilities.”
Alex thought for a moment. “Oh …” she said, finally understanding, though not fully. “You mean it’s … a weapon?” She thought for a moment. “What did she want to do with it?” She remembered the nearby Marine base and the weapons testing that bothered Minka. “Sell it to the military?”
Celeste lifted an eyebrow. “Let’s just say she wanted to sell it to somebody.” She mimed zipping up her lips and throwing away the key. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
* * *
Celeste’s parents lived two streets away from the beach, in a neighborhood of vibrantly colored homes built on stilts. Josephine’s home was a bright yellow, with palm trees in the yard along with several species of tropical flowers providing bright pops of magenta, lavender, and blue.
Driving over in Lidia’s little red sedan, Alex held a bottle of white wine on her lap. When they arrived, Josephine welcomed them inside her home, which was airy with an open floor plan, and decorated in white, sand, and ocean blue.
The woman, who had a complexion a few shades darker than Celeste’s, had a warm honeyed skin tone and thick dark brown hair of a naturally curly texture that was pulled into a bun accentuating her oval face and high cheekbones. Her eyes were a golden maple syrup brown, and her mouth, wide and full, offered a sincere grin. Alex immediately felt comforted and instinctively knew she was a soothing foil for her aunt’s hot temper.
Alex handed her the hostess gift. “It’s nice to see you again, Josephine. Thank you for the invitation.”
“It’s high time I had you over. Welcome. Celeste just called—she’s on her way.” Josephine gave Alex a tight hug and then waved her into the house.
Lidia gave her friend a hug too. “When is Nate coming home? I swear I haven’t seen that husband of yours in almost a year.”
Josephine smiled wearily. “He’s been in Singapore since January, for work.”
“Bronson certainly is keeping him busy at Carolina Shipping.”
Josephine gave Lidia a rueful look. “Ever since he became VP of Logistics, he’s been abroad on assignment. I hope he’ll be home in time for Christmas.”
“I’m here!” Celeste sang out as she walked in behind Alex and Lidia. She was still dressed for work. “I had so much to do at the office, I didn’t think I’d be able to get away before eight. But I made it.” She sniffed the air. “And I’m starving.”
* * *
They sat down to dinner, with large serving bowls set out family style. Scents of garlic, onion, and thyme wafted around the cozy dining area, and Alex’s stomach rumbled in response.
“I
t all looks delicious,” Alex said as she sat beside Celeste at the table. “What’s on the menu—Southern food?”
Celeste had shrugged out of her suit jacket to reveal a silk tank underneath. She pointed at one bowl: “Not exactly. Rice and beans here.” And at another: “Stewed chicken there. My mother makes it spicy, so, you’ve been warned.” She reached forward and ladled a large amount of the dish into her bowl. “And this is vegetable stew.”
“It has a wonderful coconut base,” Lidia added. “Simply marvelous.”
Alex looked at Celeste. “I see why you said come hungry.” She turned back to the table to see Lidia placing a drumstick on her plate. “I seriously hope there’s no dessert.”
Josephine chuckled. “I do love Southern food. I was born and raised here after all. But you may not know my great-grandmother was from Haiti. She is a descendant of the Polish-Haitian community there. Have you heard of them?”
Alex looked confused, but Lidia only smiled knowingly while Josephine explained. “You didn’t know you were getting a history lesson with dinner, did you?” She laughed. “When Napoleon was trying to quell a rebellion in Saint-Domingue, in which he hoped to bring slavery back to Haiti, he brought in a legion of Polish soldiers who’d enlisted in the French army with the hopes that the French government would help them get their country back from the Third Partition.”
Alex nodded, knowing that during that time, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Russian Empire had divvied up the county of Poland between themselves, and the actual state of Poland no longer existed.
“When the Polish soldiers saw that the Haitians were fighting for their independence, much like they hoped to do, they realized they were on the wrong side of the war.”
Lidia smiled at her best friend. “And they joined the Haitians in their fight against the French oppressors.”
