Chapter Twelve
Horny Little Witch
Livia
“Have you seen those memes that are like girls be like ‘I needed this’ and it’s just a beach vacation?” Maven shook her head, relaxing back on my couch with her wine in hand. “Well, I be like ‘I needed this’ and it’s just time with you.”
“Wow,” I mused with an arched brow. “That was soft, even for you.”
“I can’t help it. I’m feeling all kinds of mushy lately. I blame work. Seeing these kids be so happy with just a bed to sleep in at night…” Her eyes welled a little at that. “It’s amazing, to be able to do things like this, but it’s also so sad sometimes, you know?”
“I can imagine,” I said, reaching over to squeeze her knee in understanding. “But trust me, I needed this, too. Work has been absolute hell this week.”
I scooted closer on the couch once I sank back again, pulling my current project into my lap. The bracelet I’d been designing for Chloe was on pause — something about the balance felt off — so tonight I’d laid out a scattering of metals and tiny gemstones for rings instead.
The little tray of gems sat on the coffee table beside my pliers, jeweler’s saw, and a mandrel. Maven wrinkled her nose at the clutter, grinning when I handed her a pair of oversized safety goggles.
“You’re joking.”
“Nope. You drink wine near flying metal shards, you wear the goggles. Rules are rules.”
She laughed, pushing them onto her face, the lenses magnifying her wide eyes as I put my own goggles on before I picked up a strip of gold.
This was the part I loved most — the dreamer’s stage.
Raw metal, loose gems, a sketchy idea in my mind’s eye.
All I had to do was imagine what it could be, and then coax it into reality — bend it, solder it, set it, polish it.
I loved watching something as plain as a wire transform under my hands into a ring someone might treasure forever.
“So, it’s going well, then?” I asked Maven before sliding down to the floor in front of my coffee table full of tools. “The Sweet Dreams Initiative?”
Maven nodded, accidentally hitting her goggles on her wine glass before she laughed and maneuvered them slightly so she could take a sip. “It is. We have a lot of work to do, but… so far, so good.”
“I’m glad. You seem so happy,” I said. “I like that. I like seeing you happy.”
Maven stared at the wine in her glass, swirling it. “I am happy. But… there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
I arched a brow, though my fingers stilled where I’d been idly rolling a loose piece of gold wire between them. “Uh-oh.”
She bit her lip, brows pinched together like she was unsure how to say what she needed to.” I just… it hurt a little, finding out at the girls’ night that you were freezing your eggs.”
My heart broke. “Shit, Mave. I’m sorry.”
She winced. “No, no, I don’t need a big apology or anything. It’s not about me. You don’t owe me every detail of your life, Liv. I just… hope you know that you can tell me anything. If you want to.”
I exhaled slowly, setting the wire back on the tray of gems and metals spread across the coffee table.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you.” I plucked up a moonstone with my tweezers, holding it up to the light before setting it down again.
“It’s more… I wasn’t even sure if I was going to do it at all. ”
Maven leaned back, eyes soft on me as I tucked my legs beneath me. “I didn’t even know this was on your radar.”
I shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to be a mother. I just kind of thought that was impossible for a while, given that I rarely have a sub for longer than a couple of months, let alone seriously date anyone.”
“This is something that could be changed, you know,” Maven challenged.
“Is it crazy that I feel more comfortable considering life as a single mom, doing it all on my own, than I do letting any man near my heart?”
Maven softened. “No. It’s not crazy. I know the feeling.”
And she did. Maven was there not too long ago when her ex broke her heart and nearly ruined her chance with Vince. Our experiences weren’t the same, but I knew she understood better than anyone else.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but there was a lot to figure out. I promise I planned to.”
“Now I can be a part of it all.”
I smiled, reaching for the mandrel and sliding a half-shaped ring up its tapered length, checking the fit.
“It’s a long process. Expensive. Not to mention actually raising a kid afterward — childcare, school, the whole mountain.
” My pliers clicked softly as I tightened the curve.
“And you already know I’m drowning in student loans. ”
“Yeah.” Maven snorted, a sharp sound that cut through the quiet. “No thanks to your parents.”
My hands stilled, brushing stray filings off the bench pad, the silence between us heavier than the little tools in my lap.
“Well, it doesn’t matter because I’ve come into some money and it’ll all be covered.”
Maven blinked. “Now you’ve come into money? Woman. Are you in a mob or something? What’s with all the secrets?”
I chuckled. “No secrets. I just wasn’t sure how it was all going to go and didn’t want to tell you before I knew the details.
But yeah, I…” I paused, considering the lie.
Carter and I had signed an NDA, so even if I wanted to tell Maven, I couldn’t.
“I inherited some cash from a long lost great-great-aunt on my father’s side. ”
“Oh, I bet your parents were seething when they heard about that.”
I reached for my own wine glass, taking a sip. “I don’t even know if they know. It was all very secretive.” I waved her off. “The details don’t matter, only that now I have everything I need to get the ball rolling.”
Maven hummed, watching me. I knew without her saying that she wasn’t sold on my very unconvincing lie, but being the angel that she was, she didn’t push me on it.
At least, not tonight.
I had a feeling she wouldn’t let me get away with it for long.
“Speaking of your parents,” she said, watching as I worked the ring in my hand. “How’s it going with the whole wedding debacle?”
I sighed, polishing the band with a cloth, the circular motion slow and deliberate. “I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do yet.”
My phone lit up beside the gem tray, and it was like we’d summoned the devil. My stomach dropped at the name on the screen.
I froze, torch still in one hand, cloth in the other, eyes stuck on where my mom’s full legal name spread out over the glass.
Maven didn’t hesitate. She was off the couch in seconds, calling my name with concern. When she saw my phone screen, she cursed, set her wine on the table, and squeezed my knee.
“Answer it,” she said softly. “I’ll be right here with you.”
My body was already revolting at the possibility of me answering, both feverish and plagued with chills at the same time. But Maven’s reassuring eyes and her hand squeezing my arm gave me the strength I needed to get it over with.
I tapped the green phone button. “Hello, Mother.”
“I hear you’ve been invited to Lacey’s wedding.”
I sighed, and Maven squeezed where she held me.
“Yes, she did tell me about it.”
“She told me she wants you to be a bridesmaid.”
“Well, I am her sister. Or have you forgotten that you have two daughters?”
“Don’t snip at me when it was you who turned your back on this family.”
I gaped at her audacity, running a hand over my open mouth before I clamped it shut and resisted my urge to scream. “Is there something you wanted? I’m actually busy at the moment.”
“Too busy for your own mother, for your sister whom you never see. Typical. I suppose you’ll be too busy to attend the wedding, then?”
I didn’t miss that she said that last part with more hope in her voice. That was exactly what she wanted — for me not to show. Of course, she wouldn’t tell my sister that. She would want me to be the one to take the blame. She wouldn’t dare give anyone a reason to say a bad word about her.
I knew that better than I knew my own face in the mirror.
“I don’t know what my plans are yet,” I said without fanfare. “I told Lacey I would let her know.”
“Well, it would be great if you could let her know sooner rather than later. Weddings take a lot of planning, not that you would know.”
Maven growled at that, and I saw her open her mouth like she was about to let my mother have it. I shook my head once in warning, giving her the eyes to let her know I could handle it.
“While this first phone call in years has been such a delight,” I said, voice level and void of emotion. “I really am busy. I will be in touch — with Lacey — and you can go back to pretending like I don’t exist.”
“If only it were that easy.”
The click of the phone was swift, and then the screen went back to my normal background in an instant.
I rolled my eyes, but Maven was irate. She hopped up and started pacing the room with little grunts and growls escaping those beautiful lips of hers as I got right back to the task at hand.
“The nerve of that woman! How horrid can she be? She is your mother. She—I—I don’t—” My best friend shook her head before dropping to her knees next to me, gathering me up in her arms and squeezing me tightly. “Liv, that was awful. I… I’m so fucking sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I said numbly. “I’m used to it. Although, I do admit it’s easier when she just leaves me alone.”
“It’s not fine. Nothing about any of that was fine.”
“It’s just how it is.”
Maven hugged me for a long time, and I felt the sadness, the pity, radiating off her. I almost wished I felt as sad as she assumed I was. The truth lay more in the fact that I was just numb to it all now.
I’d taken back my power when I left that town. It took me a while, but I found my voice, my path, and my way to own control again.
I wouldn’t relinquish it ever again — least of all to the woman who birthed me but only wanted a shiny little doll who did exactly as she said, not a daughter.
Maven sat back on her heels, her hands still framing my arms. “And Lacey still doesn’t know, does she?”
I shrugged. “I haven’t explicitly told her, no, but…”
Maven crumpled, then shook her head like she was determined to turn the night around. “What are you doing Sunday? Come to our house. Vince’s parents will be in town and mine are coming over for dinner. We’d love to have you join.”
I smiled at the sweetness, even if the gesture tasted a bit sour on my tongue. I loved Maven and I loved that her parents had always treated me like their own.
But that didn’t make up for the fact that mine had abandoned me in my deepest time of need.
“I’d love to,” I said, squeezing her knee. “But actually… I have a date.”
I thought Maven was going to fall out on the floor. “A… date?”
I nodded, rolling my lips together. “Mm-hmm. And no, I’m not telling you about him.”
“What?! Why not? Have I been removed from best friend status without my acknowledgment? First the eggs, now this?”
I chuckled, turning back to my rings. “Relax. It’s just a first date, and you know me, it probably won’t lead anywhere other than back to my bedroom for a night of fun.”
“Who is he? How did you meet? Do I know him?”
“Tell you what. If he makes it to a second date, I’ll tell you about him,” I said carefully, stating that I’d tell her about him, but wouldn’t exactly tell her who he was.
Maven huffed, picking her wine glass up so forcefully it nearly sloshed onto my rug. “Fine. But I want some kind of details even if he doesn’t make it to date two.”
I shot her the Cheshire Cat grin. “You sure about that?”
“You horny little witch.”
“Guilty as charged.”
Fortunately, the conversation shifted after that, away from my parents, my sister, and my nameless date. But while I worked on rings and Maven filled me in on how she and Vince were doing, my mind couldn’t help but race.
But it wasn’t my family drama I was consumed with.
It was the fact that I was going on a date with Carter Fabri…
And what the hell it meant that I was excited to see him again.