Chapter 41
Friday night at Gino’s Pizzeria was not exactly what you would consider romantic. But as far as Valentine’s Day celebrations went, I thought it was a good one. Ray and I managed to snag the good booth, the kissing one, and we had a lovely few minutes alone before everyone else showed up.
Then Gino pulled a few tables together, and it became more of a party.
I was getting used to having a crowd around.
Since I’d received the letter from my father, I found myself always accompanied by someone.
Usually, it was Ray, but when he was working or I had sessions, Brianne or Lauren kept close.
Even the Twins had taken to hovering. It was a wonder I went to the bathroom alone.
We hadn’t talked about the letter or its contents since the day it arrived.
And we weren’t going to. At least not yet.
It wasn’t as though I could send a letter with more questions, as my father had instructed, given that I couldn’t touch the ink without it burning me or doing something else to make its feelings known.
But it was deeper than that, our collective silence on the subject. I just wasn’t ready to talk about it. I had a sister I’d never met. Or even known about. My father was alive and seemingly in another world. And something was happening that would affect us all.
The Hem was fraying. Whatever that meant.
To top it all off, he’d implied that the codex was waiting for my words. But how could I write if I couldn't touch the pen without it trying to bite me?
So many unanswered questions. But they were going to have to wait. Until after Valentine’s Day.
It was, after all, Brianne’s last night as a human.
So we ate, and we drank, and we were merry, as the saying goes.
Nate and Bri canoodled, not caring that their kids were making kissy noises and gagging beside them.
Even the Twins joined us, making a rare public appearance.
Thank the gods we had Treater’s Way, where no one cared that they were very obviously not human.
Lydia, in an act of bravery that even I admired, had invited Neil Diamond.
When he arrived, dressed in actual jeans and a casual tee instead of his contractor wear, Lydia beamed.
He went straight to her, giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek.
But she ate up every moment of the attention he showered on her.
And he blushed beet red with every smile she bestowed upon him. There was hope there.
Lyra, meanwhile, chatted with their cousin Orienne. She had a loud laugh and a gap in her front teeth, and yet she was lovely in the way that most fae are. Ethereal. Otherworldly. But she spilled her tea at least twice. And made puns even more ridiculous than mine. It was an adorable contradiction.
And I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Ethan could not keep his eyes off her. A few times, I even saw his wolf flare. I leaned close to Ray, who was absently rubbing my back while chatting with Lauren. “Is that how you knew Ethan and I weren’t fated?”
“Yep.” He brushed his lips over my ear, sending a tiny shiver down my spine. “As soon as he laid eyes on her, it was obvious he’d found his mate. My wolf finally believed what Ethan and I had been telling him: he no longer had to contend for his mate.”
I gave Ray a quick kiss. “He never did.”
Oddly, seeing the man I’d recently had the hots for gawking at another woman did not bother me at all.
While I would always appreciate the way Ethan looked, in the end, we just didn’t fit romantically.
He clearly agreed, as the gift he’d given me in Illusion Square, a yellow friendship candle designed for fresh starts, had been the perfect way to tie a bow on our attempts at romance. So to speak.
“Simone, I simply must ask.” Nate, his arm draped over his wife’s shoulders, gestured to get my attention. “Why is it that we are not discussing your recent familial news?”
Beside him, Brianne winced. “Spouse code,” she said with a laugh. “I tell him everything.”
Honestly, I was so glad they’d reconnected I didn’t mind. Much.
“We will,” I told him. “Eventually. But I recently had a client who reminded me of something very important.”
I nestled closer to Ray. We’d had so little time alone together, I wanted to soak up every moment I was with him. As if I could somehow make up for thirty years of lost time.
“What was the reminder?” Nate asked.
“If you aren’t careful, it’s very easy to take a relationship for granted. To become complacent until you’re no longer sure where you stand with one another. Whether it’s with a friend, family, or a lover.
“It’s not the big moments that create true intimacy. It’s the thousands of small ones. Like putting aside your own life, even for a night, to celebrate a best friend’s milestone.”
“Hear, hear.” Brianne lifted her glass of wine. I clinked mine to hers. Without knowing what we’d been discussing, the rest of the coven lifted their glasses in cheers. Because that’s the thing about family. You may not always be on the same page. But you’re all reading the same book.
“That’s why I’d like to take my vacation now.” We all looked at Lauren, who played with the edges of her ponytail. “I don’t have a manager in place, and there’s these new … developments. It’s not an ideal time, I know, but if you agree—”
“We’ll work it out,” I told her. “I love that for you. Where are you going?”
“Ireland. I’ve always wanted to visit the Fairy Hills.” She clapped her hands in excitement.
“Don’t step on one.” Lyra stilled her hands. “I mean it. I don’t want to have to come barter for your return.”
“Noted.” They continued their chatter, about Ireland and green fields and places to visit. I listened to the world continue to turn all around me. Gino’s filled up. Friends greeted one another. Children laughed and cried.
Thousands of tiny moments.
After we said our goodbyes, Ray took my hand and guided me to Illusion Square.
The moon was full overhead, not a single cloud marred our view of the stars, and the dwindling edges of winter had gifted us with a perfect, crisp evening.
We strolled South Bridge, crossing onto the island without stopping in Wanderer’s Woods.
The romantic lights of Bridge House beckoned. Couples sat at rose-adorned tables, gazing into one another’s eyes. A young man strummed a guitar on the patio. Misty and her husband Dimitri swayed slowly on the porch swing. We waved hello but continued on.
We both knew where we were going.
As we sat at our favorite bench, moonlight kissed the water. Dragonflies skimmed its surface, dancing with their reflections. The bay lapped gently at the coast. Ray gazed at me, stroking his thumb over my cheek.
“Where’d you get that scar?” He pressed his nail to the small cleft just below my left eye.
“When I was eight, a dog bit me.”
Ray kissed it. “Bad puppy.”
“Well, it was a stray, and I was singing to it.” I nipped at a spot just below his jaw, where the skin was pink and raised. “Where’d you get this scar?”
“A dog bit me.”
“Were you singing to it?” I asked with a laugh.
“Actually.” Ray nibbled on my lower lip. “Yes.”
I didn’t believe him. But I didn’t care. His kisses were veering past tender, increasing in demand. And I was happy to answer. I straddled his hips, which had quickly become my favorite place to sit, and looped my arms around his neck.
“Mine.” Ray’s wolf drifted to the surface, content and alert. I smiled into his eyes.
“Yes.” Then Ray’s mouth was on mine again, his hands roaming and insistent.
Time passed. The moon dipped lower in the sky. The cool turned frigid, in contrast to the heat building inside me.
“It’s getting dark,” I murmured to him.
“That’s where we always seem to find each other.” But he pecked my nose, lifting me off him to stand.
“Oh, I don’t know. I think we have plenty of light in us, too.”
“Why don’t we head up to Bridge House?” He pulled me into a slow dance that matched the rhythm of the trees rustling in the wind.
“You know, I have a perfectly good house up the road.”
“Yeah, but she hasn’t made up her mind about me yet.” He twirled me away as I laughed, then back to him. “But it just so happens that I booked a room at the lovely B&B that’s right behind us.”
“Well, aren’t you a sly little alpha?”
“Anything for my witch,” he said. “We aren’t in high school anymore. As much as I love this bench, if it’s okay with you, I’d very much like to take you to an actual bed.”
I smiled, standing on my toes to press our lips together. “Lead the way.”
Ray and I walked away from the place where we’d dreamt of potential. And toward the reality we were building. Together. It didn’t look like we’d planned, all those years ago, but it was still beautiful in its own way.
I dare say, it was better.
Even if it meant more sleepless nights.
A mysterious letter. A surprise sibling. The Hem is fraying. Whatever that means. Grab your copy of Witchful Inking, the fifth, and final, book in the Midlife at the Magnolia series.
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