Chapter Twenty-Two #2
“Will you say something? I can practically see steam coming out of your ears with how hard you’re thinking over there.
” Ria slipped her fingers through Lissa’s, pulling her to a stop.
“Talk to me, Lissa. I’m over here trying not to dance a jig with how happy I am there’s no spell on you, but I can’t enjoy it with how much confusion I see on your face right now. ”
Lissa finally looked up at Ria. “I think I’m still processing this whole ‘magic is real’ thing. It’s a lot to take in. Plus the part where I’m a witch but at the same time not a witch?”
Ria grabbed Lissa’s other hand and pulled them both to her chest, leaving only the smallest gap between their bodies. “Let me ask you a question. You cared about me yesterday, yeah?”
Lissa nodded.
“Now that you’ve accepted I’m actually a witch, do you still care about me?”
“Of course,” Lissa said, her mouth responding before she even had a chance to think about it. Not that she needed to think about it. Of all the things that just changed for Lissa, her feelings for Ria were not on the list.
“Okay, so then shouldn’t you be happy we can be together now?” Ria chewed on her lower lip, drawing Lissa’s attention to Ria’s perfect mouth. She should be happy Ria wanted to be with her now, so why wasn’t she?
Because you haven’t told her the truth about your lies yet, her brain insisted, apparently having emerged from the cave it had disappeared into after learning she was a witch.
You can’t be happy because you know it won’t last, her heart added sadly.
Shit. How could she even get Ria to forgive her after everything? No, best not to think about that right now. She should be focusing on the craziness that magic was real. Anything to keep her thoughts away from the conversation that actually needed to be had.
“I am happy,” Lissa said, finally pulling herself from the maelstrom of thoughts bouncing around in her brain. “All I’ve wanted lately is to get you to admit my feelings were real.”
“And I do admit that,” Ria replied. “I am so sorry I ever doubted you. Spells and rituals are something I’ve always struggled with, so of course I naturally believed I screwed it up.
But I shouldn’t have. I should have been able to look into your eyes and see the truth of how you felt about me.
” Ria dropped Lissa’s hands and draped her arms around Lissa’s neck, pulling her close. “Can you ever forgive me?”
“Stop,” Lissa murmured, squeezing her eyes shut so she wouldn’t have to face the affection shining on Ria’s face. “Please stop apologizing to me.”
“I’ll stop apologizing if you agree to go out with me. On a real date. No spells, no magic, no pretending to be friends. Just you and me acknowledging there is something real here, and it’s worth exploring.”
I know what I want to explore, Lissa’s vagina teased, doing a happy dance at the idea of a proper date.
Shut up, we’re having a moment, her heart replied.
“Okay,” Lissa croaked out, knowing she was going to have to confess eventually. “On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“You let me plan the date.” There was a chance Daria’s idea of putting Ria in the best mood possible before breaking the truth would still work. Unlikely, but worth a shot. She just needed to figure out what was more romantic than feeding sea lions.
“If that would make you happy, then done,” Ria stated, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of Lissa’s mouth before heading back in the direction of the cottage. “You let me know when and where, and I’ll be there,” she called over her shoulder.
“Great,” Lissa said, trying to summon an adequate amount of enthusiasm. She really was ecstatic about getting to go on a proper date with Ria, but now she needed to make sure their first date wasn’t also their last.
“No freaking way,” Daria gushed, staring at the scone in her hand as if might suddenly grow legs and start dancing. “Like, actual real magic? That’s so cool!” She stuffed half the pastry in her mouth, a near-sexual groan slipping out.
Lissa rubbed her face. Why didn’t I react like that?
she berated herself. Of course Daria wouldn’t even blink at the idea of magic being real.
Hell, Lissa herself probably would have considered it a few years ago—before this whole thing with the studio stole her spirit, her whimsy, and her ability to see life as more than numbers on a spreadsheet.
It was time for Lissa to get her wild back.
“So what do you think?” Lissa asked Daria.
“I think it makes a lot of sense,” her best friend replied, still chewing on the massive bite. “I knew something about these scones was too good to be true. I just thought it was because the recipe used more butter and sugar than a human should ever put in their body.”
“Not the damn pastry,” Lissa grumbled, snatching the uneaten bit from Daria’s hand and tossing it back on the plate. “My date idea. What do you think? Is it enough that Ria might forgive me?”
Daria eyed the rest of the scone for long enough that Lissa grabbed it and shoved it into her own mouth. Staring at the empty plate, Daria let out a sad little whimper.
Lissa waved a hand in front of Daria’s face. “If you focus for, like, five minutes, I’ll go buy you a whole box full.”
“Deal!” Daria replied, brightening. “Now what were we talking about?”
“My date idea,” Lissa huffed out, feeling like she was trying to converse with a brick wall. No, a brick wall would have a better attention span.
“Right, right,” Daria said, leaning back in her chair so she could twist her head and sniff one of the verbena blooms near their table.
Lissa eyed the two legs the chair was balancing precariously on, waiting to see if Daria would come back to earth or fall into the flower planter.
After a second, Daria brought the chair back down and leaned forward on her elbows. “I like it. It’s memorable, but not so crazy she’ll feel uncomfortable. Should put her in a pretty good place for receiving the truth.”
“You know this means I’ll need your help again,” Lissa pointed out.
“Yeah, yeah, what’s new? It’s all good. I’ll give Rex a call later.” Daria’s eyes went glassy for a moment, then a grin spread across her face. “Actually this works for me. I haven’t seen him in a while, but I heard he’s been working out lately. Maybe he’s gotten even hotter.”
“Ya know,” Lissa commented, holding back a laugh, “you might just be the deepest shallow person I’ve ever met.”
Daria flicked her wrist and dipped her head in a little mock bow. “Why, thank you.”
Lissa wasn’t entirely sure it was a compliment, but she also doubted Daria minded.
She always told Lissa life was too short to date people she didn’t feel a spark with.
The only problem was, Daria seemed to think that spark was hidden inside a man’s pants, and she needed to sleep with them to find it.
Lissa was all for claiming one’s sexual power, but she also couldn’t wait for the day Daria found herself all twisted up in knots over a guy.
As much as Lissa loved her bestie, she wanted Daria to know what actual feelings could do to a person. Both the good and the bad.
Something Lissa was about to find out firsthand.
“So,” Daria said, tapping a manicured nail on the table, “now that your love life is sorted out, or at least stuffed in a file cabinet for you to deal with later, have you figured out what you’re going to do about the studio?
Penny asked me the other day if she should be worried about finding another job.
I didn’t want to lie to her, so I distracted her with bee talk.
” Daria shuddered, her body visibly shaking.
“I endured a fifteen-minute lecture on propolis for you. I didn’t even know what the hell propolis was, and now I can list ten products you’d find it in.
I might actually care about bees now, so please tell me you’ve come up with some brilliant idea. ”
“I would love to tell you that,” Lissa replied slowly, wishing she had her own list of bee facts to distract Daria with.
Narrowing her eyes, Daria paused her finger mid-tap. “So do,” she urged, “tell me you are going to save us from the wrath of Marge.”
Lissa dropped her head. “I don’t know what to say, Dar. We have less than two weeks, and whatever Ria’s firm was planning is off the table. I’m at a total loss here, and I feel like I failed you all. Not to mention, I’m about to be very unemployed with a mortgage I won’t be able to pay.”
Daria reached over the table and lifted Lissa’s head. “Hey, don’t tell me you’re giving up. Have you considered talking to Ria about your predicament?”
“Why?” Lissa huffed out, pushing back from the table and pacing around the edge of the patio. “She told me their idea was seasonal.”
“You are not this dense, Lissa,” Daria replied, propping her feet up on Lissa’s vacated chair. “She is still a marketing professional. Do you honestly believe there’s only one way to generate business?”
Lissa blinked at her friend. “You want me to confess all my lies and then ask her for advice? I’ll be lucky if she ever speaks to me again, let alone helps me save the studio.”
Daria shrugged. “You never know. In for a penny, in for a pound.”
“You know, I never understood that saying,” Lissa replied, running her hand over the leaves of a purple flower, a comfrey Ria had said. She liked its droopy petals. They looked the way she felt.
“I never understood it either,” Daria admitted, “but I think it applies here. Regardless, it’s worth a shot. I mean, if she forgives you for everything else, chances are she’ll want to help.”
Lissa turned her back on Daria and stared out at all the happy families playing on the beach off in the distance, enjoying their vacation. Totally carefree.
The way Lissa used to be.
“Maybe I could try that,” she told Daria.
“I’m just saying, don’t count your chickens until they’re hatched.”
“Okay, that one I know you’re using wrong,” Lissa tossed over her shoulder before her attention landed on two women snuggling on a beach towel. They looked vaguely familiar, but all Lissa could focus on was how happy they seemed.
“Whatever,” Daria replied. “You get the idea. It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”
Lissa groaned, “Please stop.”
“I will if you promise to talk to her,” Daria shot back. “Give her some credit, Lissa. She might be more understanding than you think.”
Lissa watched the couple for a second longer. The one with Asian features laughed and snuggled further into the embrace of the one wearing a faded band tour T-shirt. “Maybe…”
“If you say maybe one more time…” Daria threatened.
“Then you’ll do what?” Lissa asked, turning away from the couple, their happiness only eating away at her.
She crossed her arms and stared Daria down.
“You’ll stop stealing my coffee? You’ll stop eating all the scones I buy and hide in the back cupboard, because I hoped you wouldn’t find them?
” Lissa threw a hand up to her forehead dramatically, and her tone of voice dropped into that of a Southern belle.
“Oh, heavens above! However will I go on with my life?”
Daria frowned. “Now that just hurts.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Daria’s frown curled up into a grin. “Okay, you’re right, it doesn’t. But…” She pushed up from the table and joined Lissa at the edge of the patio. “It would still mean a lot to me and everyone else if you wouldn’t give up yet.”
Lissa evaluated her friend for a long second, seeing something in Daria she hadn’t seen before. Fear.
“You really are worried aren’t you?” she asked.
“A little,” Daria admitted, her eyes dropping to the ground.
“This place is my home too, Lissa. I don’t want to leave and find a job somewhere else.
” She paused, then raised her head, the casual facade slipping back into place.
“I mean, I’ve put in so much work with the male population here.
I can’t start over fresh in a new city.”
Daria could make jokes all she wanted, but Lissa could see the truth. Her friend was genuinely scared of what they would all do if Smooth Expressions died.
“Okay,” Lissa agreed. “I’ll talk to her.”