Chapter 36
“Okay, so basically everything is ready to go for Mom and Dad’s party. Have you booked your ticket home yet?” His sister Brooke shifted her phone, and Briggs caught a glimpse of the kitchen cupboards behind her before her face came back into view.
“Did you paint the cupboards?” he asked.
“Yes, Leigh and I painted them last week. You like?” She slowly turned with her phone so he could see them again.
“They look great,” he said.
“Thanks. Did you book your ticket yet?”
“Doing it this afternoon,” he said.
She frowned. “You’re cutting it awfully close, big brother.”
“Yeah, I know.” He glanced at the kitchen doorway, but he could hear Cece in the living room, her voice chanting softly as she worked on a potion. “I’m, uh, thinking of bringing someone with me.”
Brooke blinked at him, and he winced when she let loose with a squeal of excitement. “Oh my God, you met someone!”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” he said.
“Fuck that noise. It’s a huge deal. Tell me everything.”
“She’s a client with the security firm,” he said. “Her name is Cecelia, and she’s a green witch and… a human.”
Brooke did a fantastic job hiding her surprise, but he knew the fact that he was dating a human was blowing her mind. “You can say it, Brooke.”
“Holy fuck!” Brooke immediately squealed. “You’re dating a human! A human! How do you not break her in bed?”
He growled at her. “Gross, Brooke. I’m not talking to you about that.”
“God, you’re such a prude,” Brooke said. “I’m not asking for details, I just wanna know how a human isn’t crushed to death by your giant, dumb body.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have told you about her.”
“Fuck off,” Brooke said. “You were dying to tell me about her.”
He laughed, he couldn’t help it, and Brooke grinned at him. “So… how serious is it?”
“Why?” he asked.
“You’re bringing her to our parents' anniversary party, where all of our family and half of the town will be. It must be serious, right?”
“She’s my mate,” he said. “I love her.”
He braced himself for Brooke’s squeal, but to his surprise, she just gave him a soft smile. “I’m so happy for you, Briggs.”
“Thanks, Brooke.” He felt a wave of love for his younger sister and a sharp yearning for Wellington. “I’m looking forward to being home.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting your mate,” Brooke said. “You want me to tell the folks?”
“Not yet,” he said. “I haven’t asked Cece if she wants to go with me, and she might say no.”
“What? She absolutely won’t,” Brooke said. “Unless… she thinks you’re her mate, right?”
“Yes,” he said. “She does.”
“You’re certain?” Brooke asked.
He nodded. “Cece is nothing like Lucille.”
Brooke growled. “Fucking Lucille. I’ll never forgive her for lying to you and being a disgusting cheater who cheats. I’m glad that dickweed Louis dumped her.”
“What?” Briggs said. “Lucille isn’t with him anymore?”
“Nope,” Brooke said. “He dumped her about three weeks ago. Town rumour is that she wasn’t doing it for him in bed. Louis told a bunch of his dickhead friends that she’s become a cold fish between the sheets.”
She eyed him. “Is she?”
“Brooke.” He gave her a look, and she shrugged.
“What? She deserves to be gossiped about after what she did to you. I’m glad she’s walking around town looking like the world’s saddest sack.
” Brooke looked around and lowered her voice, even though Briggs was certain she was the only one in the room.
“She’s been telling anyone who will listen that she made a mistake and she regrets what she did to you.
She even had the audacity to ask Mom about you.
The shithead was trying to wheedle information out of Mom about where you went and if you were coming home for the anniversary party. ”
“What did Mom tell her?”
“Jackshit,” Brooke said. “Told her if she was still so interested in you, maybe she shouldn’t have been wetting Louis’s dick on the regular while she was with you.”
Briggs laughed. “Oh my God, I can hear Mom saying it.”
“It was awesome,” Brooke said. “She did it right in the middle of the Sunlight Cafe during the Saturday lunch rush. The entire town knew about it by dinner time.”
“Shocker,” Briggs said dryly.
“Anyway, yes, Lucille is single again, but I assume you don’t care.”
“Not one fucking bit,” Briggs said.
“Good. Fuck that chick,” Brooke said before glancing at her watch. “Shit, I gotta go. Book your tickets today, okay?”
“I will,” Briggs said.
“Love you, Briggs.”
He smiled at his baby sister. “Love you, Brookie.”
She made a face at her childhood nickname, popped him the bird, and ended the call. Grinning, he stuck his phone into his pocket and headed out of the kitchen. It had been a week since the witch attacked them at the restaurant, and he and Cece had barely left the house.
They’d spent the last week fucking like they were goddamn bunny shifters, and he grinned, had, in fact, just gotten out of bed an hour ago.
Cece had wanted to top her magic up before working on potions, and he’d been more than happy to fuck her.
The buzz of her magic had already dissipated for him, but Cece had been nearly vibrating with magic.
He paused in the hallway outside the living room, studying Cece as she stood at the altar.
She wore her witch’s robe, her hair was pulled back in a bun, and she was studying one of her spell books that lay open on the altar next to a small cauldron.
The room smelled of rosemary and vanilla, and as he watched, Cece dropped dried flower petals into the cauldron.
A puff of violet smoke rose from it, and Cece smiled with delight before stirring the liquid in the cauldron vigorously.
Vines slithered out of the room and curled around his upper body, stroking his face gently as they wrapped around his arms. A vine tickled his ear before sliding through his hair, and he gently batted it away. “Cece?”
She glanced up, made a face, and waved her hand at the plants. The vines retreated with a final gentle squeeze. “Sorry, honey.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “Are you getting hungry? It’s almost noon.”
“Let me just finish this potion, and then we’ll eat. Ten minutes at the most. Okay?”
He nodded, and she blew him a kiss. His bear growled when there was a knock on the front door. He immediately grabbed his phone and opened the app to check the security camera he’d installed outside just two days ago.
His tense body relaxed, and he soothed his bear as he said, “Cece, we have visitors.”
“Hmm, be right there,” she said distractedly as she frowned at the contents in the cauldron before studying the spell book again.
He left her to her potion and opened the front door. “Hey, Mal. Hi, Willow.”
“Hi.” Willow smiled brightly at him. “Is this a bad time?”
“No,” he said. “Come in.”
They stepped inside, and Mal shut the door behind him. “This works better.”
“Yeah, Judd and I replaced it,” he said.
“Is Cece around?” Mal asked.
“She’s in the living room.”
They followed Briggs into the room, and he heard Willow’s soft gasp of surprise. “Oh my gosh.”
He studied the room, trying to see it as Willow saw it. He’d grown used to how it looked, but he supposed that to others it looked really fucking strange.
They’d moved a bunch of plants from Cece’s room throughout the rest of the house, and over fifty of them had found a new home in the living room.
The sheer number of plants alone would have been a bit shocking to a person, he supposed, but add in the fact that they were growing like crazy and well…
you ended up with this. A room that was practically alive with plants.
“This is amazing,” Willow breathed.
She studied the leaves, vines, and flowers that covered the living room walls.
All of the vine plants in the room had crept up the walls, covering them with a thick layer of foliage.
Large potted plants sat in every corner of the room, their broad leaves bright and vibrant.
Smaller potted plants covered nearly every surface, and the room was humid, smelling of rich earth and plants.
“Cece,” Briggs said, “Willow and Mal are here.”
“Give me two more minutes,” she said as she stared at her spell book. “If I don’t finish this now, the potion will be ruined.”
“Take your time,” Willow said. “We have plenty of… oh wow.”
She stared wide-eyed at the vines that were curling around Briggs. They stroked and caressed his arms and chest before brushing against his face.
“The plants really like you, huh?” Willow said.
“It’s Cece’s magic,” Briggs said. “If she’s distracted, the plants tend to… do this.”
“That’s so cool,” Willow said. “Do you just walk around being petted by plants all day?”
“Something like that,” Briggs said with a grin. “Hudson and Rosalie were here last night for dinner, and the plants wouldn’t leave Rosalie alone. They were obsessed with her.”
Willow grinned. “That’s so cute.”
“Cece was embarrassed, but Rosalie thought it was hilarious,” Briggs said. “And two of Cece’s best friends came by the day before yesterday, and the plants did the same to them.”
“Is it because she can’t control the magic?” Mal asked.
“A little,” Briggs said, “but she has a lot more control over her magic than she did even a week ago. We’ve been, uh, keeping her magic topped up so she can learn to control it.”
“Right,” Mal said as Willow grinned at Briggs.
He could feel his cheeks heating up, and Willow’s grin grew larger. “You’re adorable when you blush, Briggs. I love that - oh!”
Mal growled low in his throat, and Willow squeezed his arm. “It’s fine, honey. I’m fine.”
He studied the vines that had curled around her waist and were busily exploring her expanding belly. “Are you sure?”
“They won’t hurt her,” Briggs said.
Willow laughed when one of the vines looped around the bun on top of her head before sliding across her cheek.
More and more vines were wrapping around her waist, weaving together across her pregnant belly to form a shield-like barrier.
A few of them wavered in the air between her and Mal, touching his arm briefly before returning to Willow.
She giggled. “They like me more than you, honey.”
She studied the way the vines were weaving into a wide, tight pattern across her belly. “What are they doing?”
“It’s a protection thing, I think,” Briggs said. “The plants want to keep the baby safe.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Willow said before lightly stroking the plants that covered her belly. “Thanks, plants.”
There was a puff of smoke from the cauldron, and the smell of rosemary and vanilla intensified. Cece made a sound of satisfaction before giving the potion a final stir and then closing the spell book.
She took off her robe and draped it across the altar before turning to join them. She took one look at Willow and hurried forward, her cheeks flushing. “Oh shit. I’m sorry, Willow.”
She waved her hands, and the vines slid apart, caressing Willow’s belly a final time before slithering back up the wall to join the others. The vines surrounding Briggs didn’t move, and he made a soft growl. They retreated reluctantly, as Cece apologized again to Willow.
“It’s fine,” Willow said. “I kind of love it, to be honest. It’s not every day that plants show their adoration for your baby.”
Cece smiled and took Briggs’s hand. “They adore the baby and you, and I appreciate you being so understanding about it.”
There was a moment of awkwardness before Cece squeezed Briggs’s hand and said, “Who wants some tea?”