Chapter 2
TWO
We were still arguing about wedding details when Julian arrived with several members of his management team.
“I’m not saying you can’t have crab for the meal,” Galen argued. “I’m saying we can’t only serve crab.”
“Why not?” I wasn’t backing down. I had some ideas. And, as he’d already pointed out, I was spoiled. “People love crab.”
“You love crab,” he shot back, shifting me so he could climb off the lounger and stand to greet his brother. “Other people like other things.”
“Nothing as good as crab,” I groused.
Galen pinned me with a serious look as he shook Julian’s hand. “Maybe we should ask an outside observer what he thinks.” He tilted his head to Julian.
I narrowed my eyes. “No way. He’ll agree with you just to agree with you.”
“What makes you think that?” Julian asked.
“Because you guys are doing the new brother bonding thing,” I replied. “You don’t know how tight you want to be, but you’re curious enough to be careful around one another for a bit. That means I’ll be on the losing end of this particular argument.”
Julian blinked. “You’re trying to manipulate me,” he said. “That is reverse psychology. You think I’ll agree with you because you said I would agree with Galen.”
“Is it working?” I asked hopefully.
Julian chuckled. “I love a good crab leg,” he assured me.
I perked up.
“Galen is right, though,” he continued. “You can’t serve only crab legs.”
“I was going to have salad, too,” I replied in pouty fashion.
Galen ruffled my hair. “I was thinking we could have a whole seafood bar. Crab legs, lobster, scallops, shrimp. You name it.”
“Don’t tease me, Blackwood,” I warned him.
That only made him laugh harder. “We also should have salad … and some beef.”
“Ooh, steaks.” Julian bobbed his head. “Steaks are the way to go.”
“That’s your insatiable shifter genes,” I countered. “All you guys want is to shove big piles of beef into your mouths.”
They both gave me some serious side eye, and in the moment, I saw the resemblance between them. It was uncanny. Julian looked a little younger, and wasn’t as brawny, but there was something in their eyes.
“You should probably not phrase it that way,” Galen said.
“Whatever.” I was feeling defeated. “When are the others getting here?” I needed reinforcements and Lilac was my best shot. Well, and Booker, but he would agree with me just to irritate Galen.
“I’m not afraid of Lilac,” Galen warned. “Even if she threatens to go all demon, we’re having more than crab legs at our wedding reception.”
That sounded like a challenge to me.
IT WAS A PLANNED BARBECUE. GALEN wanted to get to know Julian’s staff. In addition, he wanted Julian to get comfortable with our friends. If Julian was going to take over the pack, he would need backup. The locals weren’t going to capitulate simply because there was a new alpha in town.
Julian took the lead on introductions.
“This is Flip Dexter.” He gestured to a behemoth of a man. Seriously, he had to be almost seven feet tall, and he was wide. Galen was a huge man, but Flip made him look like a child.
“Flip?” I asked.
Galen gave me a warning look. I ignored him. “Flip is … interesting. Is there a story behind that name?”
Not only was the man massive, he also seemed devoid of a personality. “That’s what my parents called me,” he replied in a rumbling voice.
I pursed my lips. “Good story,” was all I could manage.
Booker ducked his head, amused, and coughed a word into his hand. It sounded like “typical”, but I couldn’t be sure.
“His given name is Phillip,” Julian volunteered. He looked as amused as Booker. “It was shortened to Flip over the years. He doesn’t acknowledge the name Phillip.”
I didn’t know what else to say to that. “What do you eat for breakfast?” I blurted.
“Hadley.” Galen looked the security guard up and down, likely calculating if he could last more than a minute in a fight if I ticked off the huge shifter.
“She’s not asking anything the rest of us aren’t curious about,” Aurora King interjected. A siren, she feared no one, no matter how large. “That dude looks as if he takes poops as big as the rest of us. Do you eat an entire swordfish in one sitting?”
To my surprise, Flip managed a grin for Aurora. “Is that an offer?”
Behind Aurora, her boyfriend Brody hopped from one foot to the other. He wasn’t as big as Galen but was close to Booker’s size. He also was a shifter. A shark shifter, to be exact. His parlor trick wasn’t nearly as impressive as the one the wolves possessed, unless he was in water.
“Um … .” Brody looked uncertain.
“Don’t hit on her,” Julian chided his subordinate. “She’s spoken for.” He inclined his head to Brody.
“I don’t see a ring on her finger,” Flip replied. There was something lecherous about the way he looked at Aurora, and I didn’t like it.
“I don’t belong to anyone but myself,” Aurora declared. “I am, however, involved with somebody else and I expect my boundaries to be respected.”
Flip arched an eyebrow. He looked even more interested now, if that was possible. “Boundaries, huh?” He laughed.
We were close enough to the water that Aurora’s party trick — she could create a tsunami if she was in the mood — could be utilized. I hoped to nip that instinct. Sometimes she just liked to show off.
“Who else do we have?” I asked in a falsely chipper voice.
“Right.” Julian glanced between Flip and Aurora, debating if he should say something. I shook my head to dissuade him. Aurora could handle herself.
He nodded in understanding, flashed a smile, then gestured to the petite blonde at his side.
If Flip was oversized, this little thing was pocket-sized.
She didn’t even clear five feet, wispy and thin.
The smile she shot me was full of excitement — as if this was all a big adventure — and I couldn’t help returning it. I liked her immediately.
“This is Taylor Duncan,” he explained. “Taylor is my assistant.”
“I’m basically his righthand woman.” Taylor extended her hand. Her eyes were full of mischief. “He can’t do anything without me.”
Julian laughed. “That’s true. She handles all of my administration, including contracts and setting up meetings. If you guys ever need to get in touch with me right away, you need to go through her. I’m bad about not checking my messages until the end of the day.”
“He’s terrible about it,” Taylor agreed.
The look she shot Julian was full of adoration and I could tell right away that she had a crush on him.
It was possible it went even deeper. Was she in love with him?
The hearts in her eyes certainly said so.
As for Julian, he was obviously fond of her, but he seemed oblivious to her feelings for him.
“I have business cards.” Taylor turned into an efficient little minx and started doling them out. “Whatever you need, I’m your woman.”
Booker opened his mouth but a glare from Lilac had him snapping it shut.
“You can let some of them go,” Lilac admonished.
Booker was chagrined. “Sorry, baby.” He loved his girlfriend more than anything.
When I’d first come to town they’d been friends and nothing more.
Now, looking back, I saw that they’d always been something more.
It had taken Galen and I getting together to pave the way for them.
Galen wasn’t afraid to express his feelings, which allowed Booker to do the same.
“This is Lucinda,” Julian continued. If he’d registered the fact that I’d momentarily gotten lost inside my head, he didn’t show it. “She’s something of a … fixer,” he said, scratching his cheek.
I smiled at the woman — she looked to be in her forties — and then immediately started frowning. As she grew closer, I could feel the power emanating from her.
“Witch,” I said without thinking.
Lucinda had perfectly shaped eyebrows and wore a crisp linen suit — I bet she never just sat around and sweated — and when she smiled there was something official about it. She wasn’t here because she wanted to hang out and get to know people. She was cataloging us in case she had to fight later.
“You too.” Lucinda’s smile was polite enough but there was a challenge there. If I was willing to throw down, she would reciprocate.
Galen’s hand immediately landed on my back. He was a protective beast when he wanted to be, and this was Julian’s show. Lucinda wasn’t the star. “I didn’t realize you had a witch on the payroll,” he said to his half-brother.
“Lucinda has been with the pack for years,” Julian replied. “She worked for my father before me.”
Galen arched an eyebrow. “What did you do for Jerome?”
Lucinda merely shrugged. “Any number of things.” Her eyes moved back to me. “What sort of witch are you?”
She wasn’t the first person to ask me that question. She wasn’t even the tenth. I still didn’t know how to answer. “Well … .”
Lilac, always the girl’s girl, stepped forward. “She’s an earth witch, but she has amazing range,” she explained. “I wouldn’t mess with her.”
“That’s interesting coming from a demon,” Lucinda said dryly.
Lilac’s eyes flashed red for a split-second before she reined in her temper.
Sometimes — okay, quite often — she lost control of her magic and started smiting left and right.
She was only half demon but her magic was impressive.
On a level playing field, I would put real money on Lilac to take out Flip.
“Do you have a problem with that?” Lilac challenged.
It was the tone of her voice that had Booker and Galen moving in on either side.
“She was just making conversation, Lilac,” Booker said in a low voice. He didn’t want his girlfriend to lose control.
“Of course she was.” Julian gave Lucinda a stern look. “Don’t get them worked up.”
“Definitely not,” Galen agreed. “We’re friendly enough over barbecue and drinks but if you get one of us riled the wheels come off the bus.”
“How charming.” Lucinda rolled her eyes until they landed on Lilac again. “There’s a rumor you’ve mastered four-element magic.” She sounded like a census taker she was so bland. “Is that true?”
“True enough,” Booker replied. He slid his arm around Lilac’s neck, keeping things loose, and anchored her against his chest. “We’re still a work in progress.”
“When we were kids, Lilac, Aurora, and Booker mastered three elements,” Galen volunteered. “When Hadley got here, it was as if the set was finally completed. It felt as if she always belonged here.”
“Your mother was from here, correct?” Lucinda asked me. “Why weren’t you raised here?”
“Oh, well … .” This was always such a difficult question.
“Hadley’s mother married a mainlander,” Galen interjected. “She was raised there.”
“Where is your mother now?” The question was innocent enough but coming from Lucinda it rankled.
“She passed away giving birth to me,” I replied.
“I’m so sorry.” Taylor looked tortured. “That’s terrible.”
I managed a smile for her benefit. “It was a long time ago.” And something I really didn’t want to dwell on.
“Is it true you didn’t know you were a witch until you arrived here last year?” Lucinda pressed. She sounded as if she was digging for dirt she could use against me later.
“It’s true,” I replied.
“She’s come into her own very fast,” Galen added. There was a warning in his eyes as he regarded Lucinda. “She’s amazing at everything she tries.”
I laughed hollowly because I didn’t know what else to do. “He’s kind of fond of me so he always brags me up.”
Galen shook his head. “It’s the truth. Nothing can stop my Hadley.”
My cheeks burned under the praise.
“Ignore her.” Julian gave Lucinda an admonishing look. “She tries to intimidate people right out of the gate because it amuses her. Don’t play into her hands.”
Galen’s smile was flat. “I’m not too worried.” He meant it. So did Lucinda.
THE BARBECUE ATMOSPHERE RELAXED SOME after that. We met other members of Julian’s security detail. He had more administrative assistants as well, although he reiterated that Taylor was his go-to. She was the one I liked best.
“How long have you been with Julian?” I asked her when the men had moved to the beach to play volleyball. It was a two-on-two situation — Galen and Booker facing off with Julian and one of his bodyguards — and the trash talk was off the charts.
“Him?” Taylor dragged her eyes away from a shirtless Julian to focus on me. “Oh, I’ve been with him for two years.”
“And you’ve already moved up to righthand woman status? Impressive.”
“I like my work.” Taylor cocked her head as she regarded me. “You’re the mayor, right? How did that happen?”
I laughed. “It’s a very long and convoluted story.”
“The Downtown Development Association was ousted from power and everybody agreed that since Hadley was new to the area she wouldn’t play favorites,” Aurora volunteered as she emerged from the shadows to join us. “It was a pretty seamless transition.”
I was sheepish. “Apparently the story wasn’t that long after all.”
Taylor laughed, the sound light and airy. “I’m excited to be here,” she admitted. “I’ve been reading about Moonstone Bay since I was a little girl. I’ve always wanted to visit.”
“Will you stay here full time if Julian does?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Julian makes those decisions.”
“But if you had a choice?” I pressed.
She looked around, her eyes taking in the rolling water and cloudless sky. “It’s beautiful here. Like a dream. I would totally want to stay here.”
“Maybe you’ll get your wish,” I suggested.
“Maybe.” She didn’t look convinced.
Before I could press her further, a ripple of warning rolled up my spine.
I went instantly alert and frowned as the sky over the water opened up and a lightning bolt zigged across the sky, larger than normal and pink.
Static filled the air as the lightning hit the water.
“What the hell?” I exhaled heavily and took a step forward.
“Storm,” Galen said from the beach, frowning out at the water.
“It’s not storm season yet,” Booker pointed out.
“Apparently we’re getting one early.”
Another bolt of lightning emerged from the clouds that were rolling in at a fantastic rate.
“The party’s over, kids,” Galen called out. “Everybody should get inside.”
“We’ll head back to the hotel,” Julian said. “We don’t want to get trapped here, taking up your space.”
Galen didn’t argue. Short visits were okay, but they weren’t ready for an overnighter yet. “Sounds good.” He shook Julian’s hand. “I’ll see you around. We’ll have to do this again.”
Julian smiled in return. “Absolutely.”