Chapter Twenty-Five
Blair finally got a phone call from Luke not long after turning her open sign to closed.
‘I’m so sorry I fell off the face of the earth today,’ he said.
‘I’ve had a ridiculous day with one issue after another.
But the good news is Agatha was able to borrow a handful of market stalls from a nearby town that has a spring festival, so Shirley’s Sugar Mountain is officially in the festival! ’
‘That’s amazing!’ It really was. True, Blair had once thought the bakery getting a festival booth meant that the Harvest Moon Café would lose business, but Blair didn’t think that anymore.
Moonbeam Hollow wouldn’t let her café fail, and acceptance and supporting one’s neighbours would always win over competition.
After seeing how hard Luke had been working to build the bakery, and how much he wanted this dream for his mother, Blair wanted Shirley’s Sugar Mountain to be right here, thriving right next door to her café.
‘It is. But now the bad news. I’ve had nothing but problems with suppliers.
Our dough sheeter is delayed, and our oven is stuck at the US border.
I’ve been on the phone all day, but I can’t find a way to fix this without going there myself.
It’s a three-hour drive to Niagara, so I’m leaving in the middle of the night to be at the border first thing in the morning. ’
‘Oh no! That sounds exhausting.’
‘Yeah, but after it’s sorted, I can help Mom pack up her place in the city.’ He laughed awkwardly. ‘I know I promised we could talk but—’
‘It’s fine, Luke. Of course you have to deal with your business now.’ But if he was going to be out of town until the festival, when would they arrange the Hecate possession? ‘Do you know when you’ll be back?’
‘Probably Thursday night. Maybe Friday morning. Mom’s boss at the hotel in Toronto is letting her use the kitchen Thursday and Friday for the festival baking since we won’t have all the equipment here.
I’ll probably help her bake on Thursday then come back here to finish painting the trim Friday, and she’ll drive up late Friday night after she’s done.
She still hasn’t decided what to make for the tea boxes.
I want her to do these pesto pinwheels that I love, but she’s leaning toward red pepper—’
Blair interrupted him. ‘Pesto!’ She’d forgotten until now how much Luke had loved pesto when they were young.
He laughed. ‘I’m glad you see things my way.’
Blair laughed nervously. ‘No, I just remembered, I’m supposed to ask you if you like pesto pasta.’
‘Love it. Why?’
‘Bianca wants to make it up to you for the whole spinach thing. Her homemade pesto ravioli is the best.’
‘Honestly, it’s not necessary. I feel like I should be the one apologizing to you three, not the other way around. Still can’t believe I passed out during dinner.’
Blair took a deep breath. She hated this.
Lying to him. Letting him think what happened was his fault, not the Briarwoods’.
‘Nonsense. If Bianca knew spinach would make you crash out like that, then none of it would have happened. But it sounds like you’ll have a busy week and could use a home-cooked dinner.
Maybe Thursday or Friday? We can bring the pasta to the bakery and eat together. ’
‘How can I say no? Let’s say Friday. If I come home Thursday, it will be late.’ He paused. ‘I’ll have to go to bed early tonight – I hate that I won’t see you this week.’
‘Me too. But it’s just a few days. I’ll be super busy with festival prep, too.’ Blair paused. ‘Maybe you can squeeze away for a few minutes now? The café is closed and I’m alone.’
His voice lowered. ‘All alone?’
Blair giggled. ‘We can have a little fun in five minutes, can’t we?’
‘I’m sure we can,’ Luke said. ‘I’ll be right over.’
Luke was at her door three minutes later, and the moment he was inside, his lips were on hers. She melted into him, letting him take control and losing herself in the kiss.
This would never get old. And there was no way in hell that Blair was going to walk away from this man again. Or let him walk away from her. They could figure out logistics later, but this time Blair was keeping Luke.
When he lifted his head from hers, he smiled that Luke Caldwell smile and all Blair wanted to do was pull him in for another kiss. ‘Man, I needed that. You know what I can’t wait for?’
‘What?’
‘The day this festival is over, and I get twelve uninterrupted hours alone with you.’
‘Soon,’ she said. ‘All this will be behind us soon.’
‘Okay. Love you, Blair.’
She smiled. ‘I love you, too.’
* * *
Bianca made the pesto on Thursday, adding a healthy dose of the Swedish enchanted spinach, along with several medicinal herbs that should protect Luke from developing a fever again.
Bianca used a strain of basil from her greenhouse that had a particularly strong flavour – not because of magic, it was just super tasty basil.
Still, when the sisters tasted it, it was earthier than a normal basil pesto, so Blair used her potion magic to mask the flavour even more.
Her magic worked best with liquids like her lattes, and pesto was a paste, but it still helped a little.
The combination of the strong cheese, fragrant basil and a touch of potion magic resulted in a bright green paste that tasted like nothing but fresh sweet basil, salty cheese and the right amount of black pepper and pine nuts.
Luke returned to Moonbeam Hollow Friday morning but spent the whole day painting the trim in the bakery.
It was unseasonably warm, which had Blair taking off her cardigan while she was working in the busy café.
But it looked like it might rain, which was a good thing.
Most of Hecate’s interactions with the physical world happened on rainy days.
The moment Blair had finished her closing process, her sisters and her took Bianca’s insulated casserole container filled with homemade ravioli in a pesto cream sauce that didn’t taste at all like it was made with enchanted spinach from Sweden to the bakery next door.
Bianca had been annoyed at first that Blair had picked such a labour-intensive dish, but even she admitted that no one would be able to resist her ravioli.
Blair was incredibly nervous. This had to work.
The festival started tomorrow, and if they couldn’t stop Hecate tonight, then Blair didn’t know what would happen.
And if Luke found out what they were planning, he would most definitely never trust Blair again.
Luke answered the door immediately after Blair knocked.
‘It’s my favourite three sisters in Moonbeam Hollow!
’ he said, grinning. He leaned forward and kissed Blair briefly.
Which only managed to make Blair more nervous.
‘I’ve been experimenting with a new drink,’ Blair said as they walked in. She handed Luke an ice-filled cup. ‘It’s an iced hibiscus-mint tea. What do you think?’ Blair had used a cooling spell on it. Hopefully, it would prevent the high fever that came the last time Hecate possessed him.
Luke took a sip through the straw, then nodded, grinning. ‘It’s delicious!’ Blair of course knew he’d love it since she’d added a hint of nutmeg.
‘Wow,’ Belinda said, ‘it’s so gorgeous in here!’
Bianca nodded, saying it was breathtaking, which made Blair laugh a little. This place was so not Bianca’s aesthetic. She liked dark, moody, with a little edge. This place was bright, sunny and sophisticated. Bianca held up the dish in her hand. ‘We should probably eat while it’s warm!’
‘Honestly, I’m starving,’ Luke said. He grabbed a stack of plates and silverware from the counter and brought them to the biggest table in the bakery – the banquette seating with a teal plush bench on one side and cream café chairs on the other.
It was the first time Blair was seeing the bakery completely done.
The white tables, glass chandeliers and gold tableware all worked together to create a beautiful space that was somehow still cozy.
It did fit in Moonbeam Hollow. Blair was proud that this beautiful bakery was going to be next door to Harvest Moon.
She imagined herself taking her breaks here, having a little croissant, maybe flirting with Luke, if he was here, that is.
Blair exhaled. She was still determined that she and Luke would stay together after the bakery was done, but there were too many unknowns right now. The biggest unknown being were they going to be able to stop Hecate today?
Bianca scooped the warm pasta on to the plates, topping each with a little extra pesto cream sauce and a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan. The scent of basil and cheese was filling the bakery.
Luke was the first to take a bite, and all the sisters watched him discreetly to see his reaction.
Bianca hadn’t added her addictive kale this time, so they were confident Luke wouldn’t start gorging on the ravioli like he had with the palak paneer, but they didn’t know if he would notice that the pesto was mostly spinach.
They also didn’t know if, or when, Hecate would enter into him. Luke chuckled awkwardly after his first bite. ‘Um, are you waiting to see if I’ll pass out again?’ he asked.
Okay, so much for watching him discreetly.
Blair shook her head, then took a bite of pasta to prove it wasn’t poisoned. ‘Do you like it? Bianca’s ravioli is legendary.’
Luke smiled and took another bite. ‘It is delicious. Bianca, Blair wasn’t kidding – you’re an excellent cook.’
Blair breathed a sigh of relief. Now all they had to do was wait to see if Hecate would notice that her descendant was open to being possessed.
A gust of wind whipped through the trees outside the bakery, then. ‘She’s here,’ Belinda said, looking out the window.
‘Who’s here?’ Luke asked.
‘I said storm’s here.’
Another loud gust came, followed by the sound of heavy rain. Blair looked out the window and clearly saw a cat in the middle of the road. A few moments later, a loud cracking sound came from outside.