“Putting on frozen underwear.”
Elanora’s gaze pinned her like a dead bug with a needle through its thorax.
“You will not embarrass or disappoint me tonight.”
It was not a request.
“Your guests have arrived,” Nick said, appearing in the doorway like a sexy hero.
“I trust you brought them here in one piece,” her grandmother enunciated sternly.
“No. There was a horrible accident, so I scooped up all of the body parts and threw them in the trunk.”
Gabe looked like he was going to faint. Wander looked like she might actually laugh.
But her grandmother merely stared him down.
“There’s this thing called sarcasm—”
“Your sense of humor is appalling.”
“You’rewelcome, Elanora. It was my pleasure. Oh, no. No. Put your money away. I wouldn’t dream of asking for gas money to run your errands. It’s myhonorto pick up your weird friends instead of being here to give my girlfriend moral support for the dog and pony show you’re insisting on parading her in.”
She was in love with him. He’d taken a bullet for her, punched her ex-husband in the face for her, and now he was calling out her grandmother on her bullying. Nick Santiago was the goddamn love of her life.
“Your girlfriend has wasted enough of her life hiding from who she is.”
Nick crossed his arms and rubbed his chin as if he were seriously considering her words. “Have you ever considered—hear me out—allowing people to exercise free will?”
“Free will is wasted on the weak and spineless,” Elanora snapped.
“You should consider putting that in your Christmas cards,” he suggested.
“Why is it so warm in here tonight, Nicholas?” she demanded.
Gabe whimpered.
Nick shrugged. “August in Pennsylvania. Probably too much for the air conditioning to keep up with,” he said, all innocence. Riley was impressed. Most people started croaking like frogs when they tried to lie to Elanora’s face.
Her grandmother drew in a stern breath and turned to face the rest of them. “You willnotdisappoint me.”
“About that,” Riley began. “I don’t want to do this. And I’m an adult, and you can’t force me to do it.”
Elanora’s eyes narrowed, the crinkles on her face sharpening scarily. “You have a responsibility to this family and to the guild. You will do this, and you will do it well.”
“I don’t think you’re hearing me,” Riley insisted, noting that Gabe was pressed against the wall as if he hoped to be absorbed into the mint green cabinets.
“What I am hearing is my granddaughter, who possesses supreme powers and has wasted her entire life hiding from them like a coward,stilldoesn’t want the world to know that she is special. I speak for all of the Basil women who came before me when I say you are a disappointment to all who cultivated their gifts and shared them with the world. I insist that you stop your willful ignorance and step into who you were meant to be instead of clinging to the average disappointment you strive to be.”
Elanora vanished into the hallway in a swirl of black. Riley sagged against the pantry door. “Um. Ow.” She felt like she’d actually been stabbed by some sort of spiritual guilt dagger.
Wander and Gabe were no longer making moony eyes at each other or eye contact with her.
“Damn, baby. Your grandma is mean,” Nick observed as he approached. “But at least you look good.”
“Thanks,” Riley said. He pressed a kiss to her sweaty forehead.
“Yo.” Josie, Nick’s “muscle” and cousin-in-law, appeared in the doorway. She was wearing black biker shorts, a fitted tank top that said Anti Social Butterfly, and a fanny pack probably full of knives and brass knuckles. Her jet black hair was tied in a high ponytail, making her look like an evil cheerleader.
