“Mommm.” Princess Buttercup lets out a plaintive meow. “Me!”
The spell grips me again, and I find myself wrapping both hands around one of Luke’s rock-hard biceps to pull him closer to the tree. “You have to help her!”
“Of course.” He gives my hand a little pat and leaps, catching a branch and pulling himself up. Without wings in the way, I have a clear view of his back, the muscles bunching and rippling as he climbs, his big body moving easily. In no time at all, he reaches Princess Buttercup. Cradling her to his chest with one arm, he climbs back down effortlessly in a display of strength that leaves me a little breathless.
“Here you go.” He turns to hand over my cat, our fingers tangling together with a sizzle of awareness.
“How can I ever thank you?” I simper and bat my eyelashes, all while moaning with mortification inside. Flutter. Blink. Flutter.
“I can think of a few ways.” Luke leans forward, his eyes latched onto my lips.
My tummy twists, heart thumping at the thought of kissing him.
An alarm cuts through the air, and he jerks upright, pulling his phone from a pocket. “That’s the station. Gotta get to work. Gotta go save lives, babe.”
This just keeps getting worse. “Babe” is exactly the last word Luke would ever say. If he didn’t hate me before, he sure does now.
But book-me keeps going. I set a hand on his arm to stop him from turning away. “Let me make you dinner! For savingmy cat.”
“You got it.” He chucks me under the chin. “How about Friday?
“Friday night is a date night.” I bat my eyelashes so hard I get dizzy. At this rate, I wouldn’t blame him for assuming I have a medical condition.
“You know it, babe.” He chucks me under the chin again. “It’s a date.”
I let out a sigh as he hops the fence and races back into the house next door. It’s the same cute little cottage Mrs. Greely lives in, but inside the book, Luke and I are neighbors instead.
Unable to turn away, I watch him until he disappears inside.
Then golden sparkles surround us, and the book world spins and spins until I’m carried away. We land back in my kitchen, my abandoned cup of chai still sitting on the counter, the apple tree outside still bare and snow covered.
The second the spell releases me, I sag, the smile slipping from my face. “Oh, god, Luke just saw me in lingerie!”
“You think that’s bad,” Princess Buttercup says, her tail lashing. “Whatever this is just turned me into the type of cat to get stuck in a tree. As if I’dever! The indignity!”
Shock skips through me, and I gape at her.
“What was that?” Princess Buttercup’s front paws cling to my shoulder. “Why were we somewhere else?”
I stroke her soft back, amazed that she talks. “You’re my familiar!”
“Of course I am.” She stares at me, her amber eyes amused. “Did you think I’d let anyone else havemyhuman?”
A laugh sputters out of me, making my chest shake. “You think you own me?”
“Don’t I?” She wiggles. “Put me down.”
“As you wish.” The familiar phrase slips out of me as I bend over, so she can jump to the floor.
“See.Myhuman.” She prances across the kitchen, her tail held high and triumphant, and stops in front of her bowl. “More food.”
“You already ate.”
“Wet food’s good, but it’s notrealchicken.” Her clever eyes watch me for several seconds. When her ploy doesn’t work, she plonks down and lifts one back leg, toes straining toward the ceiling as she starts to take a bath.
“We need to talk about this. You’re my familiar! You’re supposed to help me with my magic.”
“Is that what the apple tree was?” She lowers her leg and looks at me. “Magic?”
