Violetta nods. “The open-est.”
“Heart on your sleeve,” Jasmine adds.
“Don’t play poker.” Autumn grins. “Or if you do, play with me so I can win for a change.”
I giggle, and everyone laughs, their cheer washing over me like a balm.
“How’s it going with breaking your spell?” Kayla asks.
I tell them all about finding a book written by a book witch. “But we haven’t found any more, and we’ve been looking for several days.”
“So you keep looking.” Hannah shrugs.
“I’ve been off for two weeks,” I say. “I’m supposed to start back at the town library in the morning.”
“Nope.” She points at me. “You’ve still got lots of vacation days left. You’re not coming back until you figure this out.”
“But—”
“No buts! If you won’t do it for you, then do it for me. I donotwant to have to answer any confused phone calls about why the town librarian freaking disappeared into thin air.” She waves a hand. “The town’s protection spell is good, but I don’t want to put it to the test like that.”
“You’re right.”
“We’re staying at the castle?” Princess Buttercup sits up in Kayla’s lap, her ears swiveling forward.
“We’re staying at the castle.”
“Yesss!” She leaps over to my lap, making me hold my cupcake and cocktail out of her way while she gets settled. “I love the castle.”
“You love all the cat doors and kitty beds Luke installed for you and the extra treats he keeps slipping you.”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that there are extra treats,” she says primly, while her purrs fill the shop, telling me how happy she is to stay at Luke’s.
Me too, girl, I want to say. Me too.
We’re nearing the end ofDance of Desire. If these next few days are the last I get to spend with him, I’m going to grab for every single second of it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Lukendevener
Once the town meeting finishes, I accept whatever pizza Blue will deign to serve me and stride into The Thirsty Tusk, a dragon on a mission.
Severin, Rune, and Shadow sit at the bar, with an empty stool left between the werewolf and werepanther. I don’t know how to feel about that stool, how to feel that these men consider me enough of a friend that they’ve carved out a space for me without knowing for certain I’ll even show up.
Yet I have more important things to worry about this evening. Dropping my pizza box onto the bar, I claim the stool.
“Ooo, you’ve come over all dramatic,” Shadow says, green eyes glittering with mirth. “It’s an improvement.”
My lip curls away from my fangs in a snarl.
“Yes, that’s it.” He jabs a finger toward my face, his catsith grin wide and overly tooth-filled.
Thorvinn grunts from behind the bar and places a tankard of ale in front of me. “Lukendevener’s angry face is better than his normal?”
“Of course.” The werepanther takes a sip of his cider. “It means his woman trouble is about to make him snap, and that’s going to be one hell of a good show.”
I grunt and start to rise. I’ve clearly misinterpreted the empty stool as being something more than intended. There’s no way I can be open with these men.
