For months now, we’d been beholden to the whims of a ruthless warlock, doing work so fraught with danger that we didn’t dare dream of the future.
But now, we were free. Really free — to go anywhere, do anything…
Or go nowhere at all,my tiger hummed happily.
I leaned over and kissed Gen.
Marius rolled his eyes. “It begins.”
Bene snickered. “Says the guy who mooned over Mina from day one.”
“I did not moon,” Marius growled. Then he looked at Mina and broke into a goofy, lovestruck smile.
“I rest my case,” Bene muttered.
Our phones pinged with Gordon’s countersignature, and I reread the contract three times, not quite believing my eyes.
Bene checked his, then gave Gen a high five. “Bonus aside, you are a goddamn genius. And I have to say, you’re more devious than you look.”
She sighed. “Not suredeviousis something to be proud of.”
Mina patted her shoulder. “Around Gordon, it’s necessary.”
Gen gulped, and I knew she was thinking about her father.
Mina tilted her head in question, but Gen forced a smile. “I’ll tell you later. For now, let’s celebrate. Is it too early for champagne?”
“It’s never too early for champagne.” Bene jumped to his feet, heading for the wine cellar.
Mina tapped her lips while we waited. “It will be a relief to divest ourselves of Gordon. But the money he paid us to host you here sure didn’t hurt.”
“We’ll all work doubly hard,” I said immediately.
Henrik gave me a frosty,speak for yourselflook.
Gen’s phone rang, and we all tensed. Was that Gordon?
Her eyes went wide as she answered in French. “Oh,bonjour, Monsieur Delmont. Yes, yes. So nice of Lily to have spoken to you.”
Marius looked lost, but Mina perked up and mouthed,The electrician I’ve been trying to get for ages.
Gen put the phone on speaker in time for us to hear the electrician’s reply.
“My future daughter-in-law tells me your electrical work is a matter of the utmost urgency.” He sighed. “So I’ve found a time slot for you — and only one, between February and the end of March.”
My eyes went wide. That was much sooner than anyone had anticipated.
Mina nudged Gen, who nodded and relayed the unspoken question. “Just to check, you’re aware of the scale of the project?”
“Yes, I’m familiar with the place, and I’m confident we can do it in that time frame,” Delmont assured her. “But I’ll need to visit to calculate an estimate. How would tomorrow be?”
Mina’s mouth hung open. The man hadn’t replied to multiple queries over the past months. Now, he was offering to drop in tomorrow.
Gen did a fist pump. “Tomorrow would be fine. Thank you.”
He suggested nine a.m., and my tiger side grimaced.
What about basking with our mate?
