Ria chewed on her lip, the action drawing Lissa’s attention to her mouth.“I signed an NDA when I joined the company,” she answered.“It basically means I can’t reveal anything about my work.”
Lissa slid her tongue back and forth along the underside of her lip piercing for a minute.So much for getting the details out of Ria.She’d hoped the witch wouldn’t retain any loyalty to her old company, but apparently, she was going to be as tight-lipped as they were.
“I think we’re getting a little sidetracked though,” Ria said, interrupting Lissa’s thoughts.“I’m supposed to be casting a destiny love spell on you.”
“Right, the reason I came here.”Lissa took a bite of the scone, chewing slowly to give her time to think.She could just bail on the whole thing.Ria might be a little upset, but she’d get over it.On the other hand, this whole spell thing might give her a reason to get closer to Ria.Maybe she could wheedle some info out of her.Surely NDAs didn’t apply to friends?
Lissa could totally be friends with a gorgeous woman and not make a move on her.She did it with Daria every day.
Lissa swallowed her bite and forced a smile to her face.“Ok, let’s do it.What do you need from me?”
Ria clapped her hands excitedly.“Excellent.So tell me a few more personal things about yourself so I can get a lock on who you are, and then we’ll get started.”She opened her notebook and started writing in cursive, her hand sweeping across the page in an elegantly flowing script.Was there anything about this woman that wasn’t perfect?
“Hmm…things about me…” What did Lissa even have going on besides her glassblowing?She couldn’t exactly bring that up if she wanted to hide who she really was.“Well, my full name is Alice Parker, but I go by Lissa because I’m not ninety.”
“I don’t know,” Ria said with a shy smile.“I think Alice is cute.Did you know Alice Parker was one of the few real witches in the Salem witch trials?”
Lissa was well aware there was no such thing as a real witch, but maybe Ria meant actual wiccan practitioners.“I didn’t know that.My family comes from the East Coast though.Maybe I’m an extremely distant relative.”
“Oh, she didn’t have any children,” Ria replied, setting down her pen and leaning forward eagerly.“At least none that were documented, though anything is possible.What the history books don’t mention is that even though she was married to a man, she was actually a lesbian.It’s a really tragic story.She and Mary Warren were deeply in love, but someone witnessed them sneaking out late at night to meet up together and told the entire town.To save herself, Mary accused Alice of bewitching her.Ultimately, Alice ended up hanging because of her lover’s betrayal.”
“Oof,” Lissa grunted.“Glad I’m not an ancestor then.I have bad enough luck with women.”
Focusing her entire attention on the page in front of her, Ria said quietly, “I can’t imagine why.You seem pretty wonderful so far.”
Lissa hid her grimace behind another chug of her latte.Ria wouldn’t be saying that if she knew the truth.
A strange quiet hung over them for a second before Ria popped her head up, pen poised and ready to write.“Okay, so tell me one more thing about you,” she pressed, the awkward moment fading into the background.
Lissa toyed with her lip piercing again.The nervous habit was likely wreaking havoc on her teeth, but that was a problem for future Lissa.“Umm…” She held up her cup.“I love oat milk lattes.”
Ria wrinkled her face, somehow making the disdainful expression look adorable, and Lissa laughed.“What?Not a coffee girl?”
“Not really,” Ria replied, shaking her head.“I tried it a few times in my early twenties but never acquired the taste.”
“Ah, but have you tried an oat milk vanilla latte before?”Lissa pushed the cup across the table.“You should try it.This is no mere coffee.This is the elixir of the gods.And as an elixir enchantress…” She nudged the coffee even closer.
Ria hesitated, then picked up the cup gingerly as if might bite her.“Okay, why not.”
She took such a small sip Lissa wondered if she even got more than a drop.Oat milk lattes were not made for sipping.They were made for taking big swigs so the caffeine could get to work faster.
“It’s—” Ria paused, lips pursed and evaluating.“—not bad.”
Lissa raised an eyebrow.“But you’re not exactly running inside to get your own, are you?”
Ria handed the cup back to Lissa.“Probably not.I think I’ll stick with tea.”
“It’s cool,” Lissa replied.“I didn’t hop on the coffee train until I was in my mid-twenties.”
Wiping her hands on a white pencil skirt and straightening her gray blouse, Ria sat up taller.“Okay, I think I have a picture of you in my mind to work with.Are you ready to find your destined love?”
Lissa forced as much faux excitement to her face as possible.She would play along if it made the witch happy to pretend magical powers were a real thing.“Sure, why not?”she said.“My love life can’t get any worse.”
Chapter Seven
Ria
ThepoundinginRia’schest could rival a jackhammer as she reviewed the spell in her notebook one last time.
