“Yep. Rota is going to marry us, and you all have become so special to me that I want you all standing up there on my big day.”
“Yes!” they cried simultaneously.
“Good.” I took a drink and pushed down the lump in my throat. “No talking dresses for another day or two, at least.”
The others all laughed and grabbed more food off the platters. We spent the next hour laughing and eating and drinking. When we were finally full and our chatter was winding down, I announced it was time for the gift exchange.
“Ashlyn,” I said. “Why don’t you go first?”
Ashlyn squealed and jumped up from her seated position. She grabbed the bags she’d brought and handed them out. “I took my favorite culinary finds over the years and made a cookbook for you guys. I hope you love it.”
I held up the handmade journal, and tears filled my eyes. “This is great.” I flipped the journal open and scanned some of the recipes. “Elderberry-Honey Crepes. That sounds divine.”
We thanked her, and I told her to pick someone to go next. She chose Crystal. One by one, we each took turns handing out our gift bags. I was excited to taste the elderberry jam Lily made us, and I had to hold myself back from digging into the box of chocolates Crystal had given me from Fairy-Kissed Confections, a chocolate store I’d seen inside the lobby of Supernatural Sport Resort but never visited.
“I have some news,” Bettina suddenly said when all the gifts had been exchanged. “I was in Wickedly Good Chocolates talking to Roland Larder, and guess who came in?”
Roland Larder was a local chocolatier who had once been suspected of killing two people. We’d been able to clear his name, and I always felt weird going into his store, but he didn’t hold a grudge and was always polite to me.
Zahara and I spoke at the same time. “Who came in?”
“Hunter Quinn.” Bettina took a slow sip of wine. “I hear he and Mari are having marital problems.”
“No!” Zahara gasped.
Ashlyn looked confused. “Who is Hunter Quinn and why is this news?”
“Hunter is married to Mari Quinn,” Zahara explained. “Mari used to come to our coven meetings, but she stopped about two years ago. Said she was too busy with her career. It always felt like a flimsy excuse.”
“What does she do?” Crystal asked.
“Paranormal romance writer,” Bettina said.
I snorted and lifted my glass. “That hits close to home.”
Bettina laughed. “We carry a couple of her books in the store. She’s actually an amazing writer.”
“She and her husband have a daughter,” Zahara added. “A sweet girl.”
“A cheerleader, right?” I asked.
Bettina and Zahara both stared at me.
“How did you know that?” Bettina asked.
I took another sip of wine and told them about the back-alley conversation I’d overheard earlier that day between Rayna, Mari, and Eliza.
“What about good news?” Crystal asked, popping another caramel-nut date into her mouth. “It’s Valentine’s Day. Any rumors about upcoming weddings?”
“Besides Kara and Zane’s, of course,” Ashlyn teased.
The conversation steered toward the upcoming spring festival. It wasn’t long before Link flew down the chimney, checking to see if Lily was ready to go and if she needed help carrying the gifts back to their tree stump.
“We need to go as well,” Bettina said. “We’re having a sale on romance novels for Valentine’s Day tomorrow, so it should be a busy day.”
I waved away their offers to clean up, and one by one, everyone left until it was just Crystal and me standing in the kitchen, cleaning up. Savage used his paw and knocked on the sliding door, and I went to let him in.
“Mosley says hi,”Savage said as he headed toward my bedroom.”And congratulations. He somehow heard about your upcoming funeral—I mean wedding.”
