“The man leaves a very pressing situation in Miami, spends forty minutes checking on Beau’s restaurant – one in which he’s invested heavily, mind you –and does not pass go until he’s wrapped around you for the rest of the night. I wouldn’t get too worried about this,” Luna said, holding up a finger to signal Beau.
“When you put it like that…” I said, a blush creeping up my cheeks.
“What did I miss?” Beau demanded.
“Thea’s convinced that Cash has given up on her,” Luna said sweetly.
“Thea,” Beau cocked his arm on his hip and glared at me. “We’ve discussed this. You’re beautiful. The man is besotted. If you’re going to have a hot man like that as your boyfriend, you’d better get used to him being busy. His world doesn’t just stop because you waltzed into the picture.”
“I don’t even know how to waltz,” I protested, smiling a bit when I saw Beau make me another stiff drink.
“You did a damn good impression of it when you danced around Trace’s eager arms and landed in Cash’s,” Luna said, looking up from her phone.
“Hey now,” I began, but Luna waved me off.
“Beau, can we get blackened tilapia for me, and chowder and a side salad for this one,” Luna said, jerking her thumb at me.
“Really?” Beau raised an eyebrow at me.
“Yes, really.” I shot Beau a glare. It wasn’t like this was the first time I’d ever ordered a salad.
“Being all lovesick must have gotten to your appetite,” Beau said, moving away to enter our orders on a computer screen.
“Remind me why we’re friends with him again?” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. I was getting even more annoyed with where this evening was going.
“Free booze. And he’s easy on the eyes,” Luna said.
It was true. If I hadn’t known that Beau was gay since, like, forever, I’d probably make a pass at him myself. His easygoing style struck a nice balance between high-end chic and casual surfer. It worked for him and – judging from the number of eyes, both male and female, tracking his movements in the bar tonight – it worked for a lot of other people too.
“Truth.” I smiled at the server as he brought me my cup of clam chowder. I briefly wondered if I should have gotten a bowl, as Lucky’s clam chowder was legendary. “So, one more time, run me through what we’re doing tonight?”
Luna leaned back in her chair, crossing lightly tanned legs as she fingered the pentagram necklace that hung between her breasts.
“I’m going to teach you to cast a circle of protection. You’ll generally want to use this when doing any sort of spellwork or rituals.”
“Or what? I’ll burn the town down or something?” I joked and took another swig from my drink.
Luna turned her blue eyes on me, her face serious.
“You could. Or you could summon bad energy. Or cause a spell to be visited upon you threefold. It’s nothing to play around with.”
“Then how come you let me do a spell without protection?” I asked, shoveling another spoonful of chowder into my mouth, not caring how hot the soup was.
“Because the breaking spell was a minor spell, and the intent was pure. Typically you’re fine doing small kitchen-type magick like that. But when you start to get into rituals and bigger spells…a circle is needed.”
“So what you’re saying is not to get too full of myself because essentially the only magick that I’ve actually performed is akin to producing a quarter from behind someone’s ear? Lovely, got it,” I said, grumpy at the thought that my magick wasn’t anything special.
Luna laughed softly and wrapped an arm around me to buzz a kiss on my cheek.
“Everyone starts somewhere, my friend. Think about the first time you had a tarot deck in your hand – it’s not like you could have actually given a solid reading. Magick isn’t like in the stories…you need to learn and build on your skills.”
“You know I never liked school, Luna,” I said, watching a grimace cross Beau’s face on the other side of the bar. A rush of anger hit me and I sat up, cutting Luna off with a wave of my hand. Scanning the room, my eyes landed on the source of the emotion. I cut off a curse as I looked into the eyes of a nemesis of mine.
Theodore Whittier. The town know-it-all.
And it seemed he had company.
Chapter Six
