“I do.” She goes quiet, as if she’s thinking. “But now you’ve got to make it right. You’ve got to tell him, or better yet, cure him. If he finds out, if this blows up, it won’t just break him—it’ll blow up your life.”
I close my eyes. “Do you think I’m toast?”
“I hope not. But the one thing we need is that flower.”
I raise my head, stretching out my spine, and then I fall back against my chair. “And how do I do search for it?”
“See if you can find out anything about the woman who owned the spell book. Maybe she can shed some light on what the plant is.”
I’m pretty sure she’s dead. Why else would she have left all her things? But maybe one of my coworkers knows something—how I can track down her children, for instance. Maybe they can help.
“All right. I’ll see what I can dig up. But tell me, will you be at—”
“Yes, I’ll be at Sparkle Bar,” she says, sounding defeated.
Cristina might not agree with any of this, but she’s going along for the ride, and right now, I need to get out of the passenger seat and let someone else take the wheel—like her.
We hang up and I steel myself, preparing to find out everything I can about the woman who left the spell book. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll find the answers I need.
But what if this dead woman took the answers to the grave—and I just doomed us all?
Chapter 28
Coco
One step inside Sparkle Bar and the breath spills from my lungs. Fairy lights sprint across the ceiling, and elegant black cloths drape the tables. The entire place glows.
It no longer feels like the town’s dive bar. Now it shines like anupscalebar.
I turn to Stone, whose hand cradles my lower back. “Did you have something to do with this?”
Red dots his cheeks. “I may have asked the guys to spruce it up.”
“Congratulations!” Isaac, Ron, and his wife Jennifer shout, as well as other folks from town like Clarice, Cristina, and the ladies from book club.
They’re all here—all of them—for me. Forus. To celebrate our engagement.
I’m going to be sick.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Stone asks.
“Wine would be great.”
“Be right back.” He gives me a warm smile that melts my insides before heading off toward the bar.
There is so much to admire about Stone Maddox—his goodness, his kindness. Not to mention his strong shoulders and pecs. His body is drool-worthy evenwithclothes.
Not that I know what he looks likeunclothed. Stone keeps a T-shirt on when he putts around the cottage. But I can only imagine the smooth dips and mouthwatering valleys that sculpt his abs.
Pressure coils in my core just thinking about him.
Better stop daydreaming or else I’ll wind up in more trouble than I’m already in.
“Hey, girl.” I look over as Jennifer wraps me in a hug. “Congrats.”
“Thank you.”
She lifts a glass of wine. “I’d cheers with you, but you don’t have a drink yet.”
