“Speaking of, don’t you have a little shop?” Aurora asked, pulling out her phone, tapping and swiping at it a few times. “I could have sworn I already followed it, but I haven’t seen any updates in a while.”
“Oh! What kind of shop?” Jade piped in, grabbing her phone as well. “I’d love to place an order.”
Ivy reached into her bra, where she’d apparently stored hers. “Me too!”
I couldn’t imagine fitting a phone alongside my milk makers, no matter how stretchy my nursing bra was.
It felt as if all eyes were on me, and my hands became clammy, sweat beading my brow. I was pretty sure when I took Aspen out of his ring sling later I’d have damp prints from where the fabric cradled him against me.
“It’s a romance and lingerie shop.” I gave a small smile, gulping back my nerves. “Full Moon Emporium.”
“Following,” a few witches shouted.
Jade beamed. “Same!”
My chest heated, insecurity boiling me from the inside out as the witches shouted that they were now following along. “Hopefully I’ll be getting the shop up and running here soon.”
“Oh really?” Aurora asked, seemingly not convinced I’d be doing that. “How exciting.”
She somehow had a way of saying things that scraped you down to nothing, all with a brilliant smile on her face. The worst part was that it was as if no one else could sense it but me.
But maybe it was in my head, my insecurity running away with me. She could just be trying to be nice?
Why did I instantly think the worst?
“Yeah. Adjusting to motherhood and then moving delayed things a bit, but I think I’ll start putting together some elixirs and enchanted goodies soon.”
“Is it true you model the lingerie yourself?” Jade asked, a mischievous smile playing at her lips.
“Oh really, Wicked?”Lynx’s voice made me jerk, not expecting him to still be listening in.“Pulling up the website now.”
I figured he’d already started checking out the empty houses while the guys were hanging at Forest Delta’s to watch the supernatural football finals taking place in Romania.
“Can you stay focused? We’re working.”Saros’s stern voice rang out in the background, followed by a muffled,“Damn, that’s Midnight?”
“Yes, it’s true. I model them.” A different sort of heat spread through me, but I tried to keep a straight face, playing off any blushing from the guys’ commentary. I’d taken such pride in showing the sexy silks, satins, leather, and lace on a real body.
Mine.
My body was still just as real. Yes, it was different than before, but why did the idea of doing what I’d advocated for and shouted from the rooftops months ago terrify me more than anything now?
“Hell yes,” Jade said, holding her hand up for a high five.
Ivy’s eyes kept going from her phone back up to me. “You look incredible.”
“I could never.” Heather grimaced, looking down at herself with a frown. She was overdue by almost two weeks with her sixth baby. All of them moon-blessed, meaning they’d been conceived on the full moon, like most of the coven’s children.
“You totally could. You’re stunning,” I reminded her. Every witch here was. Something I apparently needed to remind myself too. “Once I get up and running, I’d love to have you witches model some of the new stock. You all would make incredible models for the line. Hopefully Hazel will be back by then. She’s a great photographer.”
Hopefully tonight would get us more answers as to where she was.
Heather’s eyes went wide, aglitter with excitement. “Really?”
“Look at you go, Wicked. Does that mean there’s a private fashion show coming? Maybe for the full moon.”Lynx’s voice melted into my ear, the last word gasped out, and I guessed Saros had smacked him. The prospect of full moon activities perked me and my Desire right up.
“Yes,” I said confidently, answering both my secret and in-person questions.
I couldn’t hear what came through the line next because everyone was talking over each other, giving ideas or volunteering themselves to be models. For the first time since I had opened the shop seven years ago, I felt that fire and excitement that had made me want to create it in the first place. It was like a thread had been strung to a part of myself I’d let float away when I’d let the politics and limelight in Salem overtake me and then even more so when I’d been focused on my pregnancy and being in postpartum survival mode.
