Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
I can’t help but bust out laughing at that, and I see the humor in his eyes, as well. “There is absolutely nothing normal about you and me, Xander.”
“Maybe not, but we can pretend. Come on, give a weary traveler a ride.”
It’ll mean being close to him, and with the dream still fresh in my mind, I want to say, “Absolutely not.”
But I’ve also been making a concentrated effort to be a little nicer to Xander since everything went down on Beltane.
If we don’t work together, we will fail.
And that’s not an option for us.
“Yeah, okay. Let me grab my purse, and you can hitch a ride with me.”
“Marriage looks good on you.” I lean in and hug my sweet cousin, Breena, and then offer her new husband, Giles, a kiss on the cheek. There’s a lot of sexual energy humming around them. Their auras are even bright red. “Have you had a good honeymoon?”
“The best.” Breena beams. “It was so nice to take the week to be together, but now it’s time to get back down to business. Tomorrow is the start of October, meaning we only have one month to get our act together.”
“I think our act is pretty well together,” Lucy, my other cousin, says as she sets a pan of bread on the table. She grins at her husband, Jonas, as he rubs his hand in a big circle over her back.
I can’t believe both of my cousins, who are as close to me as sisters, got married in less than a year.
It’s mind-boggling, actually.
Especially considering that Jonas was born in the middle of the seventeenth century and lives in an invisible village stuck in the year 1692.
But I guess what they say is true: If it’s meant to be, it’ll find a way.
Or something like that.
“You’re pretty quiet,” Giles says to me with a kind smile. “What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. I napped this afternoon, and you know how you take a nap, and then when you wake up, you’re not sure what year it is, let alone the day or time?”
“I hate when that happens,” Breena says.
“Yeah, well, I guess I’m still clearing away the cobwebs. Lucy, what can I do to help?”
“Everything is done,” she says, gesturing for us all to sit at her gorgeous table. “I know we need to get to work, but I thought it would be nice if we had a good meal first.”
“I’m not complaining,” Xander says and loads up his plate. The man has always had a bottomless stomach. He will eat anything and everything in sight. And then have dessert.
Twice.
Once upon a time, the dessert was me.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Stop it.
“How’s the tapestry coming along, Breena?”
Grateful for Xander’s question and something else for me to think about, I look over at my cousin and feel something resembling concern settle in my stomach.
“It’s going, but part of it got wet last night. I’m worried that the colors will run.” She shakes her head mournfully. “I might have to unravel that piece and redo it. Which I can totally do. It just means more time.”
“How did it get wet?” I ask her.
“That’s the kicker,” Giles jumps in. “We don’t know. There wasn’t a leak in the ceiling, and nothing spilled.”
It’s him.
The voice is as clear as anyone else’s in my ear, and I glance around to see who’s here with us. Lucy’s mom, Agatha, is always near, but it wasn’t her voice that I heard.
I don’t see anyone else, so I turn my attention back to those around the table.
“What do you need from us?” I ask. “Will we have to find more wool?”
“Maybe. I’ll get some, just to be on the safe side.”
“Lorelei and I can dye it,” Lucy offers.
“Absolutely,” I agree. “And I’ve collected some more embellishments and put some spells on them for you to add, as well.”
“Thanks,” Breena says with a smile. “Between all of us, we’ll get this figured out. I know Samhain is just a month away, but I have a really good feeling about this.”
I watch Jonas sit back in his chair and smile at Breena in that sweet way he does. I know he’s completely in love with Lucy and totally dedicated to her, but he has such a soft spot for Breena. It’s really sweet when they’re together. Almost as if they’re siblings or something.
“I will admit,” Breena continues, “the scene on the tapestry is different than I expected.”
“How so?” Xander asks.
“Well, I went into Hallows End with Jonas so I could see it for myself and weave the scene onto the tapestry. But the image that’s showing up is completely foreign to me. It could be that when it’s all finished, with all the embellishments and everything, it’ll come into focus for me. But I’ve just been letting my instincts take over.”