Chick with a Charm (29 page)

“No kidding.” Lily gave him a smile filled with sadness. “She’s goal-oriented and I’m not. She’s organized and I’m not. She gets places on time and I don’t. She knows what she wants out of life and I don’t.”

He rubbed her upper arms. “I’ll bet you do know what you want, deep down.”

She looked at him for a long time without speaking. “Maybe. Maybe I do.”

“So what do you want out of life, Lily Revere?”

For a second there was a gleam of self-knowledge in those big brown eyes that he hadn’t seen before, and he thought she might open up and tell him. He suspected one of the things she wanted was a guy who adored her, a guy she adored in return. She’d sounded wistful when she’d mentioned that about Anica.

Then she shrugged. “It’s too early in the morning for this kind of discussion. And now we’re even later.” She drew away. “Let’s go in, Griffin.”

He sighed and opened the door for her. He understood her better now, but he didn’t know how to help her. Hell, he couldn’t guarantee he could help himself now that she’d created this magic spell that bound him to her.

Her reason for timing it the way she had was more obvious, too. With her sister getting married and her parents coming back from Peru, she’d wanted a guy around so she wouldn’t look quite so aimless in comparison.

Choosing that route was a screwup of major proportions. He knew he was sexually attracted to her because he’d wanted her even before she’d slipped him that potion. The only difference was that now he had less ability to resist her.

But could he ever love her? He wouldn’t know as long as he was under this spell. He had to get free of it, for both their sakes.

The bar took some getting used to. He’d never seen it like this, virtually empty under the glare of the overhead spots. The place looked a little shabby in that unforgiving light. The tables and chairs that had seemed rustic now simply looked battered and old. He’d never noticed that the wooden floor could use refinishing or that the wall around the dart board needed patching and painting.

Lily’s father, Lionel, was in the process of climbing a tall metal stepladder, holding a mirrored ball. Jasper was steadying the ladder and offering encouragement, while Simone and Anica moved chairs and tables back against the walls, probably to create a dance floor under the revolving ball.

Griffin thought Lionel and Jasper should have traded jobs. The weight of the ball was throwing Lionel off balance.

“He’s going to drop that thing.” Lily started forward.

Griffin moved faster and was almost under the ball when Lionel and the ball toppled sideways, pulling the ladder with them even though Jasper tried manfully to hold on to it. As everyone in the room started yelling, Griffin had a choice as to whether to try for the ball or Lionel. He chose Lionel.

As the ball crashed to the floor beside them, Griffin did his best to control Lionel’s fall, but the guy still took Griffin down and knocked the breath from his lungs. Everyone else pressed closer, trying to help while they cried out in alarm.

Griffin picked out Jasper’s voice right away because he was cussing while everyone else was yelling. Jasper was saying things like
God damn it
and
shit
, but those weren’t the words everyone else used. Indeed, Griffin noticed the women were saying things like
Zeus’s balls
and
Apollo’s ass.

Come to think of it, Lily had used a phrase like that once or twice, and he’d thought it was something she’d heard on TV. Apparently witches and wizards swore differently, too.

Lily crouched next to him and touched his face. “Are you okay?”

“Breath knocked out.” He sounded about ninety years old. “How’s your dad?”

“I’m good, thanks to you breaking my fall.” Lionel held out a hand. “Let’s get you up and make sure you’re still in one piece.”

Griffin took Lionel’s hand and felt a sudden jolt, as if he’d touched a live wire. And then, miraculously, he could breathe easily again. Once he was on his feet, he held Lionel’s gaze, so like Lily’s. “Did you just do something?”

The man’s eyes didn’t even flicker. “I helped you up.”

“I know, but I felt . . . like, an electrical charge.”

Lionel regarded him steadily. “There are some people who say I have a touch of the healer in me. Maybe it’s true.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Griffin looked over at Lily, who was watching the exchange with a worried expression. No wonder she hadn’t wanted to bring him to this little decorating party. Some of those secrets they were keeping from each other might leak out.

Simone touched his shoulder. “I’m
so
sorry, Griffin. Are you truly all right?”

“I’m fine.” Griffin walked around a little and shook out his hands. “But I can’t say the same for that mirrored ball.”

“I’m about to take care of that.” Anica came over with a plastic garbage pail that held a long-handled dustpan and a broom.

Griffin picked up the dustpan as she began sweeping the glass. “I’ll help.”

“Then I’ll go work on tablecloths,” Lily said.

Anica smiled at Griffin as she started to sweep. “Thanks for coming down today. I’ll bet you didn’t expect things to get so exciting.”

“I’m just sorry the mirrored ball is history. It would have been a fun thing to have tonight.”

“We might still be able to do it.”

“Not with this one.”
Unless you use magic to fix it
. Griffin was surprised at himself for even thinking such a thing. Was he getting used to this weird situation?

But the proof of magic was all around him. He’d definitely been given a potion, and he’d been able to modify the effects using salt and the jet in his pocket. That didn’t make him magic, but it meant he was accepting possibilities he’d never have believed before.

After the fall he’d experienced what he thought could have been a magical healing touch from Lionel. No telling what sort of sprain or dislocation he might have suffered without the jolt he’d felt coming from Lionel. Now he wanted to talk to Jasper and find out how much he knew.

Creating that opportunity might be tricky, but he would give it his best shot. Thinking of Jasper made him wonder about the other man’s parents. Were they in on the magic secret?

He decided to go on a fishing expedition with Anica. After dumping a load of glass into the garbage pail, he turned back for another load. “I guess Jasper’s folks didn’t come down to help.”

“No.” Anica kept sweeping. “They both seem to be plagued with allergies, so between pollen blowing around and the dust we knew we’d stir up with this project, we convinced them to spend the day relaxing at the Art Institute of Chicago.”

“That sounds like a good plan. So you’d never met them before this?”

“Sure hadn’t.” Anica said it brightly, a little too brightly.

Griffin laughed. “I detect some reservations about your future in-laws.”

“Oh, they’re okay. Just not . . .”

Griffin filled in the blank with no problem.
Not magic.
But then, neither was Jasper, and she was obviously head over heels in love with him. “You mean they’re not like your folks?” he asked.

“Nobody could be like my folks. I knew Jasper’s parents were on the conservative side, but—” She paused to glance around. “I hope they’ll have a good time tonight.”

“I guess Lily’s going to do some magic tricks.”

Anica stopped sweeping to gaze at him. “Yes, she is. Lily’s very talented with magic.”

“So I hear.”

Anica leaned on the broom. “She’s very creative, too, much more so than I am. Lily has style coming out her ears.”

“I agree.” Griffin paused. “But mostly she wants to be like you.”

Anica blew out a breath. “I wish she’d stop thinking like that. Lily needs to be the best Lily she can be, which means wearing outrageous clothes, decorating with lots of color and expressing herself with an interesting job.” She gestured toward the bar. “Like this. I don’t think I ever appreciated before that she’s great at bartending. She has a gift.”

Griffin nodded. He hadn’t been so good at recognizing that, either, he realized. He’d been somewhat of a job snob, to be honest. Shame on him.

“Devon doesn’t give her enough leeway,” Anica said.

“She could create signature drinks for this bar, and she offered to do that when she first was hired, but he has zero imagination and thinks everyone just wants the same ol’, same ol’. Either that or he’s afraid she’ll get too good and someone else will hire her away from him.”

“Signature drinks sounds like a great idea. She does so well with the basics that she should try branching out.”

“Absolutely.” Anica started sweeping again.

Griffin put the dustpan back in position, but he couldn’t resist one last comment. “I’ll tell you this: Lily makes a hell of a Harvey Wallbanger.”

Anica glanced up and he could tell from her expression that she knew exactly what he was talking about. Like her father, she didn’t allow her gaze to flicker even a little. “I’ll bet she does.”

After that, as if by mutual agreement, they moved away from the subject of Lily and onto more neutral ground. They talked about their jobs, and Griffin could tell how much alike he and Anica were. She’d invested time and money in her coffee shop, Wicked Brew, with the same sense of dedication he’d brought to his law practice.

“There was a time not long ago when I thought I might lose the coffee shop,” Anica said. “It wasn’t a fun moment, knowing all I’d worked for was at risk because of an impulsive move on my part.” She swept the last of the broken glass into the dustpan. “But I can’t regret that impulse, because I ended up with Jasper.”

“Did I hear my name?” Jasper came over and wrapped his arm around Anica’s shoulders. “I hope you were telling Griffin what a prince I am.”

“I hadn’t gotten to that part yet.”

“Damn. I showed up too soon.” Jasper smiled at Griffin. “I have a confession to make. You remember that night several weeks ago, when Anica and I came over and crashed your table?”

Griffin remembered it well. “You said we’d met at the gym, but I couldn’t place you.”

“That’s because I made up that story. I was on a reconnaissance mission for Lily, to find out more about you. You know, doing my good deed for the future sis-in-law.”

Anica poked him in the side. “You didn’t even know she’d be your sister-in-law at that point.”

“Yeah, I did.” Jasper beamed at her. “In my heart of hearts.” He turned his attention back to Griffin. “That’s been bugging me, knowing I fibbed a little bit, but it looks like it worked out okay.”

“It’s worked out.” Griffin wasn’t quite ready to put the
okay
label on it. But he was now convinced Jasper knew nothing about the potion. He was being too open and friendly to be concealing that kind of information.

Griffin had been hatching a plan while he worked with Anica, and with Jasper standing right there, it could be put in motion. “Listen, now that Anica and I have this glass under control, I was thinking we probably need some signage out front, to direct people to the right place. That freestanding blackboard they usually put out announcing drink specials would work, but I could use a hand getting it out there.”

“Absolutely. Great idea. Just so you’re not expecting me to do the lettering. I suck at that.”

“Let’s just get it out there and then worry about the lettering.” Griffin wanted to jump on his idea right away, before something came up to interrupt what he thought was a brilliant plan. Without the jet in his pocket to subdue his obsession with Lily, he might never have thought of it. He owed Kevin a drink, probably several drinks.

“I’ll get the blackboard,” Griffin said, “if you’ll hold the door and then come on out and help me decide the best place to put it.”

“I like a man with a plan.” Jasper walked ahead of him and positioned himself by the door.

Griffin hoisted the blackboard, which was more bulky than heavy, and carried it out the door Jasper opened for him. In seconds they were both on the sidewalk with the heavy bar door closed behind them.

The sun was bright and almost directly overhead. Griffin squinted a little as he looked at Jasper. “Now I have a confession to make. I didn’t ask for help with the blackboard because I was focused on the need for signage.”

Jasper leaned against the brick building, arms folded. “I didn’t think you did.”

“The Revere family is . . . unusual.”

“Yep.”

“This isn’t easy to admit, but I’m not sure how to deal with . . . a woman like Lily.” He waited, wondering if he’d have to be more specific. He’d rather not get into details in case for some weird reason Jasper was still in the dark.

“Then you’re aware that she has special abilities.”

Griffin’s shoulders sagged with relief. “Yes. But she doesn’t know I know. Or rather, I think she knows I know, but she’s not willing to admit to me that she knows that I know.” He peered at Jasper. “Does that make any sense, because listening to myself, it makes no sense whatsoever.”

Jasper laughed. “And you’re a lawyer who’s used to that kind of wording. But yeah, I get it. Lily’s not ready to reveal her magical status, because then the two of you have to talk about it, and she doesn’t want to rock the boat right now, with her folks in town and the party tonight.”

“Exactly. Plus there’s . . . there’s something else, but I’d rather not go into that.”

Jasper held up both hands. “Hey, I have several things I’m not prepared to go into involving Anica. This is a complicated world you’ve stumbled into, buddy. I remember how lost I felt. Still feel lost sometimes. Incidentally, my folks know
nothing
, and that’s how I want it. They would freak.”

Griffin nodded. “So I gathered. That whole allergy ploy sounded bogus.”

“Oh, they have allergies, all right. Thank God. It was the perfect excuse not to have them come down here today. The less time they spend in the Bubbling Cauldron, the better. Anyway, this isn’t about me.”