“Just something about you. You seem very… on top of things. You’re a good communicator. I bet you deal with scope creep and budgets with a firm hand.”
I purse my lips. “I try. You have to keep clients happy though.”
“I bet you’re good at that too.”
“All this praise is going to my head,” I say dryly.
She laughs. “It can be a frustrating job too.”
“Oh yeah. Clients who have unrealistic expectations…”
“Yes! Holding everyone accountable….” She nods.
Somehow we get off on a tangent. I could talk about work forever, and Romy’s both interested and interesting, sharing her own experiences.
“Okay, back to studying,” I eventually say.
“Right.” She lifts her chin.
“Who knew your tech knowledge would help you be a witch?”
Her smile beams. “I like it.”
“Setting goals.” I refocus.
“That’s solving big problems. Like, what if I just want to conjure up some scrambled eggs?”
I can’t help it. I laugh out loud. “We’ll start with small things like that, but the process is the same. Over time, you’ll just know what to do.”
“If you say so.”
“The next step is to make your plan.”
She nods confidently.
“That’s what you use your grimoire for.”
“All right here.” She taps the iPad.
“If you’re not sure what to do, you can talk to experienced witches. You can also do research. There are lots of books.” I pull out a piece of paper. “This is a list of resources you can use.”
She studies the titles of the books and names of the authors. “Where can I get these? Amazon?”
“Possibly. The library has them. Felise and Magan sell some books in their shop. Or you can borrow from us.”
“Okay.”
“There may be materials and symbols you’ll need.”
“Such as…?”
“Incense. Music. Chants. Herbs. Stones. You need to know what will power the spell. For something big, it may mean combining multiple sources. The energy can be stored, either in your own body or in potions or amulets or talismans. But most of the energy will need to be channeled through your body, because your body is your only interface between the physical and nonphysical worlds.”
“You’re losing me again,” she mutters. She picks up her drink and gulps some Coke.
“That’s okay. It’ll all make sense. Maybe that’s enough for today.” I need to get out of here before I put my hands on her. I’ve been restraining myself all afternoon.
“It’s only… four thirty.” She checks her iPad. “We could do more.”
“I don’t want to overwhelm you.” I toss back the rest of my drink. “I better go. I’ll tell you what to read for next time.”
“Oh. You’re leaving?”
“Yeah.” I don’t look at her as I write down some tasks for her.
“Maybe we could… have dinner?”
I go still. Shit. I would love nothing more than to stay and explore her unique mind and stare at her sexy mouth. But that can’t happen. We’re going to have to deal with this. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” The words come out tersely from my locked jaw. I look up and make myself meet her eyes. “I know there’s an attraction between us. But given this situation, I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to be involved… that way.”
“Oh, I know that!” She laughs lightly. “I already figured that out. It was just dinner.”
“Oh.” Damn. “Okay. Well, work on this. How about we get together next Saturday again?”
“Sounds great.” She smiles. “Thank you so much for doing this.”
I stand and she follows me to her door. “See you next weekend.”
“Sure! Have a great week.”
As I leave her building and walk to my car, disappointment settles in my gut like a rock. I would love to have dinner with her. And more. I finally met a woman I’m really interested in, for more than just smashing and dashing. And she’s off-limits.
She didn’t just do okay today. She did phenomenal. Excitement fizzes in my veins. This is going to be interesting.
Aw, shit. I spent the whole afternoon talking about magic—and I fucking loved it.
12
Romy
I did okay. Fine, Trace said.
That’s not good enough. I have to be perfect. I can hear my mother urging me to work harder. Study more. Go for the A+. Except, if she knew I was working on magic, she’d be horrified. No. She wouldn’t even believe it.
Trace is obviously smart. Knowledgeable. He’s good at explaining things. But I’m totally out of my depth. I can’t stop asking smart-ass questions to cover up how dumb I feel.
I stop on the sidewalk in front of the Charming Chalice. It’s tiny,