I read the selections and scowl. “Never mind.”
“How’s work?”
I rub my forehead. “Ugh.”
“That bad?”
“No. Business is good.”
“Uh-huh.” He eyes me. “Who shat in your shreddies this morning?”
I roll my eyes. “Nobody.”
“Then why the grumpy face if business is good?”
“Joe offered Romy a job.”
“What?” His eyebrows climb to his hairline. “Really?”
“Yeah. Doing website and computer stuff. She likes that shit.”
“Wow. But… why is that making you salty?”
I look down at the table and study the wood grain. It’s oak. “I don’t know.”
“Yeah, you do.” He lifts his hand in a beckoning gesture. “Spill it.”
“I’m fuckstrated.”
Garrett laughs. “Not getting any?”
“Oh yeah. Getting lots. And it’s amazing. I think I need to end it.”
“Oh shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Because I always do,” I say impatiently. “Better sooner than later.”
“Huh.” He falls silent, tapping his chin.
“What?”
“I’m trying to see things from your point of view. But I can’t get my head that far up my ass.”
I bark out a laugh.
Garrett’s lips twitch. “Seriously. Why do you always do that? That’s the question.”
“I’m not worth it,” I say roughly. “And even more so now. The Board of Elders is pissed at me for what happened with Romy. Ziggy even threatened to strip me of my powers. Fuck.” I shake my head. “So much for ever being able to bring my folks back.”
He narrows his eyes. “So you are still on that.”
I sigh. “I still think about it, yeah.”
“Man. You need to move on.”
“I have. Mostly.”
“So what does that have to do with Romy?”
“As if I wasn’t a big enough loser before, now I’m on the outs with the elders. Fuck.”
“They’re not going to strip you of your powers. That’s ridiculous.”
“I think so, but you never know.”
“Do you care about Romy?”
I clench my teeth. “Sure.”
“Does she care about you?”
“I think so. I’m afraid she’s going to get hurt.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” Frowning, I look at him across the table.
“Are you afraid you’re going to get hurt?”
My chin jerks down. I don’t get hurt. I’m always the one who ends things. “I can’t stop thinking about her,” I confess, dropping my gaze again.
“But you want to end things.” He picks up his cell phone and holds it in the air. “Balls just called, they’d like to know if you’d like a pair.”
I scowl at him.
“Come on, dude. Why would you do that if things are going well? For once in your life, give things a chance.” He lifts one shoulder. “I can tell you this—you’ve been a lot happier since she came along.”
I frown.
“Maybe it won’t work out with her,” he adds. “But… maybe it will. Maybe it’ll be the best thing that ever happened to you.”
“I thought you’d give me some advice about spells that could break things off gently.”
He barks out a laugh. “I could. If you wanted that, you’d figure that out on your own. Come on, pull your head out of your ass. The view might surprise you.”
ROMY
The past two weeks have been eventful. I gave my notice at Pinnacle. Friday, all my coworkers took me out for dinner and said nice things about me. Yesterday I started work at Dream Homes. Trace and I have spent less time together than usual, and I’m getting anxious about it.
Today is my second meeting with the Board of Elders. And I’m even more nervous than I was for the first one because of what’s going to happen.
Felise, Magan, and I haven’t said anything to anyone else in the family about our plan. Not even Trace. And I’m freaking out about how this is going to go. This is my family, and I’m really growing to love them all. I feel like I’m risking everything by doing this. I’ve thought I should just keep a low profile, go with the flow, study hard. But I’ve started something that I can’t back out of now, and deep inside I do feel that sense of injustice that angers me so much.
If I fail, the board will probably have some kind of a party to tell the coven they told them so and I’ll be an outcast and Joe and Cassie will disown me and Trace will reject me and I’ll be forced to panhandle for change on the streets because I don’t have a job.
Okay. Deep breath. Let’s not catastrophize, Romy.
I arrive at the Sears Tower about fifteen minutes before my meeting. The lobby is buzzing with all the women gathered there. I spot Magan and head toward her, wiping my palms on my skirt.
“Hi! You look amazing.”
I glance down at