“Ohmigod. Your friend discloses private information about the patients at the women’s clinic?”
“Oh, no. It’s not like that.” Jackson shook his head. “He never mentioned any names. He was just telling me this story about a woman who lost her shit after she was diagnosed. She was going on and on about how her fiancé was going to kill her when he found out she’d been with someone else even though he was a cheater himself. Let’s just say my hookup gave enough details that it wasn’t hard to work it out since I know both of you.”
“Your hookup? Did you meet this guy on Grindr?” Grace asked. She couldn’t resist needling him. He was the one who’d mentioned the guy was a hookup after all.
“Um, yeah. But don’t worry! I’m safe. No need to lecture me,” he insisted.
“I wasn’t going to,” she said with a laugh. “Although, if you meet up with him again, tell him to keep his trap shut about the patients at the clinic. This town is too small for people to not make connections.”
“Oh. Yeah. I won’t be seeing him again.” Jackson’s expression turned dark. “Dude turned out to be a jackass. I should’ve known when he was going on and on about Shondra. But since she did you dirty, I couldn’t resist the gossip.”
Grace had to admit she was damn near giddy with the information he’d just supplied. Genital warts. She wanted to laugh, but then she distinctly remembered wishing that Shondra would contract the virus and instantly felt terrible. Had she actually cursed the woman by accident? It wasn’t unheard of for thoughts to turn into actual hexes, but until Nina ended up with acne, she’d never thought it had happen to her before.
“You’re a good friend, Jackson,” she said, patting his hand. “Thanks for that juicy tidbit. You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear Shondra can’t keep it in her pants. It’s no less than Bill deserves. But now you need to lock it in the vault. Got it?”
“Got it.” He flashed his brilliant smile at her and slipped out of the booth. “Tell Lex to call me back or else I’m going to crawl through her bedroom window, climb into her bed, and steal all the covers.”
Chuckling, Grace promised to relay his message. “She’s had a lot on her plate lately.”
Jackson snorted. “I’m sure. And her name is Bronwyn.” Wiggling his fingers at her, Jackson hurried over to the kitchen area and tied an apron around his waist.
“He’s colorful,” Lucas said, still eyeing the recent college graduate. “I like him.”
“He’s a good kid,” Grace agreed.
“What is it he does besides working here?”
“Graphic design artist. Freelance,” Grace said, but her mind was on Shondra and the idea that she might have cursed the woman. If she was responsible for the warts, she had to do something about it. There was only one way to find out. She had to offer the woman a counter curse in the form of a potion. She just had to figure out how to get Shondra to drink it without admitting she might’ve been responsible for her predicament. Because there was no way Grace would ever admit to hexing the woman who slept with her husband.
Chapter Twenty
Saturday evening with Joy and Hope passed quickly. They’d come over as planned, however Joy hadn’t been able to do the research she’d promised when she got roped into helping her daughter with an issue at work. Instead, they drank too much wine and laughed too hard when Grace described Isobel’s ghost-hunting tactics. By the time they’d left for the night, Grace’s heart was full of friendship, but also guilt. Keeping the news of Lucas from them was pure torture. But she’d made a promise, and she intended to keep it.
Grace spent all day on Sunday showing Lucas available houses in Premonition Pointe. There were at least two he seemed interested in but not enough to make an offer. By the time she pulled into the parking lot of Crabby’s, the seaside restaurant that specialized in serving steamed shellfish, she was nearly starving.
“My treat. Let’s eat before I pass out,” Grace said, pushing her SUV door open.
“Um, Grace,” Lucas said, grabbing her wrist to stop her. “Hope is over there.”
Grace twisted around so fast she wrenched her back, sending a shooting pain straight down her leg. “Ouch!” she cried and pressed one hand to her lower back, trying to support herself enough that she could minimize the