Witching For Hope - Deanna Chase Page 0,1

out of a shampoo commercial.”

Grace just shook her head and chuckled. “This isn’t the end of the world. It’s not like you gave yourself a bad case of acne or accidentally hexed someone with genital warts like I did when my magic was out of control. This is just a haircut. Come on, stand up. Let’s see what we can do.”

“Why not?” Hope said, getting to her feet. “It’s not like it can get worse, right?”

“You probably just jinxed yourself,” Joy said, pulling three pillar candles out of her bag of tricks.

“Nah. I trust you two.” Hope stood and held her hands out to the side as her two coven sisters did the same.

Maybe while we’re at it we should spell Paul with an erection so that I can finally get laid.

“What?” Hope stared at Joy. She could’ve sworn her tall, willowy friend had just said she wanted to spell her husband, except her lips hadn’t moved.

“Huh?” Joy asked, her eyebrows pinching together. “I didn’t say anything.”

“I thought you just said you wanted to spell Paul so that you… um, could get some action,” Hope blurted and then laughed as her friend’s eyes went wide under the moonlight.

“I… um, I didn’t say that,” Joy stammered, her expression bordering on horrified.

Grace let out a bark of laughter. “I can’t imagine Joy saying that, but it’s not a bad idea. I mean, at this point, it couldn’t hurt, right?”

“So you didn’t hear her say anything?” Hope asked Grace, wondering if she was losing her mind.

“Nope. But what do you say, Joy? Should we give it a try?” Grace asked with a sly grin.

“I don’t… uh, wouldn’t that be wrong?” Joy glanced away from her friends, but then quickly focused on both of them again. “But really, what’s the worst that could happen? He gets an erection? That’s not really a bad thing, is it?”

“I’d say it’s a really good thing,” Grace said. “Come on. Let’s fix Hope’s hair, then give you something to work with later.” She winked at Joy. Maybe Owen should take Paul to the adult toy store and introduce him to that flavored lube he found or something more exciting like nipple clamps. Something to jolt him out of his sex drought.

Hope gaped at Grace.

“Oh, come on. I’m not suggesting we alter his anatomy. Just put a little juice in his tank,” Grace said, sounding exasperated.

“Nipple clamps?” Hope asked.

Grace stared at her for a long moment, and then she pursed her lips and asked, “Hope, are you reading minds now?”

“Wait a minute,” Joy cut in. “You’re reading our minds?” She clasped a hand over her mouth and gasped. “You are reading our minds. What the hell, Hope? How long has this been going on and why didn’t you say anything?”

“I…” Hope shook her head. “I have no idea what is happening.” She peered at Grace. “You did just think that Owen should take Paul to the adult toy store, right?”

Grace nodded. “I sure did.”

“Something about flavored lube and nipple clamps?”

“Yep.”

“Oh, goddess. How do I stop this? I don’t want your dirty thoughts in my mind,” Hope said, sinking back down onto the log she’d been sitting on earlier. “This could be a nightmare. How? Why? I’ve never heard anyone’s thoughts before. Is it some sort of full moon thing? Did someone curse me?”

“Whoa. Calm down.” Grace moved to sit next to her, putting an arm around Hope’s shoulders. “You’ve never heard thoughts before?”

“No. Have you?”

Grace shook her head. “Nope. But I’d never cursed anyone with acne or genital warts until last month either. Did you know I accidentally made Bill’s pants split right down the middle a couple of days ago?”

“You’re joking,” Joy said, her eyes wide.

“Nope. I ran into him at a house showing, and he tried to take credit for all of my success. All I could think about was that he was showing his ass… again. And the next thing I knew there was a loud split. The best part? He was going commando.” She sputtered with laughter and wiped at her eyes as she gasped in a breath. “His client made a quick retreat, leaving mine as the only bidder on the house, instead of the bidding war we’d anticipated. She got a great deal.”

“Is that ethical?” Joy asked. “Cursing the competition to get a better deal for your client?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Grace insisted. “It just… happened. That’s the point. Hope isn’t listening to our thoughts on purpose either. The question is,