Buttercup (Spell Library #10) - Helen Scott Page 0,7

wanted to get together, who was I to say no?

"Okay," I replied with a firm nod. "Girls' night it is."

"Really?" Iris asked, the shock on her face almost comical.

"Yep. Here's your order. I'll follow you out and flip the closed sign. Then I'm going to go eat some macarons and maybe a slice of cheesecake." I grinned as I pushed her box toward her.

"I'll text the girls and get everything set up." She practically danced out of the door with excitement.

True to my word, I followed her out and flipped the closed sign before snagging some of the macarons I'd made that morning and heading upstairs. The couch was calling my name, and it would feel so good to just...be, without any expectations or worries weighing me down. Sometimes Iris was a genius.

I took my plate of macarons—raspberry and lemon, which were some of my favorite—and set them down before grabbing some sparkling water, because I'm fancy like that, and the book. If Iris was going to organize a girls' night to cheer me up then the least I could do was read the book she'd recommended, and provided me with.

It was sitting on the counter waiting for me, although I didn't remember ever taking it out of my bag. That may have been because I was mentally blocking out the cover. Pastel purple and lavender flowers covered the majority of it, along with four muscled guys with either very little clothing or strategically placed items.

One of them looked like Ryan Reynolds before he discovered what a good bit of scruff could do for a man, while another looked like he'd taken altogether too much interest in the flowers. One looked like a cousin of Mr. Bean and the last one, who had the most potential to be attractive, was in a tiny speedo that left me hoping he was a grower not a show-er. Although, now that I looked at it he might be in good company since the other guys had their bits covered by the stems of some flowers or twigs.

The heroine on the other hand was wearing more clothing than most of the men, not that it would be difficult to accomplish that, but the strangest part of her ensemble was her undies. They were made of flowers. Not a print, mind you, but literal flowers. She was standing with her feet shoulder-width apart, most likely because she couldn't close her legs due to the flowers in her crotch.

When I picked the book up, I felt a rush of magic come off it which was weird, but maybe it was spelled to return to the library or to always be a good read or something like that. I'd felt magic that was similar before, so I resolved to ignore it and push on. Nothing was going to keep me from enjoying my afternoon off with some macarons and a theoretically good book.

I didn't mean to get so absorbed in it, but as soon as I picked it up I couldn't wait to get started. That had to be what the magic I'd felt was about, a compulsion to read it. The next time I looked at the clock though, I only had an hour or so until Iris came by and picked me up. Apparently, Lupine and Jasmine were joining us, which would make things interesting. I knew the two women in passing but had never spent much time with either.

My reserved self wanted to just put on a pair of jeans and a nice top and call it a day, but Iris had insisted that I wear something that made me feel sexy, and as much as I loved my jeans and a tee, sexy was not something they made me feel. There was a dress I had bought for a New Year's party a while back that fit the bill though.

After I had showered, done my hair and makeup, I shimmied into it, the clingy material feeling smooth and satiny against my skin. I added a pair of black pumps and I was good to go. I drank a bottle of water and started to read again while I waited for Iris to call. The book was insane, people were running with ice cream, I mean what if you spill? The cover definitely didn't do the book justice. I was devouring it.

"We're here!" Iris's voice called up through my open window.

I closed the book, and for a moment honestly debated putting it in my