Portals and Puppy Dogs - Amy Lane Page 0,68
you’re done, look up candles in this book here.” He handed another volume—this one much bigger, bound in leather, and more ponderous—to Simon, who took it with the air of a new recruit who wanted to impress an older general.
“Look up the spell in there too. I’ll be right back.”
Simon nodded and then caught Alex with a hand to the wrist. “Alex?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
Alex kissed him, there in the living room in the middle of all sorts of bustling activity, because he’d never been happier in his life.
HE and Simon got the house to themselves that night, and Alex learned more about lovemaking—all of it good. Of course, Simon had to leave the next night, and it was Alex’s turn to sleep on Jordan’s couch, but as he kissed his lover and waved goodbye to Simon’s trusty little fuel-efficient car, he felt a hum of anticipation in his chest.
They’d be eating lunch the next day. And dinner together, over the course of the week. There would be scrambling to find time—but there was hope that the scrambling wouldn’t last forever.
There would be tomorrow, and more tomorrows, and maybe a thousand tomorrows for the two of them.
And there would be the moment in Simon’s office, two days later, when Alex handed Simon the long, thin piece of wood in a clever green velveteen case and smiled.
“This is it?” Simon asked, pulling it partially out of the case.
“Willow, cured with bittersweet, chrysanthemum, peony, and rue,” Alex told him, grinning. “Bartholomew cooked the potion to cure it with, I came up with the concept, Kate and Josh helped me assemble, and Jordan—”
“Pulled up the cone of power and executed the spell,” Simon filled in, smiling. “You’re a very functional team, you know.” His tone softened. “And Jordan’s a very adept leader, even though he’s had a few setbacks recently.”
Alex nodded. “He… he pulled us together. Made us family, then made us a coven. I hope this works. It would give him such a shot of confidence to know that he helped Chris out.”
“Well, come on into Chris’s office with me,” Simon said, his eyes crinkling. “He’s meeting with his wife and their lawyers in there in about two minutes. You can see for yourself.”
Alex frowned. “Is this legal? I mean, I was fuzzy on what we’re going to do here—just point the wand at her and say, ‘Tell the truth, harlot!’?”
Simon sputtered and put a proprietary hand to the small of Alex’s back to herd him along. He’d made the announcement that the two of them were dating at the Monday morning staff meeting. He’d been very clear that Alex would be shouldering the same workload he’d always had, and somebody in the room had quipped, “So twice as much as the rest of us, still? That’s good to hear!” and that had been about it. Something about having their dating on the up-and-up—not a secret, not hidden, very aboveboard—had told Alex dating his boss wasn’t going to be a problem. He didn’t want a ticket to the top, and his boss wasn’t trying to manipulate him in any way. They just loved each other and worked together well.
It seemed so simple.
“No,” Simon told him, that hand in the small of his back reassuring. “All I’m going to do is hand her the wand and ask her to hold it. Trust me. I can be very persuasive.”
Alex laughed as they walked in between the nooks and crannies of the office. The owners tried to give them all space to work and privacy if they needed it without keeping the place sterile. The result was sort of an eclectic office space that lent itself to the occasional coffee klatch and lots of quiet, happy activity. None of that was interrupted now as Simon steered Alex toward Chris’s opulent showcase of an office.
Whereas Simon’s office was sleek and professional and comfortable, Chris Lockhart’s office boasted a marble desk and the kind of trendy sharp-angled furniture that looked blessedly uncomfortable.
As they entered, Chris’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Jasmine, glanced sharply at them, her blond hair pulled back into a ponytail at her nape and her porcelain-doll complexion made up with gentle pastels. When Alex had first seen Jasmine, about a year after he’d started working at Reddick, Lockhart, and Baldwin, she’d had her hair teased to the sky, wore glitter polish, glitter eyeshadow, and glitter body spray, and dressed in short skirts and six-inch heels. It was funny how Gabby Baldwin dressed with a lot of flash too, but