Then, on impulse, she called Roxy next. That call also went to voicemail, so Undrea left a very similar message.
A few minutes after she hung up, her phone rang. Mattie calling her back.
“Hey, did you listen to my voicemail?”
“No,” Mattie said. “I just saw that I’d missed your call and wanted to get back to you right away. I was labeling a new batch of mead.”
“I figured it was something like that.” Undrea took a breath. “Ethan was just here.”
“Mm-hmm. And how did that go?”
“His fiancée was never his fiancée—that was just her being overly enthusiastic—and brace yourself: He’s breaking up with her and telling her she has to move out. Then he wants to take me to dinner.”
Mattie was silent long enough to make Undrea wonder if she was still on the line. “I don’t know how I feel about this. Is he breaking up with his girlfriend because he’s under the spell of your magic? If so, what’s going to happen when that spell is broken?”
Undrea stared at the small five-gallon tank on her desk that housed her beta fish. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Well, you might want to, because it sounds to me like this is all in motion and there’s no stopping it. Whatever happens, you’d better be prepared to step up and deal with it.”
“You mean because she’s going to be mad at me?”
“That, but also because there’s a good chance he’s going to be following you around like a lovesick puppy dog. You know how your magic works.”
“No, I don’t. Not really. I’ve never seen it in action. I just know what I’ve been told.”
“Even so, you’d best prepare yourself.”
The ache in her foot spread up her shin. Undrea groaned softly. “I need to go home and soak in the tub.”
“Probably a good idea. Call me if anything happens?”
“I will. Thanks. Hey, are we on for Friday?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent. Talk to you soon.” Undrea hung up, shut down her computer, turned off the lights in her office and went out to the warehouse. “Aaron?”
“Yeah, boss?”
“I’m going home for the day. Feel free to knock off early too if you want. Just don’t leave Whitney here by herself.”
“I won’t. I’ll finish what I’m doing, then she and I can both go. Organizing the rest of the molds can wait until tomorrow. I’ll text Amanda and Curtis to finish up their maintenance appointments and call it a day as well. Have a good night.”
“Thanks. You too.” She went out the front and stopped at Whitney’s desk. “I’m headed out now. Aaron’s finishing up his work too, then you can both go, okay?”
Whitney looked up from her screen. “I was going to stay late and update the website. But I could do that at home too.”
Undrea tilted her head. “Are you counting all that extra time? I don’t want you working unpaid.”
“I am. Promise. What about Amanda and Curtis?”
“Aaron’s already texting them.”
“All right. See you tomorrow.”
“You too.” Undrea went to her car and straight home. As soon as she got behind the wheel, she called and ordered her dinner from Thai Garden to be delivered. She was not in the mood to cook. And Thai Garden was exactly what she needed. She ordered crispy spring rolls, steamed shrimp dumplings, soup, seafood pad Thai, and tempura cheesecake with caramel drizzle, because why not?
There wouldn’t be leftovers. And she was going to eat it in the tub in her mermaid form while watching reruns of Fantasy Island. Because it had been that kind of day.
She got home and went through her usual routine of turning on the outside lights, checking on the fish in her living-room aquarium, then doing a little straightening up. There was no point to getting in the tub until her dinner arrived, so she started a load of wash and folded the basket of towels she hadn’t yet gotten to.
As she was putting those towels away, her doorbell rang. She smiled. That was fast. But Thai Garden usually was. She turned on the water to start filling the tub and went to answer the door.
But the woman standing on her porch wasn’t the regular delivery person from Thai Garden. It was Nina.
“What are you doing at my house?” Undrea had about a thousand other questions, but that seemed like the most pertinent.
Nina glared at her. “Stay away from Ethan, do you understand? He’s not for you.”
“Or what?”
“Or else,” Nina snarled.
Job or no job, Undrea wasn’t about to be threatened like this. “You’re trespassing. If you want to speak to me, you can call my office.”
She started to close the door, but Nina stuck her hand out and stopped it. “I don’t think you understand who you’re dealing with.”
“I understand perfectly.” The jilted girlfriend. At least Undrea assumed Nina had been jilted. Of course, that also assumed Ethan had had the talk with her. But then why else would Nina be here?
“Do you?” Nina leaned in, and Undrea saw tiny sparks in her eyes. The kind that signaled magic lived within. “You’re not human, fish girl. I know that. I know most people in this town aren’t, either. That’s why I wanted to move here. But make no mistake, whatever you are, I’m more powerful than you can imagine. And I will not allow Ethan to be taken from me. Do I make myself clear?”
Undrea held back the curse dancing on her tongue. “I knew you weren’t exactly human either.” Actually, she hadn’t had a clue. Merfolk were lousy at detecting other supernaturals. “So what are you?”
Nina’s gaze narrowed, and her chin lifted. “I am a rare witch. Cross me, and you will pay the price.”
Undrea had no idea what a rare witch was. But again, she wasn’t especially versed in all the kinds of supernaturals that existed. “I haven’t crossed you, and I haven’t made any kind of play for Ethan. You need to understand that.”
Nina glared a second longer and looked like she was about to say something else when a car pulled into Undrea’s drive. Her Thai food had arrived. Nina took a step back. “Just stay away and you won’t force my hand.”
With that, she took off, jumping into her car and pulling away before the Thai Garden guy made it onto the front porch.
Undrea watched her go, furious in a way she couldn’t accurately describe. She’d bet good money that Ethan had no idea Nina was a witch or that she’d come to Undrea’s house.
“Evening, ma’am. That’ll be thirty-two eighty-seven.”
“Just a second,” Undrea said, still staring after Nina. “I need to get my money. And turn the water off in my tub. I’ll be right back.”
She ran to the bathroom, turned the water off, then grabbed her wallet and paid the guy, making sure to include a good tip. She took the food as he handed it over. “Thanks. Have a good evening.”
She locked the door, still miffed by Nina’s appearance. What utter nerve. And to threaten Undrea like that… Nina clearly thought a lot of herself.
But what was a rare witch? Undrea put the bag of food, which smelled amazing, on the kitchen table then sat for a few minutes, thinking it over and replaying the conversation in her head. She didn’t have a clue about the whole rare witch thing. But she knew someone who did. She grabbed her phone.