“Sure.” Garrett knows me too well. “She’s only half witch though, right? Is she going to be able to pass the WED?”
“I don’t know.” I see the waitress approaching, so I stop talking. We order sandwiches and Cokes. “I think her powers are strong. But she’s not committing to it.”
“I guess that’ll be part of your mentoring. Convincing her that it’s real.”
“It’s not so much that. I feel like she’s holding back. Maybe it’s a lack of confidence.”
“Maybe you need to show her some sexual magic.”
“Ha. Getting involved with Joe’s daughter? Not a good idea.” Except I can’t stop thinking about it.
“Hmmm. I know you see Felise and Magan as sisters, but somehow I don’t think you see Romy that way.”
He’s right. I moved in with Joe and Cassie when I was sixteen, a hormonal teenager with a huge chip on my shoulder. But never did I think of Felise and Magan as anything but kid sisters. Never would I have betrayed Joe and Cassie’s care of me. Romy, on the other hand… Well, those kisses were definitely not sisterly. But that would just make things complicated, and I’ve already made things complicated enough for that family. I owe them better than that.
“It can’t happen.” I wave a hand.
“Okay.” He still seems unconvinced but disinclined to argue with me. “How’s business?”
Garrett is an architect. He designs big buildings, not houses, so we don’t work together, but we understand each other’s professions. We talk business as we eat our lunch, and he tells me about Julie’s sister’s new baby and how now Julie is getting antsy about having kids.
“You’re not ready?” I ask. “You’re thirty years old. You may look twelve, but you’re not getting any younger.”
“Thanks.” He rolls his eyes. “It’s a big decision.”
“True.” I can’t even imagine it. I doubt I’ll ever have kids. But Garrett’s been married for four years. “Huge lifestyle change. Diapers. No sleep. No going out with the boys.”
“Exactly.” He makes a face.
“Kids are kind of cute though. I have enough of them in my life that I don’t feel a need for my own.”
“Good thing, since you don’t even have a woman in your life. Hey, since things didn’t work out with Amy, Julie says she has a cousin she can set you up with.”
“Fuck off. I’m not doing that again. I don’t need a woman in my life. With all these ‘sisters,’ that’s another thing I don’t feel a need for.”
“You just need giggity giggity.”
“Don’t ever use that word with me again.”
He laughs. “Sorry. I had to say it.”
I roll my eyes. “Asshole.”
When we leave, I discover the waitress left me her name and number on my receipt. Garrett cracks up laughing. “There you go. Giggity!”
I shake my head, shoving the receipt into my wallet. “I’m not going to call her.”
I have enough on my mind with Romy’s potential powers and me having to teach her how to use them.
13
Romy
Joe and I are meeting for lunch today. He’s coming to the Loop, and I walk a couple of blocks to Paragon to meet him. He’s already there, standing on the sidewalk, and he gives me a big hug. I’m getting used to all the hugging. It’s kind of nice.
The hostess shows us to a booth with brown leather seats and a white cloth on the table. The high backs of the seats give nice privacy. I set my purse beside me as I scoot in.
We order coffee and our lunches, Joe going for the chicken pot pie, me the wedge salad with bacon and bleu cheese.
“So.” Joe pulls his coffee closer to him. “How’s the tutoring going with Trace?”
“Okay, I guess.” I lift one shoulder. “He’s very patient with me. I’m eager to try things, but he won’t let me.”
Joe smiles. “It’s important to know what you’re doing.”
“I get that.” I smile. “I’m working hard though. Since I only have a year to learn everything.”
“Yeah. I know it’s a lot.” The skin around his eyes tightens. “It’s not an easy thing to do. Others have tried and failed.”
“What? Nobody’s ever done it?”
“Oh yeah,” he says hastily. “Sure, they have. But some can’t.”
“Great.” I sigh.
“We’ll have to set up your interview with the Board of Elders.”
“Ugh. Trace mentioned that. It kind of freaks me out.”
“You’ll do fine. You’re an intelligent, well-spoken, poised young woman.”
My insides warm at his words of praise. “Thank you.”
“I have something I need to talk to you about.”
“Oookay.” I sip my coffee. Those words never sound good.
“It’s about your mother.”
My chin jerks down. “Oh. What about her?”
“Trace thinks that you have strong powers.”
I wait.
“Stronger than we’d expect from someone who’s half witch, half Rucker.”
“Oh.”
He gnaws his lip briefly. “We suspect that your mother might have had some witch blood.”
“No.” The word pops from my mouth involuntarily. “That’s not possible.”
“I guess we have no way of knowing. You never knew your grandparents?”
“No. They both died before I was born.”
“And no other family?”
“Mom was an only child, and so was her mom. Her dad had a sister, but she died years ago and had no kids.”
Joe nods. “Well, we’re just making some educated guesses here, but I wanted to talk to you about it. It may also explain why I could never find her. She might have used a spell to block me.”
“She didn’t use spells! She would laugh at this!”
“You don’t know anything in her background that would have made her deny her witch heritage?”
“No!”
“It’s okay, Romy.” He leans closer to the table. “We don’t know for sure, like I said. But it might explain some things. It doesn’t change anything.”
“But…” I shut my mouth. “Okay. I guess I just need to think about it. Process it.”
“Of course. I’m glad you’re doing so well with your tutoring.”
“Trace said I’m doing well?”
“Yes.” He gives me a puzzled look.
“He tells me I’m doing okay.” I roll my eyes.
“Ah.” Joe’s eyes twinkle. “I’ll let him know you need more feedback.”
“No! I don’t. It’s fine.” I adjust the cutlery in front of me.
“Okay.”
We spend the rest of our lunch chatting about a bunch of different things—my job, what I’m doing for the Charming Chalice, Cassie’s job as a youth career coach. He tells me stories about his brothers and working for their dad when they were younger.