Page 61 of RAKEish

“What?” Lux asked.

A sleek black limousine pulled up. “Nothing. Just the babblings of an old woman.” Ms. Birdie stepped toward the car, then paused to give Lux a final look. “Remember, Lux, sometimes the most unexpected paths lead to the greatest treasures. Give John a call.”

Curses, ghosts, and fairy godmothers…oh my. Lux’s world might be in disarray, but nothing about it shouted boring.

Lux watched the limousine disappear into the bustling street and then turned toward the door of Spirits, Secrets, and Spells. But she didn’t put her hand on the doorknob. Not yet. She needed to think first.

The last time she had followed Ms. Birdie’s advice, it had led to unexpected complications. And this time, there was more at stake than a job.

Her heart was at stake.

A heart counting on her to protect it from being broken.

A heart counting on her to hold out for the perfect man to love.

CHAPTER 19

Lux stood outside the quirky store, her brain and heart in major conflict. While her brain kept playing the image of Scott at the airport with his betrothed in his arms, her heart kept shouting, ‘But what if?’

So much had happened in so little time, and it had all begun when she had spoken about the importance of giving others a second glance. When she’d asked Manhattanites to stop judging on first impressions. When she’d promised to give the Prince of Shiretopia, and his column RAKEish, a second glance.

In the process, she’d discovered he wasn’t all bad and his advice wasn’t all wrong.

Bonus, she’d unveiled first-hand that he knew his way around a woman’s body.

Of course, that last bit hadn’t happened until after she’d changed her outer layer to better match his image. That’s when they’d begun to click. That was knowledge she couldn’t un-know.

She’d also discovered more about the curse. While Scott’s mother had chosen to marry a man not in love with her, Lux wasn’t cut from the same cloth. There was no way she’d say, “I do,” to a man who wasn’t madly in love with his bride. That would be ill-advised.

Not that love guaranteed happiness, but it gave a couple a fighting chance.

How much of a fighting chance was up to the two individuals. If they had done their homework and knew what they wanted in a life partner other than love, the chance was decent. If they hadn’t, their chance of a happy forever was slim.

Curses and Ms. Birdie’s statement that Scott had no intention of going through with the arranged marriage that awaited him back home—and let’s not forget her prediction Scott would love Lux once the spell was miraculously broken by anyone other than her—aside, Lux had done her future husband homework, and Scott possessed none of her important requirements.

He wasn’t reliable. He wasn’t a homebody. He wasn’t a lover of jigsaw puzzles. He wasn’t a romantic—a romantic wouldn’t have left the bed of one woman to hurry into the arms of another. AKA—he wasn’t a one-woman man.

And yet, she’d somehow found herself on the precipice of loving him. And by precipice she meant one foot had fully stepped over the edge.

Which was why she stood outside of Spirits, Secrets, and Spells with every intention of entering. If she found the antidote to the curse and gifted it to Scott, according to Ms. Birdie, it would eliminate any chance of an entanglement between Lux and Scott because the curse had spelled out as much. It had gone something along the lines of: The one who loved him and broke the curse would never be loved by him.

She grabbed the old-fashioned knob, twisted, and tugged open the door. A melodic chime welcomed her. As she stepped across the threshold, she noticed the late morning sunlight streaming through the store’s stained-glass storefront window. The rays cast kaleidoscopic patterns on plaques that hung from the ceiling directing shoppers to different areas of the store and illuminated dust particles that swirled like tiny, enchanted fairies in the air.

“Good morning. Welcome to Spirits, Secrets, and Spells,” an elderly shopkeeper greeted, his voice a soothing melody that seemed to dance with the magical dust motes. “How may I assist you today?”

“Just browsing.” Lux twitched her nose, which itched from the subtle scent of aged parchment and exotic herbs in the air.

The shopkeeper nodded, his long, silvery beard catching a glint of the sunlight. A black cat, sleek and graceful, leaped onto his shoulder, her green eyes shimmering like emeralds as she stared at Lux.

“This is Ms. Princess,” the shopkeeper said, gently stroking the cat. “The two of you share the same unique eye color. She feels you are part of her clan.”

“It would be an honor to be a part of her family,” Lux said in good humor, watching, fascinated, as Ms. Princess jumped off his shoulder and onto the counter. Her movements were fluid, almost choreographed, while she edged closer toward Lux.

“Aren’t you just as pretty as last night’s sunset?” Lux cooed, scratching the feline behind the ears.

The cat purred loudly, then with a graceful leap bounded away, leading Lux’s gaze to an area labeled Spells. When the cat paused mid-stride and glanced back at Lux as if to say, “Why aren’t you following me?”

Lux did just that. “Coming.”

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