Page 19 of RAKEish

Ms. Birdie’s eyes twinkled with secrets and promises. “Oh, this is better than life-changing, darling. This is matchmaking magic.”

He raised a brow. “Ah, so you’ve upgraded from fairy godmother to witchcraft.”

“Nonsense,” she declared. “My fairy godmother bag has all the tools I need. The witches of this world can keep their spells and curses.”

He winced, recalling he was now under not one but two curses. The family curse and Luxury’s prediction his penis would soon fall off. Not that he was concerned about the latter. It wasn’t an actual curse.

Ms. Birdie reached across the table and patted his hand. “Stop fretting about stuff you can’t control. Life has a way of working these things out.”

The first time he’d assisted Ms. Birdie with a project, she’d asked him about his family curse. She’d been quite inquisitive, rattling on about a delightful woman she’d recently met—Molly Thorn—and how Molly could quite possibly assist in bringing the curse to an end if only she knew the name of the wicked witch who’d set the whole thing into motion.

When he’d queried Ms. Birdie on why she thought some random woman could help, she’d replied that it was on a need-to-know basis. And though it was his family curse, he didn’t need to know. After careful consideration, he’d given Ms. Birdie the name of the witch, and then promptly forgotten about the conversation until now.

“Are you ready to hear why you’re here?” Ms. Birdie asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Actually, I have two requests. The first concerns a damsel in distress…”

“Who needs rescuing?” he asked when she didn’t finish the sentence.

“Oh, goodness no. What she needs is a little assistance in rescuing herself.”

“I see.” He trusted Ms. Birdie. If she said there was a woman in need, there was a woman in dire need. To get on Ms. Birdie’s radar, things had to have gone terribly wrong in your life. “Happy to come to her aid.” The moment the words left his lips, an uncomfortable thought struck him. “As long as her name isn’t Luxury Stone.” That was one damsel he could not help.

Ms. Birdie wiped the corners of her mouth with a cloth napkin. “I’m afraid that is exactly who it is.”

“Then you’ve been duped,” he said. “If ever there was a woman who didn’t need a fairy godmother, it’s her. She’s quite capable of handling life on her own.”

“Nonsense. If ever there was a lady in need of a sprinkling of fairy godmother hope, it’s her. She may be strong and independent on the outside, but on the inside, she’s fractured.”

The only thing fractured about Doc was her ability to put together a decent wardrobe, and Ms. Birdie did not need his help in that arena. Besides, Frankie was taking care of that issue even as they spoke. He’d tried to drop in on Doc’s makeover but had been turned away and told that under no circumstances would he see her before tonight’s meetup. “I have a lot of phrases for Doc but fractured isn’t on the list.”

Ms. Birdie pursed her lips. “How can you say that with a straight face? That lovely girl is now the butt of hurtful internet memes thanks to you.”

“Me?” he interjected. “She started it with her insufferable opinions about my column.”

“But were they insufferable?” Ms. Birdie asked.

“Before you go any further,” Scott replied, choosing not to argue the point, “you should know Frankie has pitted Doc and me against one another in a winner-take-all scenario.”

“Oh, dear.”

“Unless you have the power to veto the game afoot, it is not possible for me to be Doc’s wingman in wisdom.”

Ms. Birdie chuckled. “Very clever. I like that term. Do you mind if I share it with the rest of the staff of the Fairy Godmother Project?”

“Be my guest.” He’d love to know how many were actually involved in the organization.

“Thank you,” Ms. Birdie said. “Now, back to the matter at hand. I’m afraid—whatever this nonsense is with Frankie that you’re talking about—it is my fault.”

Scott stilled. “How is this your fault?”

Ms. Birdie went into a quick explanation of how she was currently serving on a hiring committee at Columbia University, and that was how she’d learned of Luxury Stone and the lawsuit. Then Ms. Birdie went on to explain how she’d pressed Luxury to go to Frankie and try to fix things. And how she’d warned Luxury not to apologize but instead offer an intriguing solution that included her proving herself correct.

“But I thought you believed in my relationship advice,” he said when she had finished.

“I do. But I had a plan. One that will no longer work. It never dawned on me Frankie would set up a Hunger Games scenario where one of your careers survives, and the other doesn’t.”

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