Page 103 of The Witch is Back

She pushed that aside. “You should see him with this cat,” she told her friends, curling her legs up beneath her on the champagne velvet seating and smiling. “This big strong man dragging a string along the floor for his cat to play with.”

“Big and strong, huh?” Leah waggled her eyebrows.

Sloane made a face. “He didn’t look that big and strong to me.”

Tia shot her an approving look. “That’s my girl. So he has a cat. Big deal.”

“Hallie likes him.”

“If Hallie likes him, it means he’s good people,” Leah informed Tia. “Remember that one woman who looked at her, Sloane? She got all sniffy and asked for a discount since Hallie was deformed. Hallie’s ears went back and she snarled. Definite higher intelligence—like all animals.”

“Higher than yours at the moment.” Tia sipped champagne as Sloane giggled. Unfortunately, she idolized Tia. Emma dreaded the day when Sloane discovered her true potential for sass. “He’s found his familiar. Okay, I wouldn’t have pegged him as the type to choose anything not purebred, and that’s to his credit, but the bond is strong enough to overcome it.”

“He’s not bothered by the fact she has three legs,” Emma insisted, remembering his deep voice saying I see strength. “And he coos to her.” She couldn’t help the silly smile.

“Oh, no.” Tia sat up straight. “Don’t do that. None of that.”

“What?”

“The whole gooey bit. I thought you were keeping it light and friendly.”

“We are.” The man had made love to her in the shower last night before carrying her to her bed and kissing every inch of her body. What was that if not friendly?

But she got Tia’s point. She bit her lip. “We did get into a bit of a...thing,” she decided on, with a quick look at Sloane, who was listening intently, “when he adopted Hallie. I pointed out she needs stability and he said that he was thinking of staying for a bit longer.”

Leah bounced, almost spilling her champagne. “This is so exciting.”

“Does that mean I have to pretend I don’t know about magic longer?” objected Sloane at the same time. “Or can we finally tell him that I know?”

“No, he’s not to be trusted,” Tia answered for her. “Why does he want to stay around?” she demanded in the next breath. “To make sure you start to rely on him before he skips town?”

Emma would scoff if that wasn’t exactly what had run through her panicked mind when he’d said he’d stay. She didn’t want to need him in her life. Didn’t want to rely on his being there, so that when he left, her heart wouldn’t crack along those old stress lines and break all over again. And despite what he said now, he would leave. He wasn’t designed for one place. Itchy feet.

Not to mention the whole Sloane issue. When she’d seen them with their heads together, her chest had seized. Especially with the whole “little sister” thing. Sloane insisted it wasn’t as incriminating as he’d made it sound, but now she knew what a heart attack felt like.

She wouldn’t lie—she had found herself wondering if she could let him in on the secret. All her secrets. But just the idea gave her a chill. The idea that she’d lay herself so bare, reveal everything...

Maybe if they were in a relationship that was actually going somewhere, it would be different. She’d push past the fear of what he’d think of her, of what he might do, because there’d be an expectation of commitment. They’d be a true team.

But part of her, a large part, held back. It was easier to keep him in the dark—maybe cowardly, but easier. Safer. What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. Literally, thanks to the ring Kole was having created.

“He probably wants to stick around to be with his mom when she’s better,” she pointed out. “It’s got nothing to do with me.” And she needed to remember that whenever her softer side tried to lead her down the tempting path toward feelings.

“How do you know that?” Leah tipped back the rest of the champagne, put the flute on the floor and grabbed Emma’s arm. She shook, impatient. “He might just be trying to see how you feel about him.”

“How do you feel?” Tia watched her face as if she held a flashlight up to it and was demanding the codes for a bank vault heist.

Sloane piped up. “She had this gooey look when she was talking to him at the shelter.”

“Traitor.” Giving her a tickle telekinetically and wincing at Sloane’s loud shriek, Emma shrugged, uneasy. “I like him.” True. “We’re friends.” Also true.

“Oh, come on,” Leah complained, letting go of Emma’s arm. “You can’t tell me you don’t look at that man and think about...” She widened her eyes meaningfully. “You forget, I’ve seen you together. Sparks city.”

Emma spluttered. “I... He... No...”

Both her friends’ eyebrows shot up. Leah’s with delight, Tia’s with suspicion.

“Sloane, honey,” the latter said with a tight smile, “can you go find Miss Tamsin and ask her to look for dresses in peach and apricot too?”

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