Page 21 of Bright Dark Curses

When I picked back the phone, Ian said, “You just did one of your affirmations, didn't you?”

“Crossed my fingers too.”

Another deep chuckle came through the line. “Anything else happening you’re allowed to tell me?”

Yeah, he’d totally guessed the strays had gotten into some sort of trouble. “Everything’s been running smoothly. Brimstone hasn’t set anyone on fire yet. Did you know he runs a food vlog?”

“I didn’t know, no.”

“Hah!”

“Knowledge about the local paranormals is not a competition, Hope.”

Easy for him to say, since he seemed to have an answer for everything. “I searched for it but couldn’t find anything.”

“Does it have a name?”

“Decadent Temptations.”

“I hope you didn’t search for that in front of your customers.”

“Nobody had to suffer the search results but my poor eyes.”

“Did you add food to the search?”

“It made it worse.”

A short laugh. “I bet. Send me the link when you find it.”

“Aww, I was hoping you’d find it for me. Isn’t that part of your bounty hunter duties? I’ll even pay you.” In kisses, obviously.

“Sorry, blondie. The only temptation I’m interested in seeing is you.”

And, dead.

I let out a strangled sound.

“Hope?”

“Sorry, that was too much. I am now a puddle of goo. Good luck washing me off the blanket.”

“I’ll make sure to use it for Fluffy’s nap time bed.”

“She’d love that.” I let out a long sigh. “I have some potions to make before bed.”

“You better get going, then. Don’t pass out on the floor.”

“I’ll try my very best.”

We said our goodbyes and hung up. Without his rich, deep voice, my bedroom felt suddenly impersonal and empty.

No time to be morose, though. I had magic-detecting spells to make and a saboteur to catch.

SEVEN

Fluffy in tow, I returned downstairs. The building’s setup was perfect for a witch—having an extra kitchen on the first floor gave me a much-needed separation between potion making and preparing dinners. Mixing both spaces could end with serious contamination of tomato sauce in your focus potions and dandelions in your ham-and-cheese sandwich.

This, however, was perfect.

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