Page 110 of Upside Down Magic

“I’mlooking forward to hearing more about that.”Hemade a show of checking his expensive wristwatch. “Nowif you’ll excuse me.Cavalier,Druscilla.”

Thenhe was gone in the blink of an eye.

“Ass,”Drusaid, clearly irritated he’d gone too fast for her to throw her drink at his suit.

“Weall have one,”Isaid in commiseration.

Drugrinned. “You’reso drunk.”

“Nope.”Itook another sip of my drink. “Butthis is really good.IthinkI’llhave another.”

AsIlooked around the room for the waiter,InoticedVevawalk in.Iwaved enthusiastically, and she approached with a smile.

“Hello,Hope,” she said in her lovely warm voice. “Congratulations.”

“Thankyou.Icouldn’t have done it without you.”

Shewrinkled her nose. “I’mafraidIwasn’t of much help this time.”

“Onthe contrary.Yoursupport is the reasonIwas able to reach as many paranormals to help asIdid.AsGrandmaused to say, it’s not about the barista making the one single perfect coffee, but also the employee who stocked the boxes, the driver who drove them, and the people at the plant and the farms.”

Itmight’ve been one of my old bosses who said that.Orsocial media.

Vevalaughed. “Wisewords.”

Igestured toward the empty seat. “Joinus?”

Shealso consulted her wristwatch—much more stylish thanPreston’s—then sat down. “Thankyou.Ihave some readings later, butIcan spend a few.”

Someaction by the small stage called my attention andInudgedIan. “Look, they’re setting up the karaoke equipment.”

“And?”

Iwaggled my eyebrows suggestively. “Youshould go up there and show off your singing chops.”Ihad it on good authorityIandid karaoke to relax, butI’dyet to convince him to sing in front of me.

Hemade a slow study of my person, which left me tingling from the tip of my curled toes to the ends of my hair. “Ifyou join me.”

Ahuff escaped me, andItook a sip of my drink. “Notgonna happen.”

Tenminutes laterIwas on the tiny stage, arm in arm withIan, singingMorethanWordstogether.Druwas holding her phone, filming and laughing,Dorseywas throwing peanuts at me every timeIfailed to hit the high notes, andKey,Shane, andAlexwere stoppingFluffyandRufusfrom rushing the stage.

Lifewas good.

EPILOGUE

Atuxedo catmeowed at me from my lap as a ginger one and a black one tried to catch the small fish on a stickIkept dangling just out of reach.Afourth one slept curled by my side while three others eyed us suspiciously from the cat towers on the opposite side of the room.Twomore hid somewhere nearby.

Itwas three days afterChristmas, and we had the room all to ourselves.

Christmasmiracle, indeed.

“Usethe other toy,”Bagleysnapped from the locket hanging around my neck over the green bohemian shirtDruhad given me as a present.Perhapsnot the best thing to bring to a cat café, butI’dwanted to wear it right away, it made me so happy.

Notas happy as the tiny silver octopus and witch hat pendantsIanhad given me, of course, but still up there.Wehad spentChristmaswithDruand the strays, and evenBrimstonehad joined for dinner.AshadNataliaandMark, a very shyNorman, who was still trying to come to terms with the whole paranormal thing, two ofAlex’sfriends, andHutton.VevaandMeihad sent their best wishes along with aBlackForestcake, andIan’smom hadFacetimedwith us.I’deven allowedBagleya view from the top of the fridge.

Ithad been the bestChristmasever, andIonly wishGrandmacould’ve been there to share it with us.But, asIanhad reminded me, she had shared it through me and my memories of her.Ireally liked that.

Iswitched the fish toy with a mouse filled with some sort of crinkling material.Thecats seemed unimpressed.

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