Page 12 of Upside Down Magic

Composingmyself,Igave her one of my patented customer-facing smiles. “I’mso glad they have a good opinion of the shop.”

Hermouth curved upward, mirth dancing in her eyes. “Youhave no idea whoIam, do you?”

“Well…no, actually.”

“LilianValenti, at your service.”

Theblood witch.ThewitchIhad consulted under false pretenses to figure out how to extendHutton’salpha aura without using dark magic.Ifelt my own blood abandon ship and try to escape through my feet.Oh, this was bad.

“I…Isee.”

Shewaved a hand at my expression. “Don’tlook so scared,Hope.I’mnot here to cause trouble.”

Andyet, she clearly would.Myfocus drifted toward the front of the shop.Wouldn’tit be just perfect ifHuttondecided to grace us with his presence right about now?IfIcould feel the foul darkness in his aura, this witch sure as hell would too—she was one of the most powerful witches in the country.

She’dprobably take one look atHutton, and that’d be the end of his pack leadership and my shop ownership.

Twodowned ships too many.

Imanaged a congenial smile. “Ofcourse not.”

“ButImust admit thatI’mvery curious about the case you consulted with me back inSeptember.”

“I’msorry that didn’t work out,”Imanaged.EspeciallysinceIhad made up the case as a stand-in forHutton’sissues.

Sheignored that. “Igot curious and looked you up.”

Sweatformed on my forehead.Thiswas getting worse and worse. “Youdid?”

“Thisplace has sure become lively since they gave you the shop.”

“Olmedadoes have a reputation for wild partying,”Ijoked weakly.

“Thewitch next door showing up dead, the alphas dueling for control of the pack, theHalloweenkillings…”

Killings, plural? “Itwas only the one murder,”Iventured.

Shecontinued as ifIhadn’t spoken. “Andthen beforeThanksgivingthe happenings at the movie set.It’sbeen a busy few months for you.”

“Itsure has.”Igestured toward her half-filled mug. “Wouldyou like the rest of your tea to go?”

Shesmiled slyly, clearly aware of my discomfort. “OnceIread about all that,Igot curious, you see.”

“Curious,”Irepeated.

“Iwanted to see what madeOlmedasuch an exceptional magnet for magical disasters.”

“Well, we have a very varied and thriving paranormal community.”Iresisted the urge to tug at the neckline of my long-sleevedT-shirt. “It’snormal for incidents to happen in places like these.”

“Indeed.”

Myphone pinged with a text.Alexwas asking me to open the back door for him.

“Oh,I’msorry,”Isaid in my most sweet—and relieved—tone. “Ineed to get something from the back.I’llbe right back!”

Ifled through the bead curtain and jerked the back door open, my phone already in my hands, my fingers scrolling toHutton’snumber.

“C’mon, pickup,”Imurmured asIcrossed the flagstone path to the back iron gate.

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