Page 35 of A Roar for Magic

His mock groan of despair carried them out to the car.

Golden Lotus occupied a corner of Mystic Hollow’s restaurant district, its pagoda-style roof adorned with actual golden lotus flowers that bloomed eternally. Inside, paper lanterns floated through the air like curious fireflies, and the scent of ginger and exotic spices filled the space.

Romi waved from a corner booth, her smile bright enough to rival the magical lighting. Xabir sat beside her, his usual alpha authority softened by the besotted way he watched his fiancée arrange and rearrange the table settings.

“Finally!” Romi bounced up to hug Clover. “I was about to send out a search party. Though from the magical residue clinging to you both, I’m guessing you were busy with... formulations?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“Actual formulations,” Clover corrected, sliding into the booth. “For the spa project.”

“Uh-huh. Is that why you’re both practically glowing with mate energy?”

“You told her?” Clover turned accusingly to Xabir.

He raised his hands in surrender. “Didn’t have to. She took one look at you two at the picnic and declared it ‘obviously destiny at work.’ Though I have to admit, the magical light show during that kiss was pretty convincing evidence.”

“Speaking of evidence,” Romi’s grin turned wicked, “I remember a time in high school when Clover tried to enchant her hair and accidentally made it green.”

“We’re not doing this,” Clover groaned.

“Oh, we absolutely are.” Romi signaled for drinks. “Especially since Xabir has some great stories about Rook’s college adventures. He told me about that time with the enchanted karaoke machine...”

“Don’t you dare,” Rook warned, but his lips twitched with suppressed amusement.

“What’s wrong, tiger?” Clover bumped his shoulder. “Afraid your scary alpha image might be tarnished?”

“I think that ship sailed when you saw me knock over three different displays in your shop.”

“Four,” she corrected. “You forgot the one behind the counter.”

TWENTY-ONE

Their laughter mingled with the floating lantern light, and Clover felt something in her chest loosen. Here, surrounded by people who cared about her, sitting next to a man whose very presence made her magic sing... maybe this fated mates thing wasn’t so scary.

Now they just had to deal with Hudson’s attempts to destroy their bond, create unbreakable protection formulas, and somehow keep Romi from turning the entire town into a magical romantic comedy with her enchanted fortune cookie scheme.

But first – she was definitely going to hear about that karaoke incident.

“So there we are,” Xabir continued, barely containing his laughter, “at this uppity business networking event, and the enchanted karaoke machine starts playing ‘I Will Always Love You’ the moment Rook walks in.”

“It was rigged,” Rook muttered into his drink.

“Oh, it gets better.” Xabir’s eyes danced with mischief. “The machine wouldn’t stop until someone sang. And guess who had to take one for the team?”

“The big bad alpha tiger,” Romi laughed. “I wish I could have been there.”

“He belted that song out like it was written for him.” Xabir laughed.

“I did not belt.” Rook pointed his chopsticks at them accusingly. “It was a very dignified performance.”

“You hit the high note and everything,” Xabir assured him. “Half the room burst into tears. The other half burst into applause.”

“That might have been from relief that it was over.” Romi giggled.

Clover bit her lip, trying not to laugh at Rook’s expression of pained dignity. “Please, tell me someone recorded it.”

“Sadly, no.” Xabir sighed dramatically. “Though the karaoke machine did develop a crush on him. Started playing love songs every time he passed by for weeks.”

“Which is why,” Rook said with exaggerated patience, “we had to ban enchanted karaoke from all corporate events.”

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