Page 20 of Magic and Muffins

CHAPTERFIVE

“Do you see it?”Vena asked, tugging at my arm and pointing ahead.

“See what?” I asked as Anchor put our shopping bags in the back of the SUV.

“Enticed. I wasn’t kidding when I said we were put on a waitlist. Want to go in and see how many people are in front of us?”

I hadn’t realized the store we’d picked was that close to the famous fae restaurant.

“If it’s a lot, we can just take the next available reservation in a few months…or we could call that fae guy who gave you his number.” Vena grinned at me.

“What fae guy?” Anchor asked, making me regret confiding in Vena.

“Just a customer at Blur,” I said, pinching Vena’s arm.

She acted like she didn’t feel it.

“Let’s go check,” she said, pulling me forward.

Since she owed me a meal at Enticed, and we were in the area, I didn’t mind checking but glanced at Anchor to see if he agreed. He shrugged.

“As long as we stick together.”

Vena cheered and hurried us to the fae-owned restaurant that reflected their love of luxury and opulence. It showed in the actual silver leaves embedded in the door that the doorman opened for us and the marble tiles within.

My attention to decor drifted a bit the moment we walked through the door and I felt the subtle pull of a fae’s seductive powers. The host stood near the reception desk, watching our approach with a welcoming smile. A magic current danced along my skin as my necklace protected me, proving it was charged and working. I wasn’t sure how Vena’s old necklace was dealing with the fae pull, but she seemed unaffected, too.

“What do you desire?” the host asked us.

“To find out where we are on the waitlist,” Vena said.

“Name?”

“Vena Hunter.”

He looked down at his tablet. “Two months. However, we just had a cancellation, and I can seat you if you’d like.”

“Are you serious? Yes. That’s perfect,” Vena said. “See, Ev. I keep my promises.”

“That promise feels like a lifetime ago.”

“Barely. That’s only because so much happened in between.” She grinned at the host. “Lead on. I’m ready to have my desires fulfilled with good food.”

He indicated that we should follow him. The buzz along my skin increased as the necklace continued to fend off an increasing amount of fae influence due to the dining area that had more servers stationed between the well-spaced tables than patrons.

The host had mentioned a cancellation, but it seemed more than that. With a two-month waitlist, eager diners should have occupied every seat, shouldn’t they? Maybe they purposely spaced the reservations so the dining area was never crowded.

The openness drew my attention back to the decor. Cream walls with silver and blue design accents matched the crystal tables, which had a subtle blue glow. Buttery, soft blue leather chairs were positioned perfectly at the tables as if they had used a ruler. The servers wore cream standing-collar suit jackets, matching pants with silver cording, and a soft blue shirt. Even the woman softly playing the cream colored piano wore a silver gown with complementing blue embellishments.

The host stopped at a table and pulled out a chair for me, and Anchor did the same for Vena. I sat, distracted by everything until the host’s fingers brushed my back as he pushed the chair in. Then he leaned over my shoulder, uncomfortably close, to hand us our menus.

“If there is anything we can do to enhance your dining pleasure, please let me know.” He inhaled deeply near my ear. “The server will be with you in a moment.”

“Was that weird?” I asked when he left.

“What?” Vena asked, focused on the menu.

I glanced at Anchor for confirmation, but he was studying Vena like she was on the menu.

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