Page 16 of Cocktails & Cauldrons

She curled her fingers around his and drew his hand away from her mouth. “Fine.”

“You’ll stay workin’ for me?”

“Yes.”

“And ya won’t be fightin’ me at every turn?”

“No.”

“And you’ll be giving me back my hand now?” he teased.

Mortification made her wish the ground would open and swallow her, and she swiftly released him. “Show me my room, please.”

“Don’t be hard on yourself, love. I quite like it when you hold my hand, I do.”

“Oh, shut up, you damned flirt.”

His eyes flew wide, and he barked a laugh. “You’ve graduated from kitten to a feral cat, ya have. Sure, and I like it, too.”

With a roll of her eyes, she snatched the key card from his hand and charged for the stairs.

Voice thick with laughter, he said, “It’s this way, love. You’re on the first floor.”

She’d never wanted to murder a person more, and she’d been living with Odessa for over two decades!

CHAPTER 7

Fifteen minutes after Eoin settled Brenna in her room, he was trudging across the yard, back the way he’d come, when he heard someone shout his name from across the road.

“Reggie!” As he got closer, he noticed his friend had a different hair color and style. “What’s with the new look, man? Are ya in hiding, then?”

As Reggie was want to do, he lifted a brow and sniffed, the picture of an English gentleman. Eoin couldn’t contain his laugh.

“They’re called lowlights. It wouldn’t hurt you to add color now and again.”

“I add color to canvas. No need to be addin’ it to my head.”

Reggie turned his attention to the pub, a queer look on his face. “It looks exactly the same. How did your family manage to do that and not raise questions from the locals after the explosion?”

Eoin figured he referred to the recent troubles with Loman O’Connor and how the man had blown up Lucky O’Malley’s pub and half of the Black Cat inn. After Reggie’s return to New Yorkfrom his business trip to England, Eoin had confided the entire story.

Turning to survey his family’s businesses, Eoin cast an expert eye over them both. They’d been restored down to the last beam, thanks to the combined magic of the Aether and their friends, the Thornes. Together, with Eoin’s siblings, they’d been able to rebuild and wipe the memories of that eventful day from the minds of the village residents.

He frowned as a thought occurred to him. “When have ya been here to see it?”

“I haven’t. You’ve recreated the place on canvas, remember?” Reggie gave him a careless one-shoulder shrug. “I’m an observant person.”

Taking the comment at face value, he explained what they, along with the Thornes and the Aether, had done to return their little village to normal.

“Interesting. I suppose it’s good to have powerful friends.” There was something surly in Reggie’s tone as he handed Eoin a small suitcase. “It was all I could get from Odessa. She isn’t the most charitable of women. It’s a wonder your drab little mouse survived in that household as long as she did.”

Forgetting the odd reaction, Eoin scowled, quick to take exception to the way his friend referred to Brenna. “Don’t call her that. She’s not a little mouse, and she’s not drab. She’s beauty in her soul. I don’t understand why you and Dubheasa can’t see that.”

Eyebrows to his hairline, Reggie barked a cynical laugh. “What spell has she cast over you, scamp? From what I’ve seen, the poor child is afraid of her own shadow.”

“No spell. I can see the intelligent woman under the exterior. Sure, and you should look harder if you can’t,” he snapped.

Giving him a considering look, his friend dropped his gaze to the case in Eoin’s hand. “With a little persuading, Odessafound it in her heart to pass on a locket from her sister, Doreen. Brenna’s grandmother. Maybe now that she’s free of her grandaunt’s influence, your sweet little darling can learn to use her magic alongside you.”

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