Page 6 of Enduring Magic

Not that she could blame him. At the time, her spells tended to backfire at every turn. She’d been afraid of her own gifts, of the sheer power she wielded, and used to pull back when she should’ve given it her all. Under Alastair’s tutelage, she eventually learned to control what she had and give her abilities the free rein they needed to perform properly. Or mostly, anyway.

Coop waited expectantly, letting her make up her mind about the wedding venue and date.

“I think the spring equinox is perfect,” she finally said.

“Not as perfect as you, sweetheart.”

She pulled him down atop her, opening her legs to cradle his hips. “You say the sexiest things.”

3

“How are Coop and Olivia?” Alastair asked as she approached.

Summer lowered her sunglasses to give her father a glare. “You’d better not have been spying!”

His rare bark of laughter boomed out. “Not a chance. I know good and well what I’d have seen if I did. There isn’t enough eye bleach to wipe away the sight of Cooper’s bare ass.”

“I quite like his ass,” she said cheekily, giving her father a wide grin as she settled back into a lounger. Seriously, the great Alastair Thorne using the termeye bleachtickled her funny bone. “Where’s Mama? I thought she’d be here with you.”

“She’s with your sisters, getting us another drink, just there.” With a tilt of his chin, he gestured to the poolside bar, where Aurora laughed with Autumn and Winnie. At a table not far from the others, Spring had settled on Knox’s lap with one arm slung around his neck, grinning at something their other sister, Holly, appeared to be saying.

“Your mother isstilltrying to find some frou-frou concoction I might consume.” Alastair sighed heavily. “It’s like she doesn’t know me at all.”

“Mama is nothing if not optimistic. And don’t worry. I’ll drink whatever you don’t want.”

“You’re a team player, my dear.”

Summer’s laughter died as he cocked his head to the side and studied her.

“What aren’t you telling me, child?”

“Nothing?”

His lips twitched, and his eyes crinkled in amusement, but he remained silent, waiting for her to crack.

“Coop proposed.”

“And still, there’s no engagement ring on your finger. Miracles do happen.”

She snorted in response to his sarcastic comment, knowing very well he’d probably had a hand in pairing them up, just as he had her sisters and their mates. Yet she couldn’t quite figure out how he’d done it, and Alastair Thorne wasn’t anywhere close to an open book, preferring to keep his wily methods to himself.

“Well,no, there isn’t an engagement ringyet, but he gave me something much better.” Sitting forward, Summer lifted the chain to show her father the locket. “It was his grandmother’s.”

Aurora arrived in time to hear Summer’s reply. “She was a lovely woman. I’m not sure if you remember her, dear, but she always made you a lemon loaf because it was your favorite.”

“For me?” She was surprised by this turn in the conversation. It blew her mind that Coop’s gran had specifically catered toherlikes and dislikes. “I thought Miss Marina made it for everyone and I got the benefit of her culinary skills.”

Her father chuckled. “Marina was a character.”

“And she always spoiled you and your brother terribly, darling,” Aurora replied with a grin.

“That she did. Most likely because we didn’t terrorize her beloved Tristan like his siblings did.” Alastair’s smile was slightly sad in remembering the past. “You wouldn’t know it, child, but once upon a time, Zane’s father was the silent, studious one. He and Preston were bosom buddies and shared a love of antiquities.”

“Quiet?” Her mother frowned as she handed Alastair a drink. “Why don’t I remember him that way? He always seemed to be the life of the party.”

“Yes,aftercollege.” He grimaced after taking a sip of his umbrella drink. “Not a winner, my love.”

Summer readily accepted it when he handed it off to her. Taking a sip, she grinned. Piña coladas were never going to be a favorite of her father. “You should try a lemon-drop martini next time, Mama.” Mainly, she’d said it because lemon was her favorite, and if she were going to get lit drinking her dad’s rejects, she intended them to be ones she at least liked. “Please continue with the story, Dad.”

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