Page 37 of Doctor Grump

“Oh, of course,” twin number two said, and she nearly cackled. “Of course, that would be the only man who wants to marry her.”

Anger radiated through me. Usually, I would let comments like these roll off my back, but for some reason, I was not in the mood for it today. May and Mahogany Santorini always sought every opportunity to humiliate me, and when I was younger, it often worked. But now, they merely angered me. I hated the fact that just because they were conventionally beautiful, they thought it was okay to pick on others they viewed as “less.” You would think that two girls as pretty and powerful as they were would be happier.

But I didn’t want an argument in such a public place, so I thought to dispatch them in the fastest way I knew how. But before I could say anything, Bella spoke up.

“Actually, girls, she does have a fiancé,” Bella said, smiling sweetly at them. “It’s all a bit sudden, so you guys are one of the first to know.”

I gave Bella a wide-eyed look.What on earth was she doing?

She gave me a funny smile in return that seemed to sayplay along. I could see she was trying to help, thinking maybe this would be the best way to get them off my back. I decided to go along with it. Besides, this was one way to test if the fake fiancé plan would be believable on such short notice.

“Mhmm,” I said, clearing my throat as both girls stared at me. “I didn’t mean it to come out like this, but oh well, here we are.”

“The old guy?” May frowned.

“No, not him. You guys don’t know him, and if I have anything to do about it, you won’t know him, so you can skedaddle.”

They shared a look like they weren’t quite sure what to believe. Then, Mahogany grinned and said, “You’re lying.”

I cocked an eyebrow. I said nothing, daring them to call the bluff.

And just then, the worst possible thing happened.

Ian walked in through the door of the coffee shop.

I must legitimately have the worst luck in the world.

I immediately looked away from him and prayed all kinds of prayers that he would not see me or walk this way, but fate was really not on my side because he spotted me and began heading toward me.

“Oh, yum, who is that?” May wondered out loud.

“It’s the guy from the funeral, remember?” her sister responded.

“Yeah, I remember. But why is he coming this way?”

“I don’t know.” Bella smiled evilly at me. “Who knows, maybe he’s Piper’s fiancé.”

Oh no. Oh no. Please don’t.

But before I could beg, the witch called out, “Hey! My cousin says she’s your fiancé. Is that true?”

Oh God, the ground can open up and swallow me anytime now.

I couldn’t look at the disaster I had just caused. I could barely stand to watch as I heard his footsteps approaching. And then, in a deep voice that gave me shivers, he uttered the last words I expected.

“Yes, she is. What about it?”

16

IAN

Icould sense the shock that radiated through all four women at the table, but I kept my eyes on Piper. She was the only one whose reaction I cared about, so I got to see her eyes nearly bug out of her head at my response.

Although why she was so surprised that I acquiesced was a mystery to me. I could tell what was happening the minute I walked in and saw her sitting there, looking trapped as though she was surrounded by vultures.

I had been doing a good job at staying away from her so far. It had been about a month since she started working for us, and besides a few slip-ups, there had been no more intimate late-night conversations and no more asking questions that got too personal. We would have family dinners where she often asked about my day, but I would keep the answers short and to the point, focusing more on interacting with my daughter.

I thought all that would be enough to rid myself of these damn feelings I could feel popping up in my chest whenever I saw her.

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