Page 27 of A Touch Enchanted

Nothing I could do about that now, though.

At the sound of my engine revving, the mayor spun around. The purple tint of his skin had turned full plum. If he’d been any more of a cartoon, steam would’ve poured from his ears. He yelled something, but I couldn’t hear him over the sound of my bike. I fired off a quick text to Finn about taking Violet home, then headed up to the office—opting to take the back route so I could enjoy my last few minutes of freedom before my bike got impounded.

As soon as I stepped foot inside the shiny concrete and marble building that overlooked Stardust Parkway and served as headquarters for Zodiac Enterprises, my brother Cole came charging out of his office and grabbed the front of my shirt.

“Aww, are we about to have one of those sweet family bonding moments?” I patted the top of his head and almost lost my hand when he bared his teeth.

“Don’t be a smartass, you know damn well what you did.” As he dragged me toward his office, he shot a glare at one of the new interns, who squeaked and dropped her coffee down the front of her blouse. He pushed me inside and slammed the door. “Sit down and explain to me exactly why the hell you decided it would be a good idea to take your bike on a joyride through the center of town during peak tourist hours?”

I rolled my eyes. It didn’t take long for that story to stray from the truth. By this time tomorrow, five people will have sworn they saw me mow down five kittens and a child. “I took my bike through the woods, not town. I passed exactly one hiker before I hit the park. And believe me, there was no joy in that ride.”

There was a little joy in the ride, but judging from the thunderous look on his face, I didn’t think it would be worth mentioning at the moment.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Cole roared loud enough to shake the walls. The sounds of scurrying mice filtered back from the other side. The staff all running to warn each other that the CEO was having another temper tantrum. “I am barely keeping shit together around here, I don’t need the fucking mayor crawling up my ass on top of it.”

“Bro. You either need to start drinking or start meditating.”

Cole had always been an uptight prick, even when we were kids. While the rest of us in the neighborhood were playing Red Rover or Hide and Seek, he would sit on the sidelines with a book and point out where the weakest link in the chain was or spoil where everyone was hiding. He started a lemonade stand and made all the kids he recruited to help cry because they weren’t squeezing fast enough. He’d knock over sand castles on the beach and then yell at the kids who had built them for not making them strong enough.

He also had perfect penmanship, which was just fucking creepy.

Wes opened the door and leaned against the frame with a smirk on his face. “How’s the Ducati running after all these weeks in hibernation?”

I grinned at him. “Like a wet dream.”

“Unbelievable,” Cole muttered under his breath. “Both of you fucks are unbelievable. I get it. The no motor vehicles rule fucking sucks, but if we’re not playing by the rules, it makes it that much easier for the mayor to undermine us, and I don’t have time for that shit.”

“You should really start drinking,” Wes said.

I threw my hands in the air. “Thank you.”

Cole squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose, where a perpetual tension headache had lodged itself since middle school. “Why did you take the bike out?”

I explained to them everything that happened, from the time I got the call from Bob, down to what I overhead the mayor saying on my way out. As soon as the subject of magic came up, Cole opened his laptop and pretended to start working, considering the topic beneath him. It was only when I reiterated the importance of stepping up efforts to get everyone off the island for the summer, that I finally grabbed Cole’s attention.

“That shit isnothappening.” Cole slammed his laptop shut. “I know you two are living in fairy princess land where magic is real and everyone gets a cookie, but I have an actual business to run, and shutting down for the summer would murder our bottom line.”

“For the last fucking time, do you want me to call Brooke Hudson over here to touch you in the middle of a workday?” Wes ground his teeth, clearly running out of patience when it came to Cole and his utter denial of the existence of magic. “She’s only staying away from you because she’s trying to be respectful of your stubborn ass.”

“The beekeeper.” Cole’s lip curled as he used the same tone one might use for the words “toe fungus” or “eye mites.”

“Yes, the beekeeper,” Wes said. “And the other half of your magical battery.”

“She gave me a flower once.” The incredulity in his voice had me choking on a laugh. I almost wished Brooke would pull a Galen and touch him out in the open, preferably someplace where I’d have a front-row seat and a bowl of popcorn ready.

“I heard just how well you reacted to her dastardly attempt to make you smile,” Wes said drily. “But like it or not, we’re going to need you. So suck it up, buttercup.”

“If it will get you to leave me alone, I’ll think about it.” He opened his laptop again. “And we’re not shutting down for the summer. Don’t think I forgot about that.”

Wes and I exchanged a look. Technically, between the two of us and our parents, we could overrule Cole, but we hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Christmas was already going to be awkward enough with Wes, Seth, and Audrey all in attendance.

I pulled out my phone and forwarded him what I’d stayed up way too late working on the night before in an attempt to find new and creative ways to keep my hand off my dick. “I already made a spreadsheet for why this makes perfect sense. Add in a few more lines about how continued attacks on residents will affect future growth, and I think you’ll see this actually makes more sense from a long-term standpoint.”

Cole let out a grunt, which was as close to confirmation of his interest as I’d get. One thing Cole and I had in common was a shared love for spreadsheets and organization. He could deny magic all he wanted, but he couldn’t ignore cold hard facts and figures. They made up ninety percent of his DNA. Once he saw my data was sound, he’d come around.

“I’ll get back to you on this later.” He returned his attention to work, which was as good as a dismissal. “And I don’t give a damn if Violet’s pussy is on fire next time, no more riding your bike through town.”

If he wasn’t my brother, I’d poison his deli sandwich.

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