Page 106 of Under Daddy's Spell

“Thanks, Daddy.” She stretched on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss goodbye.

But no way would that do. He caught her arm and pulled her back.

“Rule number three, baby girl. This is how you say goodbye to your daddy.” With his long fingers encircling her upper arms, he pulled her up on her toes again and laid a long, hot, wet one on her.

She’d only somewhat recovered when she opened the doors to her six o’clock regulars fifteen minutes later.

Chapter Thirty

ONE WOULD THINK THEsweltering heat and oppressive humidity on a Monday afternoon in late August would have kept some tourists away, but people still jammed the sidewalks. Tessa couldn’t care less about any of that. She’d be happy making a trek across the Sahara on foot if she could do it with Jordan next to her while holding his hand.

She’d always been a romantic. Insta-love and slow-burn love stories filled her shelves, and she’d read a lot of them. But mercy’s sake she hadn’t turned into a sap until she’d fallen hard for her daddy.

Since he was bigger and taller and could see over the heads of those around them, she pointed in the direction they should go, and followed, latched onto him with one hand and clutching the troublemaking book in the other. She could tell they were on the right block when the sidewalk turned to red brick.

Suddenly, Jordan slowed, and his grip on her fingers tightened. She came up even with him, saw his jaw had clenched and his good mood of only a moment ago had vanished.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I should have known,” he muttered, more to himself than to her.

“Known what?”

She didn’t question him further because he increased his pace, effortlessly cutting through the throng of people who looked at his size and scowl and got out of the way. When they got to the pentagram-inscribed, blacked-out double doors, he yanked open one side. He would have usually let her go ahead of him, as good manners dictated, but he went through without slowing, Tessa practically running to keep up.

Like the last time, it took her eyes a minute to adjust to the low lighting.

Madame Lucinda popped up from behind a display rack with a jingle from her bangles and dangling earrings.

“Miss Delacroix,” she called. “You’re back! Don’t spare any details. Tell me how everything turned out.”

Her hair was bright and wearing a pale-blue dress dotted with tiny white flowers, Tessa would have been hard to miss, but Jordan stood right next to her. The madame didn’t seem to notice as she started down the aisle.

But she lurched to a halt, her smile vanishing when he drawled low and deep, “Aunt Lucy. Long time no see.”

Tessa jerked in surprise, her eyes darting between the two of them. One fair as day and the other dark as night.

---