Page 108 of Under Daddy's Spell

“She’s my oldest,” Lucinda explained further. “She’s always had a love of books—you’d really like her Tessa—so, it’s only fair she should have them. But he’s a petty little man, which is no crack about his size, especially since he’d rather sell them to a stranger for a dollar than see his sister have them.”

“I’m happy to return them to you, along with this one.” Tessa slid the book of spells onto the counter. “I want no part of it, or the other screwy stuff you’ve got going on here.”

“Welcome to the club,” Jordan muttered.

“Jordan, you don’t mean that.”

“I do,” he shot back then his head dropped forward, and he sighed. “Of course, I don’t. You’re family.” When he looked at her again, his scowl was scorching. “Victor and his dirty dealings have caused nothing but headaches for me and Tessa. He owes her an apology.”

Lucinda turned to her. “I apologize for my son. I knew he was upset, but I’m shocked he’d do such a thing.”

“I’m not,” Jordan stated. “And it’s him who needs to man up and apologize. You’ve got to stop coddling him. That’s why he’s nearly forty and still living with mom.”

“Stealing from his own family,” she stated with a slow shake of her head, her dramatically done-up features unable to disguise the hurt. Her head snapped up suddenly. “We don’t have to tell Val about this, do we?”

“Who?” Tessa asked, sounding like an owl, but she needed a playbill to keep up with all the characters in this drama.

“Valerie Cooper. She’s the eldest of the five James sisters, and also my mother. Does she know you moved your shop?”

“Not exactly.”

“What about Grams and Pops?”

“Please, Jordan, can’t we keep this between us?”

Tessa couldn’t get over the change in Lucinda. At their last meeting, she’d intimidated the spit out of her. Now, she didn’t seem scary at all. Instead, with the hand wringing she was doing, and her nervousness, she was the one who seemed intimidated.

Not by her, surely. Jordan, on the other hand...

“So that’s a no, too,” he concluded.

“Why wouldn’t you want your family to know where you are?” Tessa asked.

Jordan fielded her question when Lucinda clearly didn’t plan to. “My guess is she still owes them money from the last move.” His gaze leveled on his aunt. “I won’t say anything. You’re going to. Confession is good for the soul after all. But wait a week, so I can fill them in about me and Tessa.”

Madame Lucinda didn’t agree or disagree. She snatched up the spell book and held it to her chest. “I’m glad to haveAshuralreturned to me. Now, if you don’t mind, I was in the middle of something.” She started to walk away then paused to add. “Despite this ugly little episode, Jordan has always been my favorite nephew.” Her jewelry jingled as she swept down the aisle toward the beaded doorway. “I’ll expect an invitation to the nuptials. And a birth announcement,” she added with a laugh. “Imagine, a Cooper with red hair and green eyes.”

“I want a receipt for that!” Tessa called, but she had disappeared into the beads. She glanced up at Jordan. “It’s only a dollar, but I want proof of transfer of ownership so it doesn’t come back to bite me later, which, with my luck, it would.”

“Never mind that. I’ll get it for you. What was she talking about?”

“I, um, may have left out one small detail.”

“Tessa...”

“It’s insignificant if you don’t believe the magic is real.”

“Tell me,” he demanded in a softly ominous voice. It wasn’t worth it to her bottom not to obey.

“I told you it was a peace spell. It started out that way...”

“How did it finish?”

“As a spell for inspiring lust.”

His blue eyes flashed, and the half smile, which was no longer annoying, appeared.

“How did that happen?”

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