Page 85 of Under Daddy's Spell

“There were leftover ingredients that I overlooked. My assistant unknowingly used them in a batch of muffins, and my intended victim ate one.”

“Victim, eh?”

“I didn’t like that word, either,” Tessa quickly explained. “It was the book’s term, not mine.”

“What kind of spell did you say this was?”

“I didn’t.”

“Do so now,” she demanded, back to snapping again.When Tessa frowned, she added in a slightly less-caustic tone, “If you please, I’m a busy woman.”

Tessa made a point of looking around at the empty store, like Jordan had when she’d made a similar claim.

The madame was shrewd enough to take her meaning. “You came here for my help, didn’t you?”

She nodded, and because being antagonistic probably wasn’t the way to get it, she explained, “All I wanted was a little peace. I own a bookstore. A few weeks ago, a gym opened next to me. The owner and I weren’t getting along—”

“Imagine that,” Lucinda muttered under her breath.

Ignoring her, Tessa kept going, wanting this done.

“We were arguing constantly, over trash, parking, the volume of the music, not to mention the other noises coming through the wall. I’ve been to fitness centers before but never noticed how loud they were until one moved in next door to me. You wouldn’t believe all the grunting. Then the air-conditioning went out in the middle of August! Tempers flared, as I’m sure you can imagine. Then he ate one of the muffins and everything changed overnight. We started getting along really well and things heated up between us.” She realized her unintended pun. “Not temperature-wise,” she went on to explain, “but romantically.”

Feeling like she was rambling and giving more information than needed, Tessa paused, shifting nervously on her feet as she awaited the madame’s response.

“This gym owner. He’s ripped, I’m guessing.”

“Yeah, but not so massive he can’t put his arms down by his sides or scratch his head. He’s really handsome, too. Tall, blond, with blue eyes that actually sparkle, and a smile that makes me melt.”

“Let me get this straight,” the woman stated, staring at her through narrowed eyes done up heavily in bright-purple shadow and thickly applied black eyeliner. “A gorgeous, successful hunk is interested in you, but you want to undo the spell?”

“But I didn’t want him interested in me! I only wanted us to get along. He’s arrogant and can be quite exasperating.”

“In the package you describe, some arrogance is expected. Maybe your standards are a bit too high, dear.”

An expert on the subject, Tessa folded her arms and shook her head. “You haven’t met him. I think every other woman in New Orleans would agree with me if they knew Jordan Cooper.”

Lucinda’s masked disappeared and her mouth fell open, and Tessa could have sworn she felt the breeze stirred up by her unbelievably long fake eyelashes when she blinked once, slowly. Then she asked in an incredulous voice. “Six feet four inches of muscle, with gorgeous clear-blue penetrating eyes, a brilliant white smile, and a rich deep laugh that turns women into a puddle of goo—that Jordan Cooper?”

“Um...” she replied, hearing him described to a T right down to his height.

“The same Jordan Cooper who was a two-time collegiate All-American and the first tight end to crack the top ten in the Heisman voting since 1977?”

It was Tessa’s turn to blink, but Madame Lucinda went on without pausing.

“Who won the Pepsi Rookie of the Year and the AP Offensive Player of the Year titles and was on his way to claiming a Super Bowl MVP title his second year when an asshole linebacker from the Jaguars blindsided him with an illegal spear tackle? It blew out his knee, ending his career, and denied the Saints and every devoted fan in Louisiana a back-to-back championship? Is that the Jordan Cooper you mean?”

“I, uh, don’t keep up with football, but the other stuff sounds like the Jordan I know.”

For the second time that day, someone looked at her like she’d sprouted a second head.

“Honey. You don’t need a mentor in magic, you need your head examined. Or to come out from whatever rock you’ve been living under because the Jordan Cooper I know is also the CEO of The Body Shop, one of the biggest fitness chains in the Southeast. I hear he’s taking it national. Surely, you’ve seen him on TV, in commercials, or broadcasting a game.”

“Broadcasting a game?” she echoed stupidly.

Lucinda dropped her head in her hand. “Do you own a TV?”

“Yes, but it’s never on. My bookstore pretty much consumes my life. I’m either there, or—”

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