Home > Third Time's A Charm (Order of Magic #2)(8)

Third Time's A Charm (Order of Magic #2)(8)
Author: Michelle M. Pillow

Heather knocked even as she opened the door. Her gaze went to Lorna. “Am I late?”

“Just on time. I went to Toco,” Vivien said.

“How are you feeling?” Heather quietly shut the door, not taking her eyes off Lorna. She carried her purse and a messenger bag that appeared weighed down with supplies.

“Much better, thank you,” Lorna said.

Heather’s dark brown hair hung damp along her back, the weight of the locks only starting to curl. Her flannel shirt looked like what she wore almost every day to work and had probably come from the top of a clean, unfolded laundry basket.

Heather worked harder than anyone Vivien had ever met. She owned properties all over town and was always acquiring more. It hadn’t always been like that, but Heather had suffered the kind of loss no person ever should. Working gave Heather a sense of purpose to her day.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Heather gave Vivien a quizzical smile and brushed her hair behind her ear.

“All work and no play makes Heather a dull girl,” Vivien answered.

“Gee, thanks?” Heather laughed. She dropped her purse in a corner on the floor and then sat next to Lorna on the couch. She placed the messenger bag between them. “You appear to be in a mood. I take it the meeting with Rex didn’t go well.”

“Nothing surprising. He wants out of our alimony deal, but instead of asking like an adult, he tried to have his lawyer intimidate me.” Vivien shrugged. “I played the porn tape and threatened to have him audited. So you know, all in all, a very grown-up-mature day.”

“She gave the neighbor hottie a ride home,” Lorna inserted. “But she doesn’t want to talk about that. She keeps changing the subject every time I ask her about it.”

“You should let me set you up with Troy,” Vivien said. That would solve two problems. Heather might actually do something besides work, and Troy could turn his attentions to someone who could return his feelings. The part of her that was attracted to the hottie neighbor felt a pang of jealousy at the idea, but she would never begrudge Heather her happiness.

“Troy?” Heather looked at Lorna.

“Neighbor hottie,” Lorna clarified. She turned her attention to Heather as if the two of them were having a private conversation. “I’m not surprised she’s trying to set you up with him. She’s trying to pretend she’s indifferent, but I think otherwise. Her face was flushed when she came home, and you should have seen the way they were looking at each other when she dropped him off. If I didn’t know better, I would say Vivien has a crush.”

“Yes, I think you might be right. I sense something is different about her.” Heather lifted her fist to show the ring on her forefinger as she pointed it toward Vivien like a magic talisman. “Something has her off-kilter, and I don’t believe it’s Rex being Rex.”

Lorna balled her fist and pointed her ring at Vivien. “We command you to speak.”

“I kind of hate both of you right now.” Vivien’s ring finger tingled as if energy vibrated from the jewelry. Thankfully, it wasn’t enough to make her follow the playful command. She ignored the sensation as she grabbed a cushioned chair and dragged it across the floor to sit beside the coffee table.

“Well, that didn’t work,” Heather chuckled as if she hadn’t expected it to. “I was sure we were due to develop a new superpower. It’s not fair, Viv, that you can tell what’s going on with me by just looking at me, but we have to pry answers out of you.”

“Yes, what are you hiding?” Heather asked. “Spill.”

“Lorna exaggerates. If Troy was looking at me in any special way, it was in disgust. I pretended I was a dingbat so he wouldn’t ask me out. Are you happy? Now you know everything.”

“So you—wait, what?” Heather frowned. “You pretended you were less intelligent to get a man not to ask you out?”

“When you say it like that…” Vivien searched the bag for a beef taco. “Who wants a taco?”

“Since when do you avoid speaking your mind? You are the most forthright person I know. You tell people things when they don’t want to hear those things all the time,” Heather insisted. “If he asked you out and you’re not interested, why wouldn’t you just tell him that? Why the game? That’s really not like you.”

Vivien pulled out a burrito. “Burrito?”

“Viv?” Heather crossed her arms over her chest and arched a brow.

“Fine. I don’t know.” She waved the wrapped burrito to enunciate her frustration. “It’s like I can’t get the freaking words out of my freaking throat, and I just say stupid shit. Plus, he’s a likable guy, from what little I can pick up from him. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“And you’re attracted to him,” Lorna added.

“Fine. Yes.” Vivien dropped the burrito on the table and again looked in the bag. “He is an attractive man, but I’ve told attractive men no before.”

“He’s not like most of the young men you date,” Lorna added.

“Thank you, exactly.” Vivien nodded at Lorna.

“I’m not saying that’s a good thing,” Lorna corrected with a small laugh.

“I am,” Vivien quipped, pulling out a taco. She peeled back the wrapper and took a defiant bite.

“I wasn’t saying that was a bad thing, either,” Lorna corrected. “What I meant was if you like him, maybe it’s time to try something different. You deserve to be happy.”

“I am happy,” Vivien answered. “Men don’t define my happiness.”

“I didn’t mean to imply—” Lorna began.

“She’s messing with you,” Heather interrupted. “She’s not really annoyed. She knows exactly what you meant.”

“It’s just too easy to tease you sometimes,” Vivien laughed.

“Ha, ha,” Lorna grumbled, wrinkling her nose in Vivien’s direction.

“So he shakes you up a bit, and you’re not used to it,” Heather said.

“Can we please stop talking about this?” Vivien begged. “I want to know what you meant when you said you were sure we were due for more superpowers. Did you talk to Julia’s spirit? Did she say something about our gifts?”

“No. It was just a feeling, or maybe a worry.” Heather looked into the bag. “My goodness, Viv, seriously how much food did you order?”

Vivien shrugged. “They reheat well and the fridge was empty.”

“You eat like a frat boy,” Heather pulled food from the bag and laid the individually wrapped items on the table. Vivien ignored the remark.

“A month ago, I would have been all for more superpowers, but right now I’m not sure I can handle anything else. My empathic abilities have flared up like a psychic rash. They’re all over the place. I’m sensing everything.” Vivien unwrapped the end of a taco and took a bite.

The flour shell was lightly fried and the inside was filled with seasoned beef, peas, potatoes, cheese, and salsa. So simple, and so freaking good. She gave a light moan of appreciation.

Good food. Great friends. What else was there in life? Vivien counted herself very blessed.

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