Page 79 of Returning to Everton

“Alright, you know everything you need to know to conjure those. Don’t forget to think about how they taste, not just how they look and feel, otherwise they won’t taste very good,” I warn her.

“Okay, Mommy!” She closes her eyes again and we watch as her magic covers the coffee table. When it clears, there’s a plateful of the cookies and three glasses of milk.

“Now you’re just showing off!” I tease her and she giggles. “Well, who’s gonna be the taste tester?” I look around at Violet and Quinn. Violet finally gives in, and decides to eat her cookies.

“Mmmm. Mommy! They taste just like when we bake them!” I look at Quinn with wide eyes. Did my kid seriously just conjure food for the first time,andit tastes good? That never happens.

I reach over, grab a cookie for myself, and take a bite. Oh my god, she wasn’t kidding. These are great! I get brave and try the milk next and am very thankful when I take a sip and it tastes like milk. I can’t believe how natural my daughter is with magic. She’s basically lived a normal life, only being able to move stuff, having no idea she could evendoanything else with her magic, yet here she is no doubt surpassing kids her age that have been taught magic their whole lives. I put my milk down, and turn to Violet.

“I am so freaking proud of you Bug. It’s amazing that you can do the things you can. You thought you were going to be behind at school because you don’t know a lot about magic,” I chuckle ruefully. “You keep this up and you’re gonna be skipping grades before you know it!”

“You think so Mommy?” she asks me hopefully.

“Oh, I know so. You’re almost as good with magic as I was at your age, and I had five years of practice on you!” She has the biggest smile I have ever seen on her face. It’s clear she’s proud of herself, and sheshouldbe.

“It’s really fun using my magic to conjure things Mommy, but I like making my cookies better by hand. They may taste the same, but they’re not,” she admits.

“I’m glad sweetheart. Remember, you shouldn’t use your magic for everything. You don’t want to have to rely on it. You should be able to do things for yourself. Maybe someday I’ll teach you how to bake with your magic like I do at work. I think that would be a good mix of magic and hard work.” I suggest.

“That’d be amazing Mommy!”

Quinn and I chuckle at her excitement. “Alright Bug, it’s getting late. Time for bed, come give me my kisses.”

She jumps up and gives me then Quinn goodnight kisses, and rushes off to bed with her new unicorn.

30

Rowen

The past two weeks have flown by. Between working in the bakery with Hudson every day and spending as much time as possible getting to know the guys again, or for the first time in Declan’s case, and magic lessons with Violet, it’s been the best weeks of my life. I still can’t believe my baby girl starts school tomorrow. The guys are all coming over again today, but they’re leaving earlier than normal, so Violet can get to bed and be well rested for her first day.

As I get ready for the guys, I think back on everything that’s happened since we moved here. I guess Hudson closing the bakery for me was an even bigger deal than I thought, because the following Tuesday every single customer asked him why he closed. And we hada lotof customers that day. I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire town had come in to find out for themselves what was going on.

Hudson was not shy about telling everyone who asked that I had moved back to town finally and he had to close, so he could take me on our first date. Everyone thought it was very romantic, so they forgave him for closing without warning. Well, everyone except Britney, of course. I don’t know what the hell her problem is.

She’s supposedly happily married, why would she care what Hudson does? I think I’ll ask the guys about that today. I’ve noticed she comes into the bakery every day, and when she thinks I’m not looking she flirts with Hudson. Not that I can blame her because he is hot, but she’s married, and she knows we’re dating now. I really hope none of the guys were stupid enough to hook up with her.

Other than that, everything is going great. Violet is doing amazing with her magic lessons. The second day Declan watched her while I went to work, she begged him to give her magic lessons. She had so much fun with our lesson the night before, she wanted to keep practicing. Since Declan is a teacher, and because he can’t turn Violet away when she breaks out the puppy dog eyes, they’ve been having lessons every day. I was worried when we moved here that she’d be behind because of her lack of knowledge when it comes to magic, but thanks to Declan, and her natural abilities, I think she might be ahead of her class.

I was also relieved to hear that Logan was okay with me dating his dad. I can only imagine how confusing it is for him to see his dad dating after all of this time, but he’s a great kid and apparently, he likes me. So, when Declan sat him down and explained our relationship, he told his dad he approved. Luckily, Logan had some exposure to our unique kind of relationship, so he didn’t find it weird. We have some pretty awesome kids.

As I’m cutting fruit for a fruit salad, the doorbell rings, then I hear the door open, and the guys come walking in. They’ve been over so much lately they don’t even wait for me to answer the door anymore. They make sure to ring to let me know they’re here, then just walk in. I smile to myself as I keep cutting the cantaloupe when a pair of strong arms wrap around me, and one of the guys kisses my neck.

“Mmmm I love fruit salad,” Kayden whispers in my ear. Then proceeds to nibble said ear.

I giggle and attempt to elbow him in the stomach. “Kayden, if you make me cut myself, we’re gonna have problems,” I warn him.

Suddenly the knife is no longer in my hands and Kayden spins me around.

“Wouldn’t want that, Lovely. Allow me to finish cutting for you,” he kisses me passionately and buries his hands in my hair.

I run my hands up his back and kiss him back just as passionately. I can never get enough of these men. I finally pull back and gasp for breath. Kayden just smirks down at me.

“Come on, let’s take this outside,” he reaches behind me and retrieves a bowl full of cut fruit.

“You cheated!” I accuse.

He just laughs at me, “Of course, I did Lovely. I never said I would cut it by hand. Besides, why would I do that when I could use magic and kiss you instead?”

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