Page 6 of Spellbound
4
Eli
She landed in my lap.With a total lack of the agility I was known for, I darted for my chair and somehow landed between it and the exceptionally nice ass of the dark-haired beauty whose name had barely registered.Eeegee?
I’d like to believe I’d kissed a woman senseless before, and a time or two Priscilla claimed to forget her own name—though even I doubted that—but still, I’d never made a woman swoon. I had to admit, it was good for my ego.
Butit’s you?Christ, what did she mean by that?
Stephanie dropped to Eeegee’s side and mutely held her hand out behind her. Clearly reading her mind, Grant plucked a glass of water from the table and handed it to her. I wondered if she planned to douse it over Eeegee’s head and was relieved when she poised it at her lips and forced her to drink. And then mopped up the bit that dribbled down her chin. The twelve-year-old in me wanted to snicker.
Within moments, Eeegee’s eyes blinked, then fluttered, and at last made the commitment to remain open. She immediately popped to her feet, her fingertips flying to her gaping mouth.
“Whoa. That happened.”
Stephanie handed her the water glass so she could drink more. “Pretty sure you fainted.”
“I’ve never fainted in my life.” When Stephanie and Grant only chuckled and nodded, Emma Grayce whipped her gaze to me and glowered. “I can’t believe I did that-that-whatever I did. What is it with you?”
“Me?”
The two older women looked on at first with concern and then amused interest. Eegee’s angry gaze trapped me and wouldn’t let go.
“Lady, don’t snarl at me. I don’t even know you. From what I see so far, that’s for the good.”Lies. Until she spouted off at me, I was totally okay with being paired for more than the wedding.
Slow but steady on her wedged heels, Eegee moved to a seat at the table and thanked Grant when he shoved the plate holding the burger Molly’d brought from the other table in front of her. “Look, I’m sorry I snapped. Do you know me? No. No, I’m sure not. It’s just— You just— Damn.” She took a bite, let out a slow moan, then peered at everyone hovering around her and flapped her hands at her sides.
“I drew this morning, something sort of unconscious and freestyle. Stephanie, you know how I do?” She took another bite, and a dab of mayo caught on her lip. I slid lower in my chair to hide how that bit of creamy substance affected my lower anatomy. It was fucking infuriating that my dick wasn’t better behaved.
Stephanie nodded sagely. “Yeah, you do that. Sort of go in a trance or a spell and the next thing you know”—she snapped her fingers—“magic! Did you do that today?”
Looking nonplussed, Eeegee withdrew a piece of lined paper from her bag. Unfolded it and handed it to Stephanie. Who gasped, eyes wide, then folded it and handed it back with a Mona Lisa smile.
“Kismet.” Stephanie murmured the word, obviously meant for Eeegee alone, and added a slight nod.
But what was on the paper? I was entitled to know, right? Especially since I was the one to make the woman land on my dick. Sort of.
Eeegee chomped into a couple of fries, then looked mutinous. “No. Stephanie, we talked about this.”
Stephanie threw back her head and laughed, clapping her hands and bouncing on her toes with excitement. “But I have the perfect idea!”
“Stephanie.” Eeegee growled her warning.
“No, hear me out. The wedding rehearsal isn’t until tomorrow night so there are still a couple of days until the wedding. You and Colleen and Shea have everything so dialed in that there’s literally nothing left to do except set up. I think you and Eli should, you know, get to know each other. Weddings can be so awkward, don’t you think, if you don’t even know the person you’re paired with.”
Oh, hell no.It was my turn to balk. “Now Stephanie— Grant, dude, help a brother out. I’m here to visit my grandma, not—”
“Elijah. No need to make yourself a martyr. Go. Have some fun with your young woman.” She made a shooing motion, but I was a natural born competitor. I wasn’t going down without a fight.
“Not my young woman, Mimi. I think we’ve established I don’t know her at all.”
Abigail lifted her chin and peered at—no,scrutinized—me down her autocratic nose.
Stephanie had Grant’s hand clutched to her chest and the gaze he zeroed on me held clear warning.
“But—” I heaved a sigh.
Grant was one of my oldest friends and this was his big weekend. Who was I to cast a shadow? I’d escorted strangers to events a multitude of times, minor celebs lined up by sponsors because it looked good for the press. It was how I got mixed up with Priscilla.
