Page 8 of Must Love Scones and Secrets
Winifred shrieked, then stepped back.
Careening sideways, Merry caused a broom stand to start to tumble.
I snapped my fingers, sending blue magic to right the stand and the chairs before they hit the floor.
“Merry!” I called, trying to calm him. With all his claws extended, Merry slid across the floor, nearly crashing into Primrose before catching his footing. Galloping in place for a moment before he finally got traction, he shot toward the storage room. A moment later, I heard the telltale sounds of chaos. I winced with every bang and crash but groaned aloud when I heard a splatter.
“Oh, burnt ends!” I cursed, certain the fresh batch of strawberry marmalade I’d set to cool had just died a terrible death.
“What is going on?” Primrose asked with a laugh, her freckled nose wrinkling as she glanced at the suspiciously sparkly cloud that still lingered. Her curly brown hair seemed to capture some of the glitter, making her look even more magical than usual.
“Merry’s magic is acting up. That’s the second time he’s sneezed and…glitter everywhere. But something else strange happened. I think, maybe, for just a moment—” I began, glancing back at my scones. Had they floated? Was that real? “Whatever it is, he got the zoomies. Sorry about the timing.”
“Oh, never mind the caticorn. Caticorns are for sad and lonely girls anyway,” Winifred said dismissively as she wavedaway a lingering cloud of glitter and pulled up a stool at the counter, setting the flowers thereon.
Primrose and I gave one another a knowing look. Winifred didn’t have a mean bone in her body, but sometimes her comments cut a little too close.
“What you girls need to focus on is finding a good partner. You are such sweet, charming girls. I can’t understand why you aren’t married. Now, let me think. I know,” she said, snapping her fingers. For a brief moment, an ethereal cloud of pink petals appeared, accompanied by the strong scent of roses. “Primrose, what about that young wizard who opened a shop in the crystal district? He’s a handsome one.”
Primrose sighed as she settled onto one of the stools. “I had three dates with him last spring. I think… He’s too introverted for me,” she said, shifting uncomfortably.
“Nonsense.”
“He winced when I laughed and got so startled he couldn’t stop conjuring frogs. He declined to go out with me again.”
“Bah,” Winifred said with annoyance. “That boy is too nervous. Good with crystals, bad with people. Rosalyn, have you ever talked to that handsome vampire who runs the midnight market every Hallowmoon? He’s something of a beast. That’s your type.”
I chuckled. “He’s handsome, I’ll give you that, but I’m a vegetarian, and he’s allergic to garlic. It would never work.”
Winifred sighed dramatically and began listing more potential suitors—most of whom Primrose or I had already dated or were so unsuitable we couldn’t help but laugh. With a defeated sigh, Winifred slipped off her stool. “Mark my words, I’ll find better options and have you both married by Yule. Now, have a good breakfast with the elders, dears. Oh, root rot! A town full of beautiful girls and not one suitable bachelor!” she grumbled as she headed away, the door chiming in her wake.
After Winifred left, I handed Primrose a violet-and-white-chocolate croissant—her favorite—and lifted one of my orange-and-thyme scones. “A toast to the sad and lonely caticorn-loving girls?”
Primrose laughed. “Cheers to that! May they long have caticorn hair on their sweaters.”
We tapped our confections together, then chewed, savoring the treat and sharing a moment of quiet misery. The daisies on the counter seemed to glow a little brighter, as if encouraging us.
“You know what, Prim?” I said, my blue wings fluttering thoughtfully. “I think we work too much.”
“I agree entirely,” my friend replied, brushing crumbs from her dress. “I was awake all night going over my calendar and making a schedule for the next, I don’t know, six months? Too long, that’s for sure.”
“We need some sort of adventure,” I said. “Something to shake things up. More than just a visit to the Moonlight Springs Spa.”
“Agreed,” Primrose said, nodding firmly.
“We need to start thinking outside the box,” I said, pouring her a cup of tea. “And we need to make the time.”
“Sure,” Primrose replied with a wry grin. “Right after Midsummer. After that, I’ll definitely find a way to make time.”
“Same. Right after Midsummer. I’ll start thinking about it, too.”
“But then we’ll have to prepare for the harvest season, Autumn Festival, and Hallowmoon,” Primrose reminded me.
“Okay, so we’ll do it after that. But then there’s Yule. It’s my busiest time of year. So, it’ll have to wait until after that.”
Primrose’s grin widened. “And then we get to Lovers’ Day, which kicks off wedding season, which lasts all through spring.”
“Okay, after that,” I agreed, my wings fluttering as I giggled.
