Page 31 of Charmed
Chapter 6
“Why isn’t Ana here yet? When is she coming?”
“Soon,” Boone answered for the tenth time. Too soon, he was afraid. He was behind in everything. The kitchen was a disaster. He’d used too many pans. Then again, he always did. He could never figure out how anyone cooked without using every pot, pan and bowl available.
The chicken cacciatore smelled pretty good, but he was uncertain of the results. Stupid, he supposed, absolutely stupid to try out a new recipe at such a time, but he’d figured Ana was worth more than their usual Friday-night meatloaf.
Jessie was driving him crazy, which was a rarity. She was overexcited at the thought of having Ana over, and she’d been pestering him without pause ever since he’d brought her home from school.
The dog had chosen that afternoon to chew up Boone’s bed pillows, so he’d spent a great deal of valuable time chasing dog and feathers. The washing machine had overflowed, flooding the laundry room. He was much too male to consider calling a repairman, so he’d torn the machine apart and put it back together again.
He was pretty sure he’d fixed it.
His agent had called to tell him thatA Third Wish for Mirandahad been optioned for an animated feature by one of the major studios. That would have been good news at any other time, but now he was expected to fit a trip to L.A. into his schedule.
Jessie had decided she wanted to be a Brownie and had generously volunteered him as a Brownie leader.
The thought of having a group of six- and seven-year-old girls looking to him to teach them how to make jewelry boxes out of egg cartons chilled his blood.
With a lot of ingenuity and plenty of cowardice, he thought, he might be able to ease his way out of it.
“Are you sure she’s coming, Daddy? Are you sure?”
“Jessica.” The warning note in his voice was enough to make her lower lip poke out. “Do you know what happens to little girls who keep asking the same question?”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Keep it up and you’ll find out. Go make sure Daisy’s not eating the furniture.”
“Are you awfully mad at Daisy?”
“Yes. Now go on or you’re next.” He softened the order with a gentle pat on her bottom. “Beat it, brat, or I’ll put you in the pot and have you for dinner.”
Two minutes later, he heard the mayhem that meant Jessie had located Daisy, and girl and dog were now wrestling. The high-pitched yelps and happy squeals played hell with the headache pulsing behind his eyes.
Just need an aspirin, he thought, an hour or two of quiet, and a vacation on Maui.
He was on the point of giving a roar that would probably pop his head off his shoulders when Ana knocked.
“Hi. Smells good.”
He hoped it did. She looked much better than good. He hadn’t seen her in a dress before, and the swirl of watercolor silk did wonderful things for her slim body. Things like showing off those soft white shoulders under thin straps. With it she wore an amulet on a long chain that had the square of engraved gold hanging just below her breasts. Crystals glinted in it, drawing the eye, and were echoed by the tear-shaped drops at her ears.
She smiled. “You did say Friday.”
“Yeah. Friday.”
“Then are you going to ask me in?”
“Sorry.” Lord, he felt like a bumbling teenager. No, he decided as he slid the screen open for her, no teenager had ever been this bumbling. “I’m a little distracted.”
Ana’s brows lifted as she surveyed the chaos of pots and bowls. “So I see. Would you like some help?”
“I think I’ve got it under control.” He took the bottle she offered, noting that the pale green bottle was etched with symbols and that it carried no label. “Homemade?”
“Yes, my father makes it. He has …” Her eyes lit with secrets and humor. “A magic touch.”
“Brewed in the dungeons of Castle Donovan.”
