Page 90 of Love's a Witch
“There’s a photo booth?”
“Aye, look.” Knox turned me, and to my surprise, I found Broca, dressed as Mrs. Claus, handing out bags of treats to kids who sat with Santa by a sleigh. A sleigh that looked remarkably familiar.
“Is that my sleigh?” I hissed, leaning into Knox.
“The one and only. Come on, let’s get a picture with Santa.”
“He’s not the real Santa, is he?” I asked as we drew closer. If he wasn’t, he did a damn good impression of him. Rosy cheeks, a rotund belly, and a beard that reached to his waist completed his look.
“Awww, that’s cute. Do you still believe in Santa, Sloane?” Knox dropped another kiss on my forehead before I could dissuade him, and I bristled at his words.
“Listen, buddy. This town is so damn magickal, it wouldn’t surprise me, okay?”
“That’s fair. But no, this is Jan, Henry’s cousin.”
I squinted at the Santa, and just for a moment his countenance blurred and I could see the ogre he was masking.
“Ah, right, okay. I can see it now.”
“Are you getting better at that now? Knowing who is magickal and not?” Knox kept his voice low, as there were tourists in line with us. We inched slowly toward the front.
“I am. I think it happened…” I looked around and changed what I was going to say. “On my birthday.”
“Aye, that makes sense. You’re much more plugged in… after.” Knox gripped my hand and pulled me forward when our turn came, and Broca beamed at the both of us.
“Here’s your sweeties, dears.” Broca held out two treat bags tied with mini candy canes that we’d compiled on our dining room table. I waved them away.
“Save them for the kids.”
“Speak for yourself. I love sweeties.” Knox plucked a bag from Broca’s hand, and she chuckled.
“A man after my own heart.”
I raised an eyebrow. Was my grandmother flirting with Knox?
“Don’t give me that look.” Broca shook a finger at me, and I turned, concealing my smile, only to find Knox sitting cheerfully on the older man’s knee.
“You’re sitting on him?” I asked.
“Trust me, lass. I’m strong,” Santa promised me and patted his other knee. Knox’s grin only widened, so I shook my head and went with it. The picture was as ridiculous as I expected, but I won’t lie when I say it made my heart warm when Knox immediately tucked it in his wallet. Damn it, but maybe I did want the cutesy dating stuff that other women raved about when it came to their relationships.
Something I’d have to think about more later.
“Come on, we have to go decorate our pinecones.”
“We do?” Distracted, I allowed Knox to drag me to where several picnic tables were sheltered beneath a canopy. There, baskets of pinecones were arranged, along with a myriad of craft supplies. I gave the pinecones a suspicious glance, still shaken from when they’d all turned into hedgies that one day at our house, but these all seemed fairly benign. The woman from the bookshop, the cat sith, beamed at her cat-shaped pinecones, while a man across from her built a Christmas tree out of his pinecones.
“What, exactly, am I making here?”
“An ornament.” A woman in a sparkly knit cap with kind eyes sat across from us at the table and held up her bedazzled pinecone. I recognized her as Dorothy, the owner of the Dragon’s Hoard. Leaning forward, she lowered her voice. “Say, is it true you summoned a dragon?”
“I did.” There was no point lying about it. Half the town had seen me screaming through the air.
“We haven’t seen one in ages. They keep to themselves, tucked away in the hills, but I do try to convene with them when I can. They accept me, you know.” Dorothy’s golden eyes, much like a cat’s, regarded me seriously. “The fact you brought one here means they accept you as well.”
“Is that right? Tell me, how do you convene with them?” I asked, fascinated. Picking up some glue, I began to coat my pinecone.
“See, the dragons are tricky. Not like the fae, but still tricky nonetheless.” As Dorothy shook her head at me, I counted five different sparkling earrings in one ear. “Obviously, you can’t go to them empty-handed.”
