Page 17 of With This Witch
“Hey,” Lachlan says, giving her a slight nod and a smile.
“Hey to you too.” She hadn’t told Daisy about Lachlan meeting them here, as she wanted it to seem more causal and coincidental, so she says, “What are you doing out and about so early?”
“I felt like a visit to the market this morning as I haven’t been here in a while and happened to run into Daisy,” he answers smoothly.
“I figured you wouldn’t mind if he hung out with us. And even if you did, well, too bad,” she says, playfully sticking her tongue out at Petra as she turns around to enter the market, clearly not over Petra’s lateness or the elephants.
In response, Petra sticks her tongue out too and says, “Iguesshe can stay,” as she winks at him behind Daisy’s back.
With Daisy a few paces ahead, Petra turns to Lachlan and whispers, “Thanks for playing along there. I haven’t said anything to Daisy yet about our… arrangement. I feel bad for not telling her, but I also worry about too many people finding out and it not working.”
Lachlan grasps her hand, and her heart skips. Her magic dances inside her as she holds back its urge to shoot sparks in the air. “It’s okay. Just tell her when the time is right. This is an odd arrangement, and if Gladys is right, we have to play it carefully to ensure it comes across as legitimate. So if we need to pretend to have coincidental run-ins, we can do that.”
Lachlan releases her hand, dropping it like a hot cauldron when Daisy turns around, checking if they are still behind her. With his hand gone, she feels cold, like an ember extinguishing after a long fire.
She catches what she thinks is the briefest questioning glance in Daisy’s eyes. Petra walks into the market side-by-side with Lachlan, Daisy ahead, leading the trio.
The three of them spend the morning looking at the various vendors and their goods, picking up some fresh fruit and vegetables, the odd knickknack, or, in Lachlan’s case, a large blanket with David Bowie on it.
“What? He’s a legend!” he says, trying to justify the absurdity.
Daisy and Petra shake their heads at him and walk to another vendor with a jewelry display.
After shopping, Petra’s stomach growls so loudly that Lachlan, standing three booths over from her, starts acting like a hellhound has escaped. He flails around, looking around corners to find where the sound came from. After a few more obscene rumbles from her insides, they vote to have brunch and make their way to the attached restaurant.
Throughout the morning, Petra did not fail to notice Daisy’s periodic looks between Petra and Lachlan. Knowing Daisy and her impatience, it was only a matter of time before the questions would start to fly.
While waiting for their mimosas and food to arrive, Lachlan excuses himself to visit the men’s room. Petra waits for it. It doesn’t take long.
“What is going on?” Daisy probes, leaning into the middle of the table.
“What do you mean?”
Daisy stares at her. “So we are doing this the hard way, huh?” Daisy can be fierce and direct, and Petra loves that about her. But when she senses something, she’s like a vampire following the scent of fresh blood.
“Doing what the hard way?”
“Look, I know something is going on between you and Lachlan. I saw the looks you keep giving each other and the handholding earlier. You two have been attached at the hip all morning.”
“That’s so not true. And there was no handholding,” Petra lies.
“Cool, so now you’re lying to me?”
“I’m not lying to you,” she lies again.
“Tell me the truth. Are you and Lachlan a thing?”
A blush creeps up Petra’s neck, turning her cheeks a heated pink. “Define ‘thing.’”
Daisy’s eyes widen as her mouth opens in surprise. She enthusiastically points at Petra, shrieking, “I knew it!”
Petra hesitates. She knows Lachlan will be back any moment. Does she tell her the truth, part of it anyway? She doesn’t like hiding things from Daisy, so she opts for part of the truth.
“I’m sorry. It’s new, and I don’t want to jinx anything. Lach and I went out last night and had a great time. I want to see where it goes, but I’m not ready to discuss it. We’re just testing the waters a little.”
“Look, Lach is coming back and I don’t want to make it awkward, but know that I’m excited for you and I will help you bury the body if he fucks up. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“Thanks.” Petra laughs.
