Page 6 of The Magic of Discovery
Quickly typing my name and number into his contacts, I shoved the phone back toward him and spun around to get out of there, Kai’s eyes widening at my haste. My foot had just hit the top step when I heard Sloane. “What about me, Red? You going to come back over here and give me that number, too?”
His smooth voice was patronizing and dark.This fucking guy.I stopped my descent down the stairs and turned my head to look at his smug face as he rested his arms on the kitchen island. He was blasting me with that megawatt smile, but it wasn’t kind. It was arrogant and assholish and... sexy as fuck.Ugh! Alright, Saige, time to let this dude know that you’re not a pushover. Do not let him intimidate you.
“Oh, I’msosorry about that, Sloane,” I began with so much sweetness in my voice it was practically dripping with honey. His smile somehow grew even more, probably thinking he’d one upped me, so I continued, “But I don’t give my contact information to dickheads. I learned my lesson a long time ago. If you’d like to adjust your crappy attitude, I may reconsider in the future. If not, you can just go eat a bag of bat dicks.”
Fischer had just turned the corner coming back into the living room to hear my final comment, and all three of the other guys busted out laughing. Kai bent forward, holding his stomach, while Cam called out, “Ooooooh, burrrrrn!” Meanwhile, Fischer just chuckled and shook his head, his beautiful, thick curls bouncing slightly with the movement.
I turned my focus back to Sloane, registering his shocked expression and mentally fist bumping myself. His index finger began tapping on the countertop, the only sound in the room besides the low murmur of the television in the background. A moment later, the corner of Sloane’s lips lifted slightly, and his blue eyes focused on me even more so, like he’d found prey and the hunt was on.Oh, fucking hell, he needs to stop looking at me like that.
“This town might not be so bad after all,” Sloane quipped despite the other guys still making fun of him. Saying nothing else, he turned his back to me and walked out of the room.Why do I feel like I just whacked a bear in the nose with a stick?
“So, I’ll see you guys later!” I squeaked and sprinted down the steps, my pace not slowing until I was back inside The Pig, the sounds of masculine laughter chasing me with every step.
* * *
The guys didn’t havemuch at all to move in, and I tried to ignore them as much as possible throughout the day. It washard. The rest of the town was taking notice of them, too. A couple of hours after they’d arrived, the shop was packed full of customers. I hadn’t had a day with this many sales in ages. People here were nosy as fuck, not that I could blame them; there was definitely something worth looking at.
Miranda and her daughter showed up around three. Anna was licking a vanilla ice cream cone with sprinkles, losing the battle to the warm air. Snapping into action, I snagged a few paper towels and handed them to my friend. She sighed in relief. “Thanks. She insisted on having a double scoop, like usual, but she can never eat it fast enough.” Miranda bent down and wrapped the cone in the paper towels before handing it back to a smiling Anna.
“Like I always say, double or nothing. It applies to both shots of alcohol and ice cream cones.” Miranda laughed and nodded her agreement.
“Speaking of self-indulgence… where in the stars did those four dudes come from? Did you see the one with all the tattoos?” She raised a hand and fanned her face dramatically.Haha, ohhhh, I saw.A flash of white from the corner of my eye drew my gaze to the back of the store, finding Maven scampering out of the tarot room.
Anna spotted him immediately. “Mom, can I go play with Maven? Please?”
“Sure, but don’t touch anything with your dirty hands. I’ll stay right up here.” Anna squealed and took off down the aisle toward Mave. His ears perked up, and I caught his desire to run away from the little girl, but once he saw what she had in her hand, that disappeared. He was always willing to put up with her fussing over him if there was a chance he’d get some ice cream out of it.
With little ears out of hearing distance, I leaned in and answered, “Do I have eyes in my head? They’re all gorgeous. The broody bad boy one is a jerk, though. They drove up from Portage Falls, but I’m not exactly sure why they’re here. I didn’t want to seem too nosy, and I’m sure someone will get that information out of them before the day is up.”
Miranda nodded. “I saw the broody one talking to Mr. Phipps. He looked like he was enjoying their conversation though…”
“Well, I put him in his place, so I hope he cuts the shit. Anyway, let me grab your moonstone.”
Turning around, I grabbed a hold of one of the drawers that lined the lower wall behind the sales counter. Think old time convenience stores, long wooden bars, wooden shelves lining the wall, drawers, and cupboards underneath a countertop. That’s what I was working with. Pulling open the drawer, I grabbed the small purple velvet cinch top bag.
“This one has matured a lot in the past six months. It’s been charged under eleven moon cycles, including a super moon and a blood moon. It should really help you get more restful sleep and keep your stress levels under control. Just set it on your nightstand with your other herbs and crystals. On full moon nights, I would leave it somewhere that it’ll get direct light so it can recharge. Bring it in every so often when you think of it, and I can do a cleanse.”
She held her hand out, and I dropped the bag into her palm. Pulling apart the cinched top, she retrieved the faintly glowing milky stone. Running her fingertips over the smooth surface, she let out a breath, and when she met my eyes, hers were brimming with tears. “Oh, no. Honey, what’s wrong?” I whispered, not wanting to alert Anna to our conversation.
My oldest friend looked to the ceiling and took a few moments to get herself under control. “It’s been a rough couple of months, girl. Thanks for this. Anna is such a great kid, but single-momming is not for the faint of heart, let me tell you. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if she was anything like I was at her age. I’m just thankful my parents have been helping me out as much as they’ve been able.”
Miranda was one of the strongest women I had ever known. Her ex-husband had up and left both her and Anna a couple of years ago. He’d been having affairs the entire time they’d been together, and one day he just took off and never contacted either of them again. His loss, in my opinion, because my best friend wasstunning. Shoulder-length brown hair, beautiful chocolate eyes, and a tall, toned body? What kind of man just walks away from that? The tears welling in her eyes let me know just how hard of a time she had been having, and I felt like shit for not realizing how difficult things had been.
“Oh, honey.” I reached out and took her hand in mine. “You’ll get through this. Let me stop over one day next week, and I can hang out with Anna if you want to catch up on cleaning, or I can bring Maven to occupy her so I can help you with whatever. I’ll bring wine?”
“That actually sounds like exactly what I need. I’ll text you and let you know what our week looks like.” She slipped the stone back into the bag and called out for Anna. The little blonde bounded around the corner from the back of the store and skipped her way up to us, sans ice cream cone.
“Maven!” I scolded. His little face peeked out from behind the same corner Anna had just emerged from, my frisky fox desperately trying to lick away the sprinkles all over his face.
“I hope that you offered that to him and he didn’t just take liberties and help himself?” I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest and trying not to laugh.
“He said he’d help me finish it before it all melted and made a huge mess.” She shrugged her little shoulder. She’d always said Maven talked to her, so that wasn’t anything new. Imagination was a serious thing for kids.
“He did, huh? Well, so long as he didn’t just steal it from you.”
“Alright, baby. Let’s get out of here. Saige is coming over next week to hang out with us, so you’ll see her then.”
“Yep, and I can’t wait! See you guys soon. Just let me know what day works.” I lifted my hand in a wave as they walked out, calling their goodbyes as the door swung shut.
