Page 56 of Seven Secret Spellcasters
“Trent.” Mia stood and nodded to the door. “I’d better go head him off. It was nice to meet you. I hope we can talk more about this.”
“I’m probably leaving for my villa in France soon. Al’s death has made this place too tender in memories.” He followed her to the door and held it open.
As they walked outside to the porch, Buddy made his presence known with a puff of fire. Mia stepped off the porch and headed over to her car, where the dragon was now sitting on the ground, staring at Edmund. Steam was coming out of his nose.
“Buddy, be nice. He didn’t hurt me.” Mia reached out and rubbed the dragon’s nose as he smelled her body. Satisfied that Mia wasn’t under the incubus’s spell, Buddy flew up to the tree by the house and settled on a branch as Trent drove up. When he opened the door to the truck, Cerby jumped out and ran to her, barking.
She picked him up, and he licked her face. Then he curled up in her arms, also satisfied she was safe.
Trent walked over. “Apparently the rescue wasn’t needed?”
“Not in the least, but I’m glad you stopped by.” Mia nodded to Edmund. “Have you met your neighbor?”
Trent made eye contact with Edmund. “Sorry, I haven’t had the pleasure. I thought this place was abandoned until Mia mentioned coming up to check it out. Cerby got a little protective.”
Edmund shrugged in return. “He’s a hellhound, what do you expect? I have to admit, I haven’t had the best reputation over my lifetime. I am an almost-changed man. I can control my desires much better than I could when I was younger. Even though some people don’t believe in redemption.”
Mia wondered if he was referring to Blake. And what was Mia going to tell her boss?Hey, I met your ex—he seems to be a nice guy. Or at least he was to me.That would go over like a lead balloon. “Well, thank you for the tea and conversation. I’ll let Mark know we’ve talked, but he might try to reach you.”
Edmund’s eyes sparkled. “Your law man will have to find me first.”
As the incubus went inside, Trent turned to her and took Cerby. “I feel like an idiot. But Cerby went crazy, and then Buddy took off. I thought you needed help.”
“You know, at first, I thought I did. Maybe they were reacting to that? I’d rather them overreact than not alert you at all.” Mia rubbed Cerby’s nose. “Are you still making me dinner?”
“I’ve already got the baked potatoes in the oven. I’ll follow you out. Buddy? Get out of that tree and head home, okay?” Trent looked over to where it appeared the dragon was sleeping.
A beat of his wings, and he shot up in the air. He must have just been resting his eyes. Mia climbed into her car and started it. Then she drove past Trent’s truck and down the hill to the main road. Edmund Pevensie was an interesting guy. And he was heartbroken at the loss of his friend.
Mia didn’t need magic to see that.
* * *
Tuesday morning, Mia was surprised to find Blake in her office. She sat in a visitor’s chair on her phone, reading.
“Well, good morning. I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to let you know I’ll be working from home most of tomorrow and leaving early today to start working on the Adams–Majors engagement party.” Mia set her tote down and took off her jacket. The weather had turned cold. The ski lodge was expecting snow any day. Mia hoped it stayed away until after Grans’s party on Sunday.
“Whatever you need. Your friends and family are paying enough for the use of the Lodge over the next week.” Blake put her phone away. “I wanted to ask about the incubus. Have you heard anything? My alarm spell keeps ringing, but it’s softly, like he’s in the area, but not focused on me. Maybe I should leave before something bad happens again.”
“‘Again’?” Now Mia’s attention was on Blake’s face. “What do you mean, ‘again’?”
“He’s an incubus. What do you think I mean?” Blake said as she jumped up from the chair. “Anyway, let me know if you need any signatures or anything else for Wednesday’s event. Jeani’s doing an amazing job in the ballroom. You should check it out.”
Mia watched her boss almost run out of her office. For someone who’d been waiting for her to show up this morning, she’d sure left in a hurry.
James poked his head into her office. “Why do you look like you’re trying to solve the ancient mysteries like where Atlantis disappeared to?”
She laughed and softened her face. She didn’t need James getting suspicious of what she knew about their boss. He had a knack for getting stuff out of her, even when she didn’t want to tell him. “That’s oddly specific. But not correct. Blake stopped in, and she was nice.”
“Thatisweird. Maybe more of a mystery than Atlantis. I was watching a new documentary last night. Oh, so good. And there’s missing gold. Maybe I should take up deep-sea diving for a hobby. I might get rich. And lucky. Or lucky, then rich.”
Mia tried to listen as he started talking about the show he’d seen and fallen in love with. When he took a breath, she smiled and added, “There’s one problem with your plan. Idaho is a landlocked state. And you can’t leave the Lodge before I do. We have a deal.”
“You always put a damper on my dreams. Now, I wanted to talk to you about Mary Alice’s party. She wants our kitchen to do the dinner but Mia’s Morsels to make the desserts. I have the menu here if you want to preapprove it before I call your grandmother. I want her to think I’m a genius.”
“Everyone thinks you’re a genius,” Mia responded, taking the piece of paper away. Now that she’d dodged Blake’s question, she needed to get things done so she could get out of the Lodge before she ran into her again.
After she approved the menu, she checked her email and responded to several items that also needed her approval. Then she opened the hotel guest log. Howard might have stayed Tuesday night with Edmund, but she didn’t want to assume anything.
