Page 44 of Cursed Luck
Edward took them all in before giving them a grim nod and leaving the protective bubble of Serena’s spell. No one stopped him as he worked his way to his car, to go back to his house rather than Mia’s. To silence and the stale smell of an apartment that had not been opened in days and not the floral scent he associated with Mia.
Once he stepped into his apartment, he moved to his desk and set his laptop on it. He typed out an email to his boss and let him know he was not feeling well and would be working from home.
After stripping out of his clothes, he showered and climbed into bed. Images of Mia from the last few nights were pushed back as the look of pain and horror she’d given him through the glass came forward.
It had physically hurt him to see her like that. He had almost pushed Claudia to the ground to get outside. When Mia had run—run—fromhim… his heart dropped into his stomach with fear.
He had not done anything wrong, but the knowledge she thought so stung deeply.
He fucking loved her…
No one outside his family could ever say he loved them. Mia was the first and only person to have claimed his heart. She did not know it either. If she had, she wouldn’t have left him.
Chapter 20
Birds sang and squirrels chirped nearby, waking her from her slumber. It took her a moment to recognize the thick forest surrounding her. Wildflowers formed the outline to her sleeping form, cradling her and keeping her safe.
She raised a hand to her face and felt the dirt sticking to the tracks her tears had taken. Mia brushed them away and brought her knees to her chest. The peace she always got from being in the forest shifted aside as memories pushed forward of Edward embracing a woman in the café.
Who was the woman? Why had he tried to lie to her? When had he come into town? Had he even left?
The last question she dismissed, as she remembered he had given her a tour of his hotel room one night.
Her stomach growled, reminding her of her physical needs. “Thank you,” she whispered and blew a kiss to the land. A smile filled her face when she noticed the plants nearby shook in acceptance.
Mia pushed to her feet and padded to where she always hid her car. Her mind drifted to her parents, and she wondered if they were still well. She unlocked the glovebox, and her brows pinched when she only found her wallet. She must have left her phone at the shop.
By the time she managed the long drive home, the sun was high in the sky. She was still a bit foggy as to how much time had passed in her escape. One of her protection barriers at the back entrance alerted her someone had come in. She never set strong ones, not because she could not but she had never found a need for them.
Instead of turning on lights and opening her shop, she headed for her apartment to wash off her time in the woods.
By the time she cleaned up and opened her shop, she realized she had been gone for three days. Thankfully, it was not a week like the last time she had hibernated. She never understood it but always accepted the healing she received from earth.
The plants around her had suffered some in her absence, and it took a bit of magic to bring them back. The rest restored her depleted energies, and by the look around the shop, the plants and flowers were thrilled for the boost.
Opening a drawer, she found her ignored cell phone and plugged it in. Mia set it aside as a customer stepped inside.
“Oh, good! I worried you were going to close for good!” the woman announced.
Mia grinned, pleased to see she had been missed. “I have no plans of closing for good. I’m so sorry I worried you. I left town suddenly and wasn’t able to put a note on the door.”
The woman looked around with wide eyes. “You must have worked through the night to get your plants out. They look great.”
Mia swallowed a chuckle. “A friend helped me. What can I help you with today?”
The woman looked toward the table and sighed. “No cookies, I see… Oh well, I was walking down to the café when I saw your lights on and wanted to ask if you were closing shop. Those cookies are good. I hope you plan on continuing with them.”
Mia laughed as the woman’s salt-and-pepper hair bounced with her animated chatter. “I didn’t get a chance to make any today, but yes, I plan on putting them out in the future.”
The woman nodded and placed a finger to her lips in thought. “You know… On second thought, I’m going to grab another one of these. They really have livened up my living room,” she said, lifting a potted golden pothos into her arms.
“They’re one of my mother’s favorites,” Mia said.
Mia checked her out and walked her to the door. She propped the door open and pulled out some of her fresh-cut flowers from the back. Once she finished, she returned to her phone and unlocked it.
Her eyes rounded when she saw over twenty-five missed calls and even more unopened text messages. She listened to the couple of voicemails first. One was from her parents checking in, as she missed their routine check-in, and the others were from Brandy and Serena. Each were asking her to fix Edward or at least tell them which spell she had used.
At the reminder of him and what had transpired, her mood deflated. She didn’t know what to do concerning him. Mia had no interest in seeing him but knew she needed to remove the silence spell.
