Page 91 of Clearly Charmed

‘Drink some water. Take a couple of ibuprofen before bed. You know how you feel after a night of rum.’

‘Pinky swear.’ She gripped his small finger before taking the food from me and dancing back to the stairs.

His longing gaze followed her the entire way. Poor Dalton. He’d been crushing on Aster for years, and she was completely oblivious to it.

‘For what it’s worth,’ he said, focusing his attention back on me, ‘I think Bryce is a good guy who’s only trying to do his job.’

‘Yeah, I heard that he’s got you charmed too.’

‘He’s been into the shop several times. We’ve chatted about what makes Harvest Moon special. That’s all.’

‘Has he pumped you for info on Aster?’

Suddenly he found the mat in front of my door very interesting. ‘I haven’t said anything he didn’t already know about her synesthesia and matchmaking talent.’

In high school, Aster didn’t have many friends. It was too easy for them to ask about who liked them, and when Aster did not give them the answer they wanted, friendship quickly turned to bullying and isolation. Luckily, she had Dalton. He shielded her from most of the gossip and was a safe place for her to land when the staring and whispers became too much.

‘Doesn’t it worry you that if more people come here, it could make matters worse for Ast?’ I said. ‘You’ve been in her shop. Watched customers be weird, especially with that recent incident.’

‘Yeah, that was freaky, but I wouldn’t underestimate how much this town cares about all of the McGuires. If one outsider steps a toe out of line, the people here will circle the wagons so quickly that person’s head will snap.’

The set of his jaw warned he’d fight any force not only for Aster, but for all of us. He really was a good guy. I hoped Aster would recognize that one day.

‘But what if that call is coming from inside the house?’ I pressed.

His brow furrowed. ‘Meaning?’

‘Come on. You’ve been in council meetings. You’re part of the small business coalition. Mo would do anything to get more bodies into the tavern, no matter what it costs or who it hurts. There’s no telling what kind of BS she’s already fed Bryce.’

‘There’s more to it than tourism and the bottom line for Mo.’

‘Like what?’

He took an uneasy breath. ‘That’s not my story to tell.’ His phone beeped with a text. ‘Gotta go.’

‘Another delivery?’

‘Yeah,’ he said in a clipped voice.

‘Let me guess. Bryce?’

He bit into his lip. ‘He asks about you. A lot.’

I waved his comment away. ‘All he wants is dirt on my family.’

A flicker of conflict crossed his face. ‘I gotta go. Please remind Aster to hydrate.’

‘I will.’

The sounds of another 90s pop tune floated out of my apartment. Tonight I wanted to forget about Bryce and that stupid article. Spend time with the most important women in my life. But tomorrow, I’d have to drop the bomb to my sisters that Belladonna had once again found her way home.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Fighting the Whispers

Rum was not my friend.

One mojito turned into a blur of several mojitos last night as we laughed, danced and demolished the pizza and wings. Aster was splayed out next to me in bed. How was it possible that a person so small could snore that loud?