Page 100

Aiden grinned as he put the tray on the bedside table and climbed back into bed with Mia. He traced his fingers over her hip, loving the way she wriggled tighter against him, sighing happily, and how the sensation flickered through his own skin, reverberating through his magic.

‘I hope you’re not planning to keep doing that. I don’t want crumbs in our bed.’

‘Hmm, I like that.’ He ran his nose over the sensitive skin of her neck. ‘Our bed.’

‘Well, it is,’ Mia insisted. ‘We share everything. You know that.’

‘I do.’ He regretted the words when her face fell slightly, reminding her of what this day should have been. ‘Sorry.’

‘It’s OK. This wasn’t exactly what I’d planned for today, but I’m definitely not complaining. My hot fiancé feeding me delicious treats naked in bed… not what I’d call a hardship!’

‘Keep looking at me like that, and I might just be tempted to keep you here all day.’ He was already tempted to pin her to the bed and enjoy her all over again. The only thing keeping him from doing it right now was knowing she probably needed to eat first. But afterwards…

‘Out of curiosity, anything I can do to help turn that temptation into a promise?’

‘Eat.’

‘If you insist.’ She reached for one of the cinnamon buns, pressing tightly against him as she leaned over to grab it. The cheeky grin she gave him as she bit into the pastry made his mouth water in a way that had nothing to do with food. And her eyes locked on his meant he got to see her pleasure as the sweetness of the chocolate hit. He already knew the flavour profile perfectly, and could already imagine how delicious Mia would taste with her mouth still warm and sweet with cinnamon and his other spices…

Knocking at Mia’s – their – front door, followed by the old brass doorbell jangling loudly, snapped their heads towards the window.

‘What on earth?’

‘Probably nothing good.’ Mia was already pulling away, rolling out of bed and reaching for clothes. ‘Can you please go see while I get dressed, and maybe grab my bag from under the stairs?’

‘Your medical bag?’ he asked as he grabbed his dressing gown.

‘This much noise on a Saturday morning? Probably.’ She pulled a face as she dragged on jeans.

‘I hope you’re wrong.’

‘Me too.’ Her voice followed him down the stairs.

‘It’s about time.’ Katie was impatient on the doorstep, Ophelia just behind her, Mist cuddled in her arms. ‘And you can head straight back in and put on some clothes. Tell Mia to get dressed too.’

‘I’m here, I’m here.’ Aiden heard her racing down the stairs. ‘What’s happened and where? Have the others been called as well…?’ She stopped when she reached the hallway, confused to see their friends smiling at them, not looking a bit panicked or worried. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Aiden’s getting dressed and staying here with Ophelia, and you, Mimi, you’re all mine.’ Katie grinned wickedly.

‘All yours for what? And Aiden’s going where? What’s going on?’

‘We need you to get ready,’ Ophelia explained, far calmer than Katie, who was practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

‘Ready for what?’ Aiden folded his arms, wishing he’d put on a bit more than just a dressing gown before facing his boss – even if she was his friend most of the time.

‘It’s Beltane,’ Ophelia replied, like those two words should explain everything.

‘And?’

‘And you’re getting married today!’ Katie squealed.

Aiden looked at Mia, who seemed as confused as he was. ‘No, we’re not.’

‘Yeah, you are.’

‘No, we’re not.’ Mia echoed Aiden’s response. ‘Nothing worked out. No dress, no celebrant. No venue. No catering. No rings. Remember? Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong did. Our wedding is off. At least for now.’

‘Want to bet on that?’ Katie grinned, even more wickedly.