I quickly got my answer.
As Max powered up to the counter, I saw Bridgette.
She locked her eyes on me, and instantly a grin spread across her face.
We were separated by a long, tall counter. That didn’t appear to be a problem for Bridgette, though. She planted her hands on the polished wood and leaped over it. It was a smooth, practiced move any gymnast would be proud of. She landed, her plastic patent leather heels jangling.
Her outfit was a complete mismatch. She wore what looked like a reclaimed, beaten-up leather brown jacket, the aforementioned heels, and a pair of loose black harem pants and a matching loosely fitted top.
It shouldn’t work. It should never work. Yet somehow, it worked on Bridgette’s lithe, athletic form.
She stuck a hand out, grabbed mine, and did all the shaking. “I was hoping you’d show up. Hoping I’d get the chance to properly thank you. You rushed off in a hurry last night,” she commented as she cast her gaze towards Max.
Was it just me, or did Bridgette’s eyes narrow in suspicion?
“Max, god, I’m so relieved you came,” came a voice from the door that led to the kitchen. A second later, Sarah appeared. Unlike Bridgette, who was dressed thoroughly crazy, Sarah was the picture of the cute girl next door. She was in a sweet summer dress, cute white heels, and her red, fiery hair was clasped behind her neck with a carved wooden clip.
A pang of jealousy goaded through my heart. Which was so totally freaking crazy. I had nothing to be jealous about. And heck, if Max got a little more love in his life, maybe he’d stop being such an asshole.
Still, I couldn’t stop myself, and my heart sank.
Then my brow clinked down. Hold on, Max had brought me here on the premise that the witches could help me. Yet, from how Sarah was speaking, it sounded as if this had been a prearranged appointment.
He wasn’t doing it again, was he?
I didn’t get the time to question him. Sarah waved us forward, opened a little door that was lodged in the front of the counter, and shrugged us over.
I followed, Bridgette at my side and Sarah and Max striding ahead.
I let my gaze cut into the back of his neck. Heck, cut was an understatement – it slashed.
“I wouldn’t be jealous,” Bridgette suddenly leaned in and whispered in my ear, “he’s still your fairy.”
I stiffened. My back became so straight, it would have taken an army to bend it.
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said through a gulp.
Bridgette snickered but didn’t push. It didn’t take long for Sarah to lead us to one of the back rooms. I was expecting one of the storerooms, but that’s not what I got. What I got was a kind of funky living room.
The room was large and looked like it took up most of the back of the café. There were comfortable chairs, couches, a pretty rug, and a long kind of beaten up chaise longue. Instantly, Max walked over and sat on it with a thump. His easy movement kind of suggested he’d been here before, kind of suggested he felt like he belonged. He even looped an arm up and around the back of the couch.
My stomach twisted with yet more jealousy. Which was so freaking stupid, I kept trying to tell myself. Pull it together, Chi; you’re not with Max. In fact, your life would have been a heck of a lot better if you’d never met him.
I held onto that thought as I walked over to one of the chairs that was as far from Max as I could get, and sat down delicately. Then I proceeded to watch Bridgette and Sarah warily.
They discussed something amongst themselves in low voices until Sarah walked over and sat next to Max on the couch.
There were plenty of other seats, my mind suddenly told me, and there was no need to sit so bloody close! I didn’t dare say a word of this out loud. I crossed my legs, crossed my arms, and sat back in the seat. This better not be some kind of romantic distraction for Max. If it was, I’d kill him. I brought my hand up and looked at the watch – five hours until I would be a dead woman. Suddenly, rather violently, I was reminded of what Fagan had told me – Max had abandoned me. The only reason I’d been captured, was that my magical bodyguard had abandoned me.
That fact rang over and over in my mind like a blaring horn.
I sat there, staring at how close Max and Sarah were, my hands curling into harder and harder fists. It was a surprise steam didn’t start issuing from my mouth.
Bridgette snickered and leaned over. “It’s not what you think, you know,” she said.
I frowned.
She smiled. “How new are you to this world, exactly?” she asked out of the blue.
I blinked, showing just how new I was with my obvious innocence.
Bridgette chuckled. “They’ve known each other for a long time, a very, very long time.”
Just before my heart could sink as my worst suspicions were confirmed, I stopped. There was something about the way Bridgette had said very, very.
“You know magic has consequences, right?”
“Ah, yeah,” I answered.
“You know Max, ah, forgets, right?” Bridgette said delicately.
I nodded.
“Sarah Anne doesn’t. Her magic extends her lifespan, stops her from aging, and stops her from forgetting,” Bridgette spoke softly, her voice only carrying to me.
I balked. “She’s immortal? That’s not a consequence—”
Before I could finish, Bridgette shot me a blank look. “No,
