“Erik hates me.” Holly’s voice was soft and sad. “And that hatred has made him bitter.”
“Ah, I see. You must have broken his poor heart.” I tucked my tongue in my cheek. “A man scorned, is he?”
Holly snorted. “Me? Break Erik McBriar’s heart? I don’t think he even has one. Ivy calls him Erik McDouchebag.”
“That sounds like Ivy.” I chuckled, leaning forward. “Tell me, Holly. I’ll admit that I’m mighty intrigued.”
“Okay,” Holly said. “It started when I went to work at the antique shop…”
I sat and listened while Holly explained to me her past association with the McBriar family. When she finished I was simmering mad. “Let me get this straight,” I began, “the antique store you were attacked in was owned by Erik’s sister?”
“Yes.” Holly nodded.
“And because of…” I made sure to lower my voice. “Leilah Martin Drake, they sustained a huge loss to their inventory.”
“Correct.”
“God almighty,” I breathed. “Julian told me about this, but I didn’t know it’d had such serious repercussions.”
“As far as the McBriar family is concerned; even though the majority of the jewelry was returned, the culprit,” Holly said, “was never apprehended.”
“So afterward, while you were recovering, Erik encouraged you to quit because he was uncomfortable about the gossip concerning the Bishop family’s…shall we say…hobbies?”
“Yes.” Holly nodded.
“Julian told me that you didn’t use magick to defend yourself from Leilah.”
Holly shook her head. “No, I didn’t. because I’d already done much worse to her years before.”
“He told me.” On impulse, I covered her hand with mine. A warmth grew between where our hands were joined, and I felt a real bond with her. “Holly, I understand what it is to walk away from power that you can’t control, or are afraid might end up controlling you.”
Holly’s aquamarine eyes searched mine, and she nodded. “Autumn told me about your life when you were young. I’m sorry for what you went through with your mother.”
I gave her hand a pat. “I’m sorry for what you went through with Leilah.”
“Yes, well, she got what she wanted,” Holly said. “The robbery was never solved, and because I wasn’t able to identify my attacker to the police…I fell under suspicion, which caused the fallout between me and the McBriar family.”
“What a mess.”
Holly sat back in her chair. “When Erik McBriar urged me to quit, I told him I’d rather speak to his sister—the owner of the store. Erik however, wanted me to stay away from them. He insinuated that he was worried for his sister and her children’s safety. His exact words were. ‘To each his own. It’s nothing personal’.”
“That son of a bitch!” I hissed. “He was just being ugly.”
“Ugly?” Holly tilted her head.
“Being mean,” I explained.
“What he didn’t count on, was that he said all of that in public. Right here, in the coffee shop.” Holly tapped her fingers on the table. “Several people overheard him, and what he’d said to me spread through town like wildfire.”
“So their antique store felt the backlash.”
“For a while,” Holly explained. “The older families boycott them, and the wedding venue as well. The tourists are the ones who basically keep the antique store going. But the wedding venue relies on word-of-mouth from the locals, and as you can imagine…it took the brunt of it.”
“Well that’s his own fault.” I caught myself and lowered my voice to avoid any more gossip being spread. “Erik McBriar had no right to blame you back then, or to be publicly claiming that you’ve hexed him, now.”
“Erik became bitter after he and his fiancée broke up. It was messy, very public, and Raelynn had been manipulating him with magick,” Holly said. “Magick that she paid for.”
“Paid for?” My stomach rolled over. “I know first-hand how vicious spells can be when done to manipulate and control another. It had been a specialty of my mother’s. The karmic backlash is typically severe on both the person who paid for the magick and on the caster.”
“That’s true,” Holly agreed, sadly.
I shook my head over the old memories. “My mama habitually claimed she was under attack from jealous Witches. Even though she’d been the root cause of all her own problems…” Pushing the old memories away, I focused on Holly. “Who did his fiancée pay for the spells?”
Holly grimaced. “Erik’s fiancée paid Leilah to manipulate him with magick, so he would do whatever she wanted.”
“Leilah Martin Drake. Again,” I blew out a long breath.
“When Erik became aware of what Raelynn had been doing, it changed him. The whole experience made him bitter,” Holly said. “Now Erik hates anything to do with magick, and especially those who practice it. Like me.”
“Well, bless his heart, he picked a hell of a town to live and run a business in, all things considered.” I smiled. “Maybe he should consider moving.”
Holly burst out laughing. “I love the way you say that.”
“What?”
“Bless his heart.” Holly tried to mimic my accent.
I tossed my hair over one shoulder. “Well darlin’, you know what they say: Only a Southern woman can offer up an insult sweet enough that you’d think it was a compliment.”
Holly grinned at that. “You know, Maggie, I think I might have a possible venue idea for your bride and groom.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” Holly said, tapping a finger to her lips. “Let me go pay for the coffees and I’ll take you to meet Sharon Waterman.”
I stood when she did. “Who’s she?”
“Sharon is a member of the chamber of commerce. She and her husband have this historic, wooden carriage house on their property. It’s huge. They actually used it for one of their niece’s wedding reception last year.”
“Oh?” My ears practically perked up. “Here in town? Why that could be perfect for Caroline and Lee.”
“You’re going to love it,” Holly predicted. “The Waterman family decorates their carriage house for Yuletide every year as a part of the Holiday Light Walk. It’s gorgeous.”
I followed her to the counter. “Do you think she’d be up to speaking to me about the possibility of
