Staff…I still am trying to get used to that. While Nina expertly runs the household and the kitchens, I do try and stay out of the way of the staff, as not to add too much to their duties. I was fussed at by one of the maids right after we first moved in. She got upset when she discovered me scrubbing the toilet in my own bathroom. After spending a half hour explaining that no, I was not unhappy or dissatisfied with her cleaning skills, I surrendered the toilet brush and promised to never take it upon myself to clean the bathroom again.
At least I let her think that. I still do my own laundry, and I have some cleaning supplies secretly stashed in the closet.
Willow did get her pink bathroom, complete with a set of hot pink monogrammed towels. Julian thought the towels were a riot, until one of the magenta washcloths was accidentally washed with his athletic socks and undershirts. It turned everything pink.
Nina had laughed until she cried, and told him it was what he deserved for not doing his own laundry. While the staff member in charge of the Drake’s men laundry had apologized profusely, I went out and picked up new packages of undershirts and socks for my cousin.
Willow even gift-wrapped them for him. Julian laughed over his present and promised her that he didn’t hold a grudge.
I wished that everyone felt that way.
I wondered how long Wyatt Hastings would hold a grudge. If that’s what he was doing. Maybe he was scared, or maybe he was simply no longer interested. He was a quiet, private man, after all. One who’d probably prefer dating an ordinary woman—who didn’t have so much drama in her life. I had no way to know. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since that horrible day.
I was left to wonder, until a few weeks after the abduction. That was when Wyatt finally called and asked to see me. We’d ended up sitting in the family library, and at first it was very awkward.
“I thought it might be best to give you and Willow a few weeks to settle in, after everything that happened,” he said as soon as we were seated.
“I see.” I folded my hands in my lap and nervously began twisting my sapphire ring.
“I was also finishing a book. There was a tough deadline I was up against, and I tend to shut everything out until I get the book off my desk. Only after it’s in the hands of my editor, do I relax and come out of my cave.” He smiled slightly. “I wasn’t ignoring you, I was simply working.”
“If anyone understands schedules and contracts, it’s me,” I said.
“I heard you were back at work coordinating that carriage house wedding reception, only two days after Willow’s return.”
I nodded. “I had a contract to fulfill. It’s my job. I take it seriously, and their wedding reception went off without a hitch.”
He grinned. “I have no doubts that it did.”
I considered him as he sat beside me on the couch. Figuring the truth was the best—scratch that—the only way to go, I took a deep breath, and put all my cards on the table telling him about my background. To his credit, he sat and listened to me carefully when I shared what my childhood had been like, and why I’d shunned magick for fifteen years afterward.
“Julian explained some of this to me,” he said. “It’s a fascinating tale.”
“It better not end up in one of your books,” I said, half-joking.
His crystal blue eyes were solemn when he took my hand. “Magnolia, I would never do that.”
“I hope you’re not afraid.”
“Of what?” His brows disappeared beneath his mop of hair.
“Of me—because of well, everything.”
“Why on earth would I be?” he scoffed. “I consider myself a feminist. I’m not threatened by a strong woman.”
“To be fair though, you still don’t have any real concept of what I’m truly capable of.” I said, trying to explain. “I’ve been mortally afraid that I might have inherited a penchant for cruelty from my mother.” I pressed a hand to my heart. “I still worry about that.”
“Why?”
I looked down, unable to meet his eyes. “Because I don’t have any sympathy for Leilah’s injuries or for the time in prison that she faces. She got what she deserved.”
“I happen to wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments,” he said. “She spelled and abducted your daughter. She put Willow in harm’s way, and there is no coming back from that.” He took my hand from my lap and waited until I met his eyes. “I only wish I would have been there to see you take her down.”
I shook my head. “You sound like Ivy.”
“Look, in my mind, you are like a soldier with specialized combat training.”
“How’s that?” I asked.
“You wouldn’t put an Army Ranger or a Navy SEAL in a situation where they felt they would have to defend themselves or a loved one…Because their training would take over. They are trained to react and to counter violence, or a threat, in a very specific way.”
“I suppose that’s one way to look at it.”
“I thought it was a damn good analogy, myself.” Wyatt grinned at me and tossed his dark hair out of his eyes. “Now, come over here for a minute, will you?”
“Why?” I asked.
He gave me a gentle tug. “Because I really want to kiss you, and I’ve missed seeing your face these past few weeks.”
“I missed your face too,” I said, leaning forward to meet his kiss halfway.
“Are we okay?” I asked after the kiss.
“You bet we are,” he said.
After that conversation, Wyatt and I began seeing each other again. We worked around each other’s schedules, my weddings and events, and his book deadlines as best we could for the rest of the summer. A free weekend is rare in the world of event coordinating/ bridal consulting, so we typically saw each other during the week. It
