CHAPTER 11

C HAPTER 11

T rent slammed his phone down on the table. "Where is Levi?"

Mia looked up from her French dip sandwich that Grans had made with homemade French fries for lunch. They were all back in the apartment. Well, all of them except for Levi. He was AWOL. And Trent was hot about it.

"Maybe he fell back asleep?" Abigail suggested.

Trent shook his head. "I called his buddy who lives in the same apartment building. He saw him go in this morning, then he came out, showered, with a bag, and got in his Jeep. He waved but didn't stop."

"Where would he be going?" Abigail asked, but no one answered. "He knew you needed him here."

Except Mia had a feeling. "I might know. Where's my phone?"

"In the living room, dear." Grans pointed to the coffee table.

She glanced at her text messages, but nothing had come in since the one from Frank. So she preempted Levi's surprise and texted Christina.

A response came quickly. Christina called her.

"Mom's going to croak. She had a new prospective husband for me to sit by at dinner after the wedding. I'd better tell her that I'm going to have a plus one."

Mia stepped into the living room to continue the call. "I'm not certain, but I have a feeling. And he's not in town."

"Oh, I wouldn't put it past him. I'll call if he doesn't show up in an hour. Trent can't reach him with his ‘special phone'?" Christina asked. Christina knew about the psychic link between the two brothers.

"Apparently not because he's worried. Just call me or text if you see him." Mia wondered if Trent had tried, but left that information out due to his mom being in the room.

"Sounds good." Christina paused. "Hey, what happened between you and Isaac? He's a mess, and he's blaming you."

"He came to Magic Springs to declare his undying love for me. I told him it was too late. So he dumped me on the side of the road and left. Why, what is he saying?" Mia wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"He says you called him saying you were going to hurt yourself if he went through with the wedding," Christina said. "So he had to drive up to Magic Springs yesterday to talk you down from killing yourself over his getting married."

Mia burst out laughing. "He's a snot."

"Yes, he is, but he's my brother. Sorry he played with your heart."

Mia smiled even though Christina couldn't see her. "He didn't. My heart is here, and he's eating lunch and worrying about his brother. I'd better get back. Have a great wedding and say hi to your mom."

"Not today. She's already freaking out. Levi showing up might throw her over the edge." Christina paused. "I'll be back late tomorrow. We're having a family brunch before the lovebirds jet off to Europe."

Mia winced. She and Issac had planned an extended European honeymoon. They were probably using her itinerary. "See you tomorrow."

Mia took the phone with her back to the kitchen. She didn't like having phones at a meal table, but she wanted to know when Levi showed up.

"You found him?" Trent asked.

Mia shrugged and took a bite of her sandwich. After swallowing, she added, "Maybe."

"You're saying he went to see Christina?" Abigail smiled. "Levi always did have a flare for the dramatic."

"Mother Adams can beat him at that game. I'm sure she'll faint when he walks in. She had a new possible, probably uber-rich boyfriend lined up to eat dinner with Christina after the wedding." Mia took another bite of her sandwich.

"Thank the Goddess you missed that bullet. That woman is a mess. She tries to control everything. Including her adult children." Grans put her plate in the sink. "I'm going to go watch my shows in my room. Can someone let Muffy out when Cerby goes?"

"Of course, I'd be glad to take them as soon as I finish with lunch." Trent stood as Grans left the table. "Unless he needs to go now."

"Sit down, he can wait until you eat." Grans headed down the hallway. "Such a nice boy."

Mia broke out laughing as the door to Grans's room shut. "Man, she's playing with emotions today."

"She thinks that you and Trent should be moving on with your lives," Abigail whispered, looking back into the hallway. "She's told me that several times this weekend. I'm not sure what the rush is, but you know your grandmother. You can't tell her anything."

"I just wish she'd figure out the Mr. Darcy and Dorian thing. She can leave my relationship alone and focus on that instead." Mia dipped her last French fry into the special sauce Grans had made for them.

Abigail and Trent nodded, but neither of them said anything. Finally, Mia spoke. "Okay, what did I say?"

Abigail and Trent shared a look. Then he spoke. "Mia, I'm afraid it's already too late for Mr. Darcy. There isn't a spell strong enough to separate the two after this long. We didn't do it."

"You mean, Dorian's always going to be in Mr. Darcy? He's already eight. What happens when he ages?" Mia couldn't imagine what she was hearing.

Abigail pressed her lips together, then spoke. "We don't think Mr. Darcy will age. Or if he does, it won't be at the same rate cats normally age."

"I can't believe I'm just now hearing this. When was the ‘cutoff'?" Mia brushed the tears off her cheeks. "He's just a cat. He didn't ask for this."

"Mia, Mr. Darcy is fine. He might not be just a cat now, but he's fine. Really." Abigail squeezed her hand. "Look, I'll bring over some books on transfiguration. I think reading about the process will help you cope. Or at least understand what we're saying."

Mr. Darcy came out of the hallway, took one look at Mia and the others, then turned away and let himself out the apartment's front door.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that." Mia sighed as she stood. "I'm ready to work. Where do you want me?"

Abigail blinked several times. "Well, we need to clean out the second-floor room for Jeani's crew to set it up. I need to start on the menu planning for each night and start baking. And we need to be ready for Tuesday's deliveries on top of anything we're doing for the contest. Oh, and Trent might need help since his brother has deserted him."

"Let's start with the planning for the week, and then I'll see what can be done early for that and Tuesday's deliveries. I'd like to be cooking unless Trent needs me." Mia and Abigail turned toward Trent.

"I need a second pair of hands, but I've got an idea." He picked up his phone and headed out of the apartment. "I'll check in at noon. Expect one more for dinner."

Abigail followed Mia out of the apartment. "Well, that sounded ominous."

Mia nodded but didn't answer. She was pretty sure who would be the addition at their dinner table, and Abigail wasn't going to like it. But they had work that needed to be done. Today. Especially since Christina and Levi wouldn't be back until early tomorrow afternoon. If not later.

Time to start thinking about food. Mia felt absolutely giddy.

* * *

The good feeling didn't last long. After they'd finished the planning, Abigail took a call. When she came back, Mia was working on a sugar cookie base they were going to make into crowns and wands for the Friday night event.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Abigail asked as she stirred the marinara sauce she was making for the eggplant Parmesan dish for Tuesday's delivery.

"Good news." Mia rolled the last of the dough into plastic wrap and marked the item off her to-do list. She carried the cookie rolls into the walk-in. "And speak up. I'm going to grab the ingredients for the next project."

"You might want to hold off." Abigail waited until Mia stepped out of the fridge and looked at her. "The good news is Jeani came through, and her rental people have everything we need to set up the prep room."

"And let me guess, they're on their way over." Mia rolled her shoulders. "That's the bad news."

"You're good at this game. Do you want me to go clean the room, or should I keep working on the sauces?" Abigail asked.

"I'll go clean the room." Mia took off her apron and threw it into the laundry hamper. Then she went to the cleaning closet and collected what she needed. "I could use the exercise."

"If you're sure. I could do it." Abigail glanced at the pots she had on the stove. "I'd just need you to watch the sauce."

"No, I'll do it." Mia picked up the bucket filled with cleaning supplies and headed upstairs. "The good news is, I set up a cleaning closet on the second floor too, so it has a broom, cloths, mops, and all the equipment. I need to fill it with product too, but that will come. Call me when dinner is ready."

"Okay, but don't forget to clean the windows. They really need a scrubbing," Abigail called after her.

"Yes, Mom," Mia muttered, hopefully low enough that Abigail wouldn't hear. But on the other hand, she was a witch. Cerby followed her out of the kitchen, where he'd been sleeping on his bed. He stretched and yawned as he pranced after her.

Before she climbed the stairs, she stopped at the front door and looked back at her shadow. "Do you need to go outside?"

Cerby barked and sat near the door.

"I'll take that as a yes." Mia set the cleaning supplies down and opened the door to find Jeani standing there, ready to knock. "Well, hello again."

"Great timing. I'm here to measure the stage and make sure I have enough fabric." She tapped her notebook. "I won't be here long."

"Your people are due in about an hour to set up the prep room. Do you want to stay and work with them?" Mia held the door open, and Cerby ran outside to his favorite patch of grass to do his business.

"No, I'll leave them a sketch on how to set it up, then I'll come back Monday and make it pretty." She grinned as she watched Cerby come back inside. "He's so cute. Anyway, Cheryl is expecting me back home to work on a few projects, so I won't be here long. I don't like leaving her alone, especially after what happened with Levi."

"Did she really think it was more than just being friendly?" Mia knew Levi liked chatting with women, but he typically kept his interactions friendly and not too friendly. And she'd just said or thought the word friendly three times. No, four. She was tired.

"It's not Levi's fault. I blame her addiction to fairy-tale romance. She thinks she's just going to meet her soulmate and fall, just like that. I've told her about kissing toads, but Cheryl's always the optimist." She glanced at the cleaning supplies. "Are you heading upstairs? Can I follow you and do the furniture placement sketch?"

"Sure. Come on up. Are you okay with stairs?" Mia shut the door behind them, and they headed upstairs. About five steps up, Mia turned to look for Cerby. He met her gaze, then turned toward the kitchen and his bed. She called out to him, "Don't get lost on your way."

Jeani laughed. "I still can't believe that Trent picked a Maltese for a pet. I thought he'd go bigger, like a mastiff, or at least a German shepherd."

"Cerby kind of picked him." Mia smiled at the memory. "Trent rescued him on a rainy night."

"Oh, now, that's too sweet. If Trent wasn't head over heels in love with you, that story would get him dates for years." Jeani held open the door to the second-floor classroom. "While you're getting ready, I'll do up the sketch. If you need help moving the rest of these desks out, just tell the guys. They're super helpful."

Mia groaned. She'd forgotten there were ten or more random desks still in the room. She'd ask Trent to help, but he was busy with the walkways. "I'll get them into the hallway. Maybe the furniture guys could move them into the next classroom?"

"Sure, just ask when they get here." Jeani sounded distracted, and when Mia looked her way, she was drawing on her pad.

Mia decided moving the desks needed to be done first. Then the empty room would be easier to clean. She picked up the first desk and dragged it out to the hallway, pushing it down the hall past the doorway to the next classroom. This way, they'd be out of the way.

By the time she'd moved almost all the desks, Jeani was done. She walked over to Mia and showed the drawing to her. "Does that look okay?"

Mia took the paper and studied it. Jeani had one complete station set up and decorated, with locations for the other five. It was pretty. She looked up at the white walls. At least the paint in the room was new. Mia had started painting the second floor when she'd run out of money for the remodel but not time to work on it. Of course, now she had neither.

"This is perfect. You're talented." Mia handed the paper back to Jeani.

She blushed, and the red went up to the edge of her straight blond hair. The way she wore it, she looked a lot younger than her actual age. She could be using a glamour spell, or some women were just born with good genes. "It's what I do. Thanks again for letting me work on this project. I thought maybe since Trent and I dated, you would have an issue, but you're cool."

Mia leaned against a desk. "I didn't know you dated. High school?"

"No, it was a few years ago. But like I said, he's a lot like my sister. He knew even then he was looking for a soulmate, and I wasn't it. We had fun, but it was never anything serious." She glanced at her watch. "I need to run and get those measurements. Cheryl's going to be calling sooner than later. See you tomorrow? I'd love to do the foyer then."

Jeani took out some tape and put the sketch on the door as she left the room.

"Sounds like a plan," Mia called after her. She thought the universe might be giving her payback for her running into Brad the other day. Or maybe the Isaac incident. Old friends, old loves, old wounds. She looked up when she heard someone digging at the floor.

Cerby had come upstairs and was now trying to pull something out of a crack between the wall and the doorjamb.

"What do you have now?" She pulled at the white fabric, which felt familiar. A potion bag came out of the small crack. "Cerby, you're a real Sherlock Holmes in finding clues. So, tell me, who made this?"

Cerby barked and sat looking at her.

"What, cat got your tongue?" Mia laughed and put the potion bag on the next desk to be moved. "Don't worry about it. I'll run this up to Grans and see what she thinks."

Cerby barked, then left the room. As Mia carried the last desk out of the room, she watched him hurry down the stairs aiming for the kitchen. The dog was better at this murder-solving thing than she was. At least he was finding clues. Even if they didn't mean much.

After running upstairs to leave the potion bag with her grandmother, Mia decided to start with the windows and work down in the room. She sprayed the first window with cleaner, then took paper towels to clean off the grime. Jeani was still here, talking to Trent outside.

Mia noticed another man working on the walkways. As Mia had suspected, Thomas Majors was the helper Trent had called in. As she scrubbed at one last fly spot, she watched as Jeani gave Trent a kiss. On the cheek—but still, a kiss.

Her arm stopped moving, and she couldn't think. Were they more than just friends? As she tried to get in control of her emotions, she saw Jeani leave the yard, and Trent's face turned up to the second-floor windows. He found her and smiled. Somehow she smiled back and then went to the next window.

If Jeani had never said anything about them dating, would she be feeling this way? And what was she feeling anyway? Envy, jealousy, anger, or fear? She pushed all her emotions away and scrubbed on the remaining windows. All she could do right now was make sure this room was spotless. And that's what she would focus on. Then she'd find something else to focus on until she understood what she was feeling.

And what it meant.

She sprayed more cleaner, making the view of Trent and the backyard blurry, just like her emotions.