Chapter 3

Dear Endora,

I've been best friends with a guy since college. We engage in lots of flirty, casual touching and cuddling, and all our friends are convinced we're in love with each other. Honestly, they are right when it comes to me. He's the love of my life, but I can't seem to get him to see me as anything other than a friend. What should I do to get his attention?

Signed, Destined to always be the bestie

Dear Bestie,

Clearly this calls for drastic measures. Make a "date" for drinks with your bestie at the local pub. Pull out all the stops. Get your hair done. Wax everything. Wear your sexiest outfit and your six-inch F^%$ me heels. When you show up, have one drink with him and then kiss him as if you're going to drag him into the coat closet. Then just leave him there, gaping after you. He'll be showing up at your door in twenty minutes.

Alternatively, you could do the adult thing and just talk to him about your feelings. Your choice.

Endora

Lily hit Send to fire off her latest column to her editor and then closed her laptop. She knew she should be working on her book, but it was a gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest, and she wanted to be outside enjoying her flower garden. There were weeds to pull and deadheading to do. And then she'd cut some blooms for a bouquet for her dining room table.

After grabbing her gardening gloves and shears from her closet, she walked out onto the front porch and was just about to get started when her phone buzzed. Her grandmother's name flashed across the screen, making her smile.

Bethany Befana was just about her favorite person in the world. She loved everything about the eccentric witch. "Hello, Gran. You just caught me before I got to work in the gardens."

"Oh dear," she said, sounding apologetic. "I'm sorry to interrupt. I know how much you enjoy communing with the earth."

Don't most witches?Lily thought, but she just said, "It's no problem. What's up?"

"Well, I was hoping you could come by this afternoon. I have a favor to ask."

Lily glanced at her watch. It was just before four. She supposed her gardens could wait an hour or two. "Sure. You want me to come now?"

"That would be wonderful. I have tea ready."

Lily grinned. Of course she did. Her grandmother was the master of buttering people up when she wanted something. "All right. Let me clean up and I'll be over in about twenty minutes."

"Thank you, dear. I can't wait to see you."

Lily put her gardening stuff away and went back inside to tidy her hair and put on clean clothes. Being a writer meant she was rarely ready to go anywhere at a moment's notice. Not when she was used to working in T-shirts and yoga pants. Since her grandmother was serving tea, she decided to wear a casual maxi dress and sandals. Then she put her hair up into an easy twist. After checking herself in the mirror, she decided she didn't look half bad for her fifteen-minute makeover.

With a sweater in hand, Lily walked out of her small two-bedroom cottage and headed two blocks over to her grandmother's large Victorian. The gorgeous place never failed to evoke warm memories. This was her home. Where she grew up. Where she'd felt safe after she and her sisters had lost both their parents as children. Lily barely remembered her father. He'd passed when she was just an infant. Her mother had been taken when Lily was in the fourth grade. It had been traumatic, but Bethany had stepped right in and had proven to be Lily's safe place ever since.

Lily knocked once before striding into the foyer. "I made it," she called as she headed toward the dining room, where she knew her grandmother would be.

"Oh good. You're just in time," Bethany called back.

"For what?" Lily turned the corner into the dining room and came to an abrupt stop when she spotted Braxton Kirkwood sitting to the right of her grandmother.

He stood abruptly, hitting the table and making the tea tray sway. Water sloshed from the full glasses, leaving wet marks on the pale pink tablecloth. "Oh, no. I'm so sorry, Bethany," he said, grabbing the table to settle it.

"It's fine, dear. It's only water." She rose from her seat and nearly floated over to Lily. Cupping her granddaughter's cheeks, Bethany kissed her forehead and said, "Thanks for coming at the last minute."

"Sure, Grandmother. You know I'd do anything for you." The statement was true, but as she eyed Braxton, she wondered what exactly Bethany was up to. She loved her grandmother with all her heart, but she didn't always love the way Bethany meddled in her granddaughters" lives. If this was a setup, she was going to be annoyed. Lily was done thinking about the man who was too attractive for her own good.

"Braxton here needs an energy cleanse," Bethany said, waving a hand in his direction. "I could use your help with the cleansing spell."

"Oh, no, I'm sure Lily doesn't—" Braxton started.

"Of course. Happy to help," Lily said, cutting him off as she eyed him. Her grandmother had always been good at reading auras and energy. It wasn't one of Lily's gifts, but that didn't mean she couldn't help with a cleansing spell.

"We don't need to do this right now," Braxton said, sounding as if he'd rather be handling toxic waste than dealing with an energy cleansing.

"Don't be silly," Bethany said. "Lily's here now. This will take no time at all. Come with me." She swept out of the dining room and into an adjoining sunroom.

Lily gave him a sympathetic smile. "She won't change her mind. Might as well just get it over with."

Braxton hesitated for a long moment and then finally followed Bethany into the room where her grandmother made her herbal creations.

Lily stood by the entrance with her arms crossed over her chest as her grandmother mixed a bowl of herbs at a wooden butcher block that was pushed up against the wall.

When Bethany was done, she carried the herbs and a candle into the middle of the room and waved both Braxton and Lily over. "Here, Braxton, you hold the candle. And Lily, you take the herbs."

Both of them did as Bethany said.

"Ready?" the older witch asked.

"No," Braxton said at the same time that Lily said, "Yes."

Lily chuckled. "Just relax, Braxton. It's painless."

"You hope," he grumbled.

Bethany chuckled. "She's right. It is." Then she raised her arms and started chanting her spell in Latin.

Braxton stood stock-still, looking like a deer in the headlights.

Lily wanted to reach out and hold his hand, show him some support. But that would interrupt the spell. Not everyone was super comfortable with spells, and it looked like Braxton was one of them.

"Now, Lily!" Bethany called.

Lily poured the herbs into her palm and then blew them toward Braxton. They immediately caught on the air and swirled around Braxton as Bethany finished her chant.

Bethany threw her hands up in the air at the same moment the flame flickered to life on the candle, and the swirl of herbs intensified.

Then suddenly, the herbs disappeared and the candle went out.

Silence filled the sunroom as the light shown over Braxton in an ethereal glow.

Braxton blinked and then let out a small laugh. "That was… incredible."

Bethany smiled. "See, I told you it was painless. Let's go in and have our tea."

As Bethany moved into the next room, Lily took the candle from him and placed it on the workstation. She eyed him, "Feeling better?"

He nodded. "Lighter than I have in ages."

"Good." She slipped her arm through his and led him back into the dining room, pleased that they were able to help him.

Bethany was standing at her place at the head of the table. "Take a seat. We have much to discuss."

"I bet we do," Lily muttered as she sat to the right of her grandmother, realizing that her summons hadn't just been about clearing Braxton's energy.

Braxton gave her a curious stare and then turned his attention back to Bethany, and Lily guessed that he'd been just as surprised by her presence this afternoon as she was about his.

"So, Gran," Lily said in an overly sweet tone as her grandmother poured the tea. "What exactly do you have to discuss with both me and Braxton?"

"I'm glad you asked," she said with a pleasant smile as if she didn't know that Lily was annoyed. "As you know, the midsummer celebration is coming up in a few weeks."

"Yes," Lily said, eyeballing her. "Isn't Cassandra in charge of that?" Cassandra was one of Bethany's friends and a longtime coven member.

"She was until she completely dropped the ball," Bethany said with a sniff. "I knew she was always planning things right up until the last minute, but I didn't realize what a terrible procrastinator she actually is until just yesterday when she dropped it all in my lap. It turns out she hadn't gotten anything done and then accepted a last-minute invitation to Transylvania from an online lover. She left early this morning, and I'm going to need some help if this year's celebration is still going to happen."

"And we're it?" Lily asked, glancing at Braxton.

"Yes!" she said with a gleam in her eye. "You're just so organized, Lily. If anyone can pull this off, it's you. And Braxton has all the resources for the games. I figured, together you would be the perfect pair."

Perfect pair. Lily knew her grandmother didn't just mean celebration planning. She'd heard all about the kiss that had happened at the Witches Ball. And if she had to guess, one of her sisters had likely informed her about the one that happened after August's gallery opening, too. This wasn't just an SOS for help on a town event; this was a setup. Lily knew it down to her bones. When it came to love matches for her granddaughters, Bethany just couldn't leave well enough alone.

Braxton cleared his throat. "What all are you looking for?"

A cat-that-ate-the-canary grin took over Bethany's features, and Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her grandmother was a piece of work. "I knew I could count on you, dear. I'll need you to organize the games portion of the celebration. There's the individual paddleboard, enchanted bike, and broom races, plus the triathlon of all three. Oh, and the team stylized synchronized broom and enchanted bike competitions."

"Don't forget the magical corn hole and crochet," Lily said, unable to stop herself, even though she wanted to strangle her grandmother. She couldn't help it. The midsummer celebration was one of her favorite events of the year.

"That's right," Bethany said with a nod. "Lily and her sisters have their crochet title to defend. You've never seen a more competitive team."

Lily chuckled. It was true. The four of them were ruthless when it came to magical crochet. They were on a five-year winning streak.

"I look forward to the spectacle," Braxton said.

"Then there are the food vendors, the arts and crafts vendors, and I want to have a ball for another fundraiser."

Lily swallowed a groan and forced herself not to look at Braxton. She didn't want to recall what happened the last time they were both at a ball. "Fundraise for what?" she asked.

"I want to raise money for the youth witch summer program that has been struggling ever since poor Mr. Frankenlily got conned into purchasing those ‘elusive' toadstools that were said to turn stones into gold."

"I take it they didn't work?" Braxton asked.

"Nope." Bethany passed each of them a scone and then gestured to the clotted cream and the lemon curd that was on the table as she continued. "The toadstools were actually just psychedelic mushrooms the grifter used to scam old hippy witches. If we don't do something, the summer program is going to go broke, and the youngsters of this town will be seriously lacking on their education in basic spells and magical tradition. Now that the schools think teaching witchcraft isn't essential, most are cutting their entire programs. We need to do something to help fill in the gaps. Would you mind terribly putting that together while organizing the celebration? It would mean the world to me."

"Absolutely. I'd be happy to help," Braxton said immediately.

Lily stared at him, wishing intentions alone could curse someone. Did he have any idea how much work all of that was going to be? And if he pawned it all off on her, they were going to have some serious words. "Grandmother," Lily said slowly. "That is a tough order when the celebration is in just two weeks."

"I know, dear, but I have my hands full with the new tarot school as well as the art showcase. If this had happened at any other time, I'd be available to help organize it all, but right now, my hands are tied."

Lily very much doubted her time was that limited, but what was she going to do, say no? Absolutely not. She'd just enlist as many of her sisters as she could to help. "Fine, but you owe me."

Bethany patted her hand. "Consider me indebted." She turned to Braxton, who'd just shoved half of a scone into his mouth. "Tell me all about the flasher outside your store yesterday. I heard it was quite the show."

Braxton sputtered, spewing crumbs out onto the pristine table. His cheeks flushed deep red as he hurried to clean up his mess. After he swallowed, he glanced up and said, "Sorry about that. You caught me a little off guard."

Bethany's eyes gleamed as she said, "It seems like that's happening to you a lot lately."

After they finished their tea and Braxton left, Lily helped her grandmother clear the table. Once they were in the kitchen, Lily cornered her by the sink. "I know what you're doing. You know that, right?"

"What am I doing?" Bethany placed a hand on her chest and gave Lily an innocent look. "If you mean that I'm trying to make sure one of the town's most popular events doesn't get canceled due to Cassandra's poor planning, then yes. You're a hundred percent right. That's what I'm doing."

"No, I mean the bit about you pairing me up with Braxton. Just because we kissed that one time doesn't mean it's a good idea for us to date. Your meddling won't change that."

Bethany let out a huff of surprise. "Meddling? That's quite an accusation."

"A true one. But don't get your hopes up. Braxton isn't my type."

"If you say so, honey," Bethany said as she turned to the sink and started loading dishes into the dishwasher.

"I do," Lily said.

"Sure." Bethany shrugged. "I heard you. You could be right, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"You're going to be waiting a long time," Lily called as she made her way toward the front door.

"I'm not in a hurry," her grandmother proclaimed in a singsong voice.

Lily scowled and muttered, "Meddlesome old crow."

"I heard that!" Bethany called.

"I wasn't trying to be quiet!" Lily called back, but she was grinning to herself as she slipped out of the old house. Even though she was irritated that her grandmother was interfering in her nonexistent love life, she couldn't stay mad at her. How could she? Lily knew her grandmother just wanted her to be happy. It was all she'd ever wanted for her granddaughters. And Lily knew that no matter what, if she needed anything, Bethany Befana would be there for her.

It was why she vowed to make the midsummer celebration one of the best they'd ever had. Her grandmother had asked for help, and Lily didn't plan to let her down.