Easy Magic (Boudreaux #5)

I love you.

“I missed you. But the cat was on my doorstep last night, and I didn’t have the heart to leave him outside. I thought you might like to keep him. If you don’t, I’m sure Gabby would take him out at the inn. He could be a mouser.”

“Hmm.” She leans her head against my chest, the way she does when she’s had a rough day and just needs a hug. “I’ll keep him.”

Her words are muffled against my chest, but I smile and pat her back.

“Good.”

“He’s really cute.”

“Ben thought he was your familiar.”

Her head jerks up so she can look me in the face. “Really? Ben believes in that stuff?”

“It was a surprise to me,” I reply with a shrug. “I had no idea. You think you know a person.”

“Well, he’s not my familiar,” she says with a chuckle and returns to hugging my chest.

“Do you believe in familiars?” I ask, only knowing what I read about it last night on a Google search.

“I’ve never seen one,” she says. “I think it’s lore, like vampires and such. But who knows?”

“Who knows, indeed?”

“This is nice,” she says and hugs me tighter.

“How do you feel today?”

She’s silent for a moment, then shrugs one shoulder.

“I don’t know what that means,” I say with a laugh and kiss her head. “I need words, please.”

“I’m okay.”

I tip her chin up so I can see her face.

“You look tired.”

“I’ll sleep better tonight.”

“I’m not leaving you alone tonight.”

She smiles widely. “Good.”

“What can I do to help?” I ask softly, hating the sadness in her eyes.

“You’re doing it. I’m really okay, Beau. Yesterday was the anniversary of my grandmother’s death, and that’s always a hard day for me.”

“I get it,” I reply immediately. I dread the anniversary of my dad’s death every year. It’s a shitty day. “I’m sorry.”

“It’ll pass. I found out some stuff yesterday, but I don’t want to talk about it. Is that okay?”

“Of course.” Suddenly, there’s a crash from across the room and Mal winces.

“Looks like he won’t be a shop cat. He’ll put me out of business.”

“Yes, it’s probably best if he’s a house cat.”

She nods and smiles as the little kitten brushes up against her leg, purring.

“He’s quite…active.”

“Of course he is,” she says with a smile. “He’s a baby. I’ll keep him here with me today, and take him home later.”

“Good idea.” I brush my thumbs under her eyes, not liking the dark circles there in the least. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She pauses, as if she’s trying to decide what to say, but she just kisses my palm and nods. “I’m okay. Shelly is going to come in this afternoon to close for me, so I’m only working half of the day.”

“Do you mind if I make us dinner this evening?”

She shakes her head. “Not at all. What’s on the menu?”

“Well, I confess that although I can cook, I’m not the best cook. But I make a fantastic spaghetti.”

“Spaghetti it is then.”

***

“He so cute!” Mallory says from the couch in her living room. She’s been home with the kitten for a couple of hours. I just arrived with groceries for dinner, and some forget-me-nots the same color as her eyes. “And he’s already figured out the litter box.”

“What are you going to call him?” I ask.

“I’ve narrowed it down to Binx and Kat with a K.”

I stop stirring the sauce and stare at her for a moment, then bust up laughing.

“What? I like them both!”

“I didn’t say anything. Besides, you’re really not a “fluffy” kind of person.”

“He is fluffy,” she says and takes a sip of the red wine I poured her when I arrived. “But fluffy is really a girl’s name. I think I’ll go with Binx.”

“Binx it is.” I let the pasta fall into boiling water, give it a stir, and join her on the couch. “You look better this evening.”

“Did I look horrible earlier?”

“Not horrible, but troubled. I don’t like it when you’re not well. I would much rather trade places with you.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to trade places with me.”

“Want to tell me about it?”

She shakes her head no and takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to get into it.”

“I don’t like feeling shut out.”

“I’m not shutting you out. Trust me, if that was the case, you wouldn’t be here tonight. I want you here, and I want to be with you. But I don’t want to talk about yesterday.”

“I do trust you,” I reply gently. “And I don’t say that lightly. Trust isn’t easy for me.”

“Me either,” she says, lacing our fingers. “But I trust you.”

“That’s the most important thing. However, I have another important subject to bring up.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. This could be a deal breaker for one or both of us.”

She frowns and shifts in her seat, facing me. “What is it?”

“What movie are we going to watch tonight?”

She rolls her eyes and slaps my arm. “Damn it, Beau! I thought there was even more drama to deal with!”

“Well, there could be if you tell me you’re going to make me watch all of those sad movies that make girls cry. They’re a snore fest, Mal. I can’t do it.”

“What if we work out a trade?”

“So you’re saying you do like those movies?”

“Well, sometimes,” she says with a grin. “What kind of movies do you like?”

“Action. Lots of action.”

“So, blood and guts and sex?”

“Yes. All of that.” She cups my cheek in her hand, laughing up at me.

“How about if I pick one, then you pick one? We’ll trade.”

“Oh God. I’m going to have to watch sappy Sandra Bullock movies, aren’t I?”

“Some of her stuff is really funny,” Mal says defensively. “Have you seen The Proposal? It has Ryan Reynolds.”

“Reynolds is in Deadpool. That’s better.”

“Looks like those are our picks for tonight.” She smiles smugly and scratches Binx behind the ears when he jumps into her lap. “Your water is boiling over.”

“What? Oh!” I jump up to stir the pasta, surprised that I shifted my focus so completely to Mallory that I didn’t hear the hissing from the overflowing pot.

But then, when I’m with Mallory, all I see is her.





Chapter Sixteen


Mallory

I didn’t dream last night. I mean, if I did, I don’t remember it. That almost never happens, and when it does, I wake refreshed and rested.

And I want to lie here, for just a while longer, enjoying the warm sheets brushing over my naked body, and the sexy man currently spooning me. He’s still asleep, but even subconsciously he has a vise grip on me and his face is pressed to my back, just below my neck.

I’m a small woman, generally speaking, just shy of five foot three. I have more curves than I’d prefer, but compared to Beau I’m tiny.