Page 57 of Witchful Thinking
“I thought you said not to leave anything out for the gnomes.”
“I said don’t leave out treasure for them!” Lucy paused for a moment. She’d told him about the food, hadn’t she? Ugh.
“Okay. What do gnomes eat? I hope it’s not seafood,” Alex said, holding up his hands in defense.
Lucy rubbed her forehead. “They’re vegetarians, so they love seeds, mushrooms, and beets. If you’re feeling fancy, then you can leave some tea and a little bottle of wine for them.”
“They’re going to be eating better than me. I don’t have anything like that here.” Alex glanced around the house. “Do you think they’d like cheesy eggs?”
“You’re not cooking them breakfast; you’re bribing them.” Just perfect. She was possibly being sabotaged by hangry gnomes. Lucy banged on the door with her open palm. “Open. Up. This. Door. Right. Now.” She marked each word with a bang. Her hand stung from the repeated impact.
Alex caught her hand in his, cradling it carefully. “Hold up. You’re going to break your wrist swinging like that.”
He turned her hand over in his; the scales on his palm caressed her skin. The contact wasn’t unpleasant, but it was way too thrilling. You should pull back.
“You can always climb out the window,” Alex suggested.
“Excuse you.” Lucy took her hand back and pinched his shoulder. Alex lightly pushed her hand away. Her skin tingled. “I’m not showing up to lunch covered in honeysuckle bush.”
“The natural looks good on you. Wear it to your lunch.”
“We’ll see.” Lucy took her phone out of her bag. She sent Theo a quick I’m running late, be there soon text. She owed him a huge apology in the form of mixed drinks and a nice meal. It was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine. “First we have to solve our gnome problem.”
“How are we, trapped in the house, going to get food for them, out there?”
Lucy tapped her phone and opened a delivery app. “Rapunzel’s Pizza has a great mushroom pie. Do you want anything?”
“I wouldn’t say no to a half-sausage, half-spinach pie. Don’t forget my favorite drink.”
“I can’t forget it. Lemonade and iced tea,” Lucy said.
She clicked in their order, turned to the door, shouting again, “I hope you’re happy!”
There was a gaggle of squeaking whispers outside in response to her words.
Lucy and Alex settled on the floor on either side of the door. “The order’s going to take a while. It’s lunchtime, so we have some time to hang out. You know how busy Rapunzel’s gets in the afternoon.”
“Why feed the gnomes if they do things like this?” Alex asked with a note of irritation. She didn’t blame him for getting annoyed.
“It’s a habit. Nana taught us to respect all magical creatures,” Lucy said. She turned to the door, raising her voice again. “No matter how freaking annoying they might be.”
A squeaky muttering came through the door in response to her comment. Lucy faced Alex, and he watched her with an interested stare.
“When Nana got sick, she couldn’t take care of the garden. I was busy with school, so the gnomes kept it alive for her,” Lucy said. “It doesn’t take an act of magic to be kind.”
Alex nodded. “Nana Ruth was a great one.”
“She always asked about you and whether I saw you on the ‘Social Book thing.’” Lucy laughed to herself. “I showed her your photos. She told me you had an amazing gift. You captured life.”
She heard his sharp intake of breath. Alex sat there amazed and moved at the compliment. Beep. Beep.
Lucy looked down at her phone. She read the message, then clicked her teeth.
“Is everything okay?”
“Theo rescheduled our lunch. There was an impromptu department meeting, and he can’t make it.”
Lucy looked at Alex. His face was blank. Unreadable. He held up a hand. “I get it.”