Page 61 of Witchful Thinking
Lucy gave an uncertain smile. “I signed up.”
The bimonthly karaoke contest started after the open mic, which was taking place just then. Lucy heard the squeal of the mic from the back room. Her heart raced. For moral support, she’d invited Poe, Theo, and Alex to hear her karaoke debut. They’d all texted back that they’d try to make it, but she was prepared to sing to a roomful of strangers if it came to that.
“Did your neighborhood merman inspire this?” Ursula asked.
“No. I decided it was time for a risk.”
Ursula studied her nails with a twist of her lips. “Mm-hmm.”
Lucy cocked her head to the side. Two sounds that expressed a world of doubt and skepticism. “What do you mean by ‘mm-hmm’?”
Ursula gave her a concerned look. “All I’m saying is keep your guard up. You’ve always had a blind spot for him.”
“Thanks for looking after me.”
“I just don’t want you to end up in deep water with Alex, if you get my drift.”
Lucy held up her hand in warning. “Please, I can only take so many water puns.”
“Witches aren’t the only ones who can cast spells,” Ursula sang.
Lucy kept replaying the dock encounter in her head. It had been a week since that night. Alex had been swamped with deliveries for the cottage, and since the cakewalk, Lucy had been swamped with tea leaf reading requests. There had been stolen kisses here and there, when they saw each other in passing. They hadn’t shared anything as earth-shattering as her riding his hand into bliss by the water. Maybe he wanted to take things slowly, or maybe he wanted to give her some space. Or maybe he was waiting until his bedroom was finished.
Ursula looked past Lucy, and her eyes widened. She gave a welcoming wave. “Be nice,” she warned in a low voice.
Why would I need to be nice?
Marcus and Lincoln came over to the booth, holding their drinks. Lucy blinked hard. Look who crashed the party. They were identical twins. Marcus was the older of the two, having been born three minutes before Lincoln. They both wore pressed polo shirts and jeans, along with fresh sneakers. Several customers stole glances at Lincoln and Marcus, clicking a few snapshots of them. The Walkers were something like local royalty, with their mom being the mayor and their father being a town councilman. Marcus slid in next to Lucy, giving her a soft smile. Lincoln sat next to Ursula, placing a quick kiss on her lips. He acknowledged Lucy with a curt nod.
“Sorry we’re late.” Marcus gestured to Lincoln with his drink. “Somebody couldn’t decide whether he wanted to smell like hazelnut or cedarwood. They’re the same.”
“It doesn’t matter to me. You look and smell good either way.” Ursula’s eyes moved up Lincoln’s chest, and she gave him an adoring smile.
“So, who’s performing tonight?”
“I signed up.” Lucy held up her hand.
“What about you?” Lincoln asked, throwing an arm around Ursula. “You can’t let your cousin one-up you again.”
Ursula smacked Lincoln’s arm and shot him a sharp look. Lucy narrowed her eyes at Ursula. “When did I one-up you?”
“You got a lot of attention with the cakewalk,” Marcus said. “Mom wouldn’t stop talking about your big bid. Some people felt a little left out.” He gave Ursula a long look.
“No way. You organized the whole thing!” Lucy said.
Lincoln shot her a withering glance. “You couldn’t help yourself. You just had to hog the spotlight.”
“That’s not what happened. Alex and I—”
“Oh. Of course, you were with a Dwyer.” Lincoln snorted dismissively.
Something ugly flared within her at his dismissiveness. “Yes, he was there. His generous bid helped Ursula break her fundraising goal,” Lucy said. “Did she share that with you?”
He faltered for a moment, then waved her off. “Whatever. I bet you didn’t even bake anything. You probably bippity-bobbity-booed with your magic to get a high bid.”
Lucy folded her hands and sat up, meeting his mocking tone.
“How much did you donate to the cakewalk?” she asked. “Since you care so much about bids.”