“You’re just a vengeful woman,” Brandt hisses. “Full of spite because you couldn’t make your own business work. You failed, Violet. You failed, and now you’re trying to retaliate, refusing to take responsibility for your own ineptitude, and—”
“You know what? Ididfail,” I say plainly, shocked to realize the dreaded F-word doesn’t sting as much as I once feared. Doesn’t send me cowering into the corner, full of shame and self-loathing. “I tried to run a successful business doing what I love. What I’m good at. And I couldn’t turn a profit. But you know what? I learned a hell of a lot along the way. And Iwillfigure out how to make it work. Maybe not this week, maybe not this year, but I’m not giving up again. No matterwhotells me I should. Because when you’re blessed enough to find something you love in this world, something that makes your heart sing, something that has you jumping out of bed looking forward to every new day—even when it’s rough, even when you falter, even when you fail—you find a way to get back up and try again. Whatever it takes, you find a way.”
Emotion is thick in my throat, and I no longer know whether I’m talking about Kettle and Cauldron, or my magic, or Devlin. All of it is nearly inseparable for me now—my loves, my passions. My whys.
“You’re not seriously listening to this woman,” Brandt says, casting a desperate gaze at his fellow committee members. “She’s not well. She… she got herself into debt with that worthless tea business, and now she’s—”
“Now she’s presenting the evidence,” Mayor Singh says, putting a warm and supportive hand on my shoulder, “to lock you up for a very,verylong time.”
Goose thoroughly cooked, Brandt leaps from his chair and attempts to storm out, but there are too many bodies in here blocking off his escape routes.
“Sit down, Mr. Remington,” Mayor Singh says. “We arefarfrom done here.” Then, pressing a button on the conference phone, “Margo? Get me the police.”
“I told you,” Emmie says when we’re finally dismissed. “If anyone can handle a little competition, it’s VioletFuckingPepperdine.”
I laugh. “You also said I was a witchy, formidable, tea-slinging badass.”
“And you proved it in spades today.”
“The donuts played a big part.”
“Hey. Always happy to help my sister kick some evil bootie.” Emmie leans in for a kiss. “I need to get back to the bakery, but I’ll see you guys later? Witch-N-Bitch happy hour?”
“No booze for Violet, though,” Olivy says. “From now on, she’s all about the tea. Maybe a little seltzer, if she’s feeling wild.”
“Agreed.” Grinning, I hike my bag over my shoulder, following Olivy out through the rotunda. Gone are the Halloween decorations from the ball, replaced now with the first signs of whatever Thanksgiving shenanigans Mayor Singh’s cooking up. Plastic turkeys, wicker cornucopia, more haystacks. Hard to believe it was only a couple weeks ago that I danced with the Devil on this very floor.
That I kissed him.
That I fell in love with him.
“You know, Vi.” Olivy slings an arm over my shoulder. “After that little display, I’m pretty sure you’re on track to unlock your heart’s true desire after all, no assistance needed.”
I laugh, but it fades fast. “We already unlocked it, Ols. I turned down the grant, but we still got it. It counted. Long enough to unlock the spell, anyway.”
“Thanks to Devlin’s unscrupulous means.”
“Don’t remind me.” I sigh. “The point is—oh, shit. Wait.”
Something dawns on me, kicking me right in the heart.
Oh, goddess…
Saving the café was everything I ever wanted, but…
Is it possible itwasn’tmy heart’s truest desire?
I stop at the exit and turn to face her, panic rising.
“Olivy. You told me there could be no shortcuts with my spell. That Devlin had to help me without using his Devil mojo.”
“Right, because that would’ve been a cheat, and the magic forbade it.”
“But…” I squeeze my eyes shut, desperately trying to remember that day. The timeline. “The spell was broken as soon as I got the news about the grant.”
“Like you said, it counted. You got the money to save the shop. Heart’s desire unlocked, spell broken, off into the sunset you ride.”
“But… no. That can’t be right. The only reason I got the grant was that Devlin used his influence on Brandt, so that automatically negates it, doesn’t it?”
