Page 74 of Summer L.A.W.

Chad’s grin spread slowly. “He’s been trying to get you two together.”

Magda sank onto a stool. The drawing was limp in her fingers. “You’re telling me my familiar detonated my greenhouse and sabotaged my ingredients because he thinks I need a love life?”

Wally nodded vigorously.

Chad held out his hands. “In his defense, the drawing made Lioness laugh so hard she had to change her panties.”

Magda groaned into her palms. “I cannot believe this.”

“Oh, but you can,” Chad said, amused. “And hey, look on the bright side. Your familiar loves the idea of you two so much that he’s taking action.”

“That’s not a bright side.”

“That’s a glowing neon-pink side,” he corrected. “Some familiars bite perceived interlopers.”

“Did Brianna’s owl do that?”

“Nearly.”

Wally hopped into her lap and patted her hand like a tiny therapist.

Magda rolled her eyes. “Fine. But if he tries to mess with my next love potion, I am taking him back to Australia for a month.”

Wally’s ears perked in alarm.

Chad laughed again. “For now, how about we let Sahara and Joell handle the official chaos while you figure out… whatever this is. And don’t forget to document everything.”

Her gaze drifted back to the drawing.

Two figures hugging. Hearts floating above.

And Wally, smug as ever, nuzzled her elbow like he’d already won.

19

Magda stepped into the garden behind the greenhouse, letting the cool morning air slap some sense into her. Dew clung to every blade of grass like the yard wasn’t fully awake yet. She breathed in, hoping it would rinse last night’s memory out of her system.

It didn’t. Her brain decided to replay the almost-kiss again, complete with dramatic lighting.

“Absolutely not,” she muttered to herself.

Wally hopped beside her, already disagreeing.

“We are not doing this mental rerun again,” she warned.

He nudged her elbow. Hard.

“What now?” she snapped.

Wally nudged again, steering her hand toward her leather-bound journal.

“No,” she said, jerking her hand away. “Stop that. It was static cling, not attraction.”

Wally snorted. Actually snorted.

“Oh, great. Now you’re editorializing.”

She finally sank onto the stone bench beneath her favorite maple. Resisting him took more energy than just giving in. She opened her journal to a fresh page, where her humiliation could be recorded comfortably.