Page 29 of Christmas Magic

If Lucian didn’t know better, he’d say Galahad had been at the catnip—except there wasn’t any in the store or their house.

Lucian frowned. “Have you and the girls been watching crime shows on TV again?”

“Maybe.” Not a trace of guilt touched the squire’s gaze.

“I warned you about what you might see on television.”

The feline’s mouth twitched. “Yeah, well, watching Cat TV gets kind of boring after a while. A squire can only take so many un-catchable squirrels and mice, you know?”

“Still. Crime shows?”

Galahad slowly blinked. “Would you prefer we watched home decorating programs—?”

“They might be better.”

“—and got out the power tools?”

“Power tools?”

“Why are you suddenly pale?”

Lucian took a steadying breath. “Galahad.”

“Aye, milord?”

“Home decorating is forbidden. Power tools are forbidden.”

“Jumping at your flat-screen TV to catch squirrels and mice, and knocking said TV over, is also forbidden?”

“Yes!”

“That just leaves crime shows. We made the right decision the first time.”

Galahad sure got creative with his rationalizations.

“I should point out that as your loyal squire, it’s my duty to keep apprised of the latest criminal trends and techniques. The girls and I do, after all, watch for shoplifters in the store.”

“I know. Thank you for that.”

“We appreciate that you buy our favorite food and take good care of us. We like to help out wherever we can.”

“Suspecting Cora of poisoning her baking, though?” Lucian shook his head and picked up a length of bubble wrap. “That’s kind of mean, not to mention far-fetched.”

With an indignant sniff, Galahad wandered over to the food and water bowls. “One can never be too careful. If I was a person, rather than a cat, I’d taste the cookies for you. Remember how important tasting was in the Middle Ages, milord?”

Lucian’s hand tightened on the bubble wrap. “You’ve called me ‘milord’ twice now. Please don’t call me that.”

“Please don’t take away our crime TV.”

Lucian sighed. “I’m going to hide the remote.”

The squire purred. “You can try.”

“We’ll discuss the TV later.” Lucian left the storage room, cancelling the spell as he went.

“Don’t eat the cookies!” Galahad meowed.

Struggling to contain her excitement, Cora walked down to Wilshire Park. Would Lucian try her cookies right away or wait until later? She’d planned her delivery for early morning because he might still be drinking coffee. The sweet vanilla flavor of sugar cookies went perfectly with java.