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She’s right about one thing—thisisn’tthe answer I want to hear. “Can’t you just—I don’t know—brew up a potion or something?”
She laughs. “When you trust your internal guidance, brewing up a potion won’t be necessary, Harry.”
I slump back and the creaky chair groans ominously under my weight.Why the hell did I even come here if you weren’t gonna tell me anything useful?
“Hey! That was mean!” Ziggy bursts out, sounding offended.
My spine snaps straight. “Huh?”
“Never mind.” She shakes her head. Then she flips out of mystic mode right before my eyes. She’s a cold, hard business woman all of a sudden. “So, how will you be paying today? Cash or credit?” She sticks out a palm.
Well, damn. Can I get a second to digest this lackluster prediction?
“Cash,” I grumble, reaching into my pocket for my wallet just as the bell chimes faintly from the other side of the curtain.
Ah, shit. I’d been hoping to get out of here before anyone from around town could catch me.
“Come.” Ziggy rises out of her seat and slips beneath the curtain.
Slipping on my sunglasses and hoodie, I follow suit, hoping to make a stealthy getaway.
No such luck.
The second Sparkle catches sight of me, her little face lights up. “Harry sun-glah-sses!” My niece exclaims. Well, so much for my brilliant disguise. The toddler waddles across the shop to tug on the leg of my sweatpants. “Up.”
Emma, Meghan and Alana look up from the ratty sofa where they’re jammed together, pouring over bridal magazines.
Emma’s neck rears back in surprise. Meghan abruptly flips the thick, colorful catalogue on her lap closed.
“Harry?” Alana says. “What are you doing here?” She voices the question each of the girls are wearing on their faces. “Everything okay?”
“I, uh…”
Before I can come up with a plausible lie, Ziggy speaks up as she trots among the cluster of jewelry displays, browsing the racks. “Harry’s having a love dilemma,” she casually informs her besties. She selects a long string of pink crystals and drapes it around my neck. “This will help to open up your heart chakra! Rose quartz is excellent for awakening your inner divine feminine essence and calling in love.”
The three girls on the couch exchange a look.
“A love dilemma…?” Emma asks, her eyes lighting up. She instantly starts rifling around in her purse and comes up with pen and paper.
Goddamn. My little ‘love dilemma’ is about to find its way onto the pages of Emma’s upcoming romance novel.
“Ooh, do tell,” Meghan says. She’s dropping her magazine onto the side table next to the couch.
Sparkle lifts her arms in my direction. “Up!!!” she commands again, with the kind of endearing dominance only a toddler could pull off.
I’m a sucker for that little girl. Also, I’d like an excuse to avoid eye contact with the three women staring questioningly at me. So I scoop my niece off her feet. As soon as she’s in my arms, she immediately starts pulling and prodding and banging at the sunglasses on my face.
Ziggy struts up beside me, one fist on her hip, and assumes the international ‘I’m ready to gossip’ stance. “So, here’s the deal,” Ziggy starts, “Harry’s got this crush on—”
“Um, excuse me…” Don’t I have some expectation of privacy in this scenario? Do psychics have a code of conduct? Is there a board of witches I can report her to for spilling all my business?
I shoot Ziggy an incredulous look while trying to duck away from Sparkle’s little hands.
“Oh, sorry,” she says impishly, “I just thought…”
“We’re your sisters-in-law,” Emma reminds me, looking offended. “And since when do us, Westbrooks, keep secrets from each other?”
“We’re great problem-solvers. And we’d love to help.” Meghan gives me a bright, cheerful smile. “We have your back.”
