AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She left. All good in there?” Graham nodded to the closed doors behind me.
“Not likely. I’ll pick up the tab though. Whatever you do, don’t let them pay, and let them knowIpaid for it.” I patted the top of the bar twice before hightailing it for the door. I wasn’t interested in sticking around to hear Tommaso try and talk me out of it, lest I slip up and bring up what I knew of the criminal allegations against him. Frankly, that wasn’t my problem to solve. Or, as my grandmother used to put it, “sweep your own stairs.” Tommaso’s problems were his own, and so long as I wasn’t getting involved with his business, I no longer cared. What I did care about was finding Lia and thanking her for coming to help me. I knew it had taken her a lot, particularly after we’d left each other in a difficult moment, and her showing up for me had solidified what I’d already known.
Lia was the one for me.
Now, even if I had to bully her into it, I was going to make her realize that we could have a happy life together if she’d just give us a chance. If that meant that I could never buy her another gift, well, so be it.
Yeah, that wasn’t happening.But I’d give it a go if that was what she really wanted.
Pulling to a stop at the castle, I was relieved to see the kitchen doors open. She’d once told me that where some people went to the gym or the bar when they were upset, she always went to her kitchen. Crows cawed above me, seeming to follow me to the kitchen, and cawed so loudly that I couldn’t help but glance up at them. When I did, something dropped at my feet, and I crouched to see what it was.
Lia’s grasshopper.
Fear gripped me, and I pocketed it, hitting the kitchen doors at a dead run and skidding to a stop when Lia jumped up, a startled look on her face.
“Munroe, is everything—”
“Lia.” I rounded the table and gripped her shoulders, my breath catching as I looked down at this luminous woman. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. You saw that Brice didn’t hurt me,” Lia said, and I shook my head, taking a moment to shake thoughts of her being hurt from my head. Did that mean she’d thrown the necklace away? Was she that angry at me for giving her the bike? Uncertainty threaded through me, and I stepped back, dropping my hands.
“Is he here?” I asked, turning to look around.
“Brice? I suspect so.”
“I’d like to have a talk with him. Can you get him to come out?” I asked.
“I honestly don’t know. He rarely shows himself,” Lia said, turning from where her spells book was open in front of her. “Brice? Munroe is here. He’d like to speak to you. But only if you want to. You can ignore him if you want to, that’s just fine with me. He was pretty scary earlier. So, it’s your call.”
“Gee, thanks,” I muttered.
“Aye?”
Brice poked his head out from the darkened hallway, and I took a moment to look at the little guy. With a wrinkled face, wizened eyes, and threadbare hair, he was not at all pleasing to the eyes. And yet, he’d tried to protect Lia, and myself, on several occasions, even if his methods were less than desirable. I walked forward and crouched in front of him and sighed when he shrunk back. Holding out a finger, I waited, until Brice finally reached out. His entire palm circled my index finger.
“Thank you,” I said, meeting his eyes. “I’m deeply sorry for my reaction before. You scared me because I thought you’d hurt Lia. I think you and I are much the same. We’ll do anything to protect her. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”
Tears welled in his little eyes, and he nodded once.
“And thank you for your help today. It means a lot to me. Moving forward, let’s work on a better system for how you communicate if there’s trouble, okay?”
“I can stay?” The words were barely a whisper, and I turned to Lia, not sure if she’d caught what he’d said.
“Can he stay?”
“Of course he can stay,” Lia said, dashing her palms against her eyes. “What kind of Kitchen Witch would I be without my broonie?”
When I turned back, Brice had disappeared, but his happy chattering confirmed he was pleased with the decision. Standing, I returned to Lia’s side and leaned against the table. We still had things to discuss.
“Thank you, for coming today. I know it was scary to walk in there, to interrupt a meeting like that, but I am really grateful that you did. While I was already on the fence about the deal, you truly saved me.”
“Oh, thank God,” Lia said, pressing a hand to her chest. “I was so nervous. But I couldn’t let them screw you.”
“Of course not, because you love me.” I grinned as a stubborn look came over Lia’s face.
“I didn’t say that. It was just wrong, okay? What they were doing was wrong.” Lia sniffed and lifted her chin. My smile widened as I took in the defiant tilt to Lia’s chin. Okay, she wasn’t quite ready to break, was she?
“You know…I’ve always dreamed of having a family.”
