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Her mouth formed a little O when she caught sight of the monstera leaf charm. I hadn’t planned it, but it matched her outfit perfectly.
“The necklace from the jewelry store! How did you know?”
“I saw you admiring it and thought it would be a great place to hide a spell if we ever needed to do that. It looks like something you’d wear.” I stood behind her and put it on, my large fingers struggling clumsily with the tiny clasp for a bit. “I had Tansy put a spell on it that’s supposed to prevent anyone from taking photos of you.”
“Wow, she can do that?”
“I hope so. She said she hasn’t actually done it before.”
“Oooh, I get to be a guinea pig. Exciting! Let’s try it out.”
I took out my phone and snapped a quick photo, and she leaned in to see the result. Most of the photo turned out normal, but her face was all blurry and pixelated.
“Try again,” she insisted.
I took several more. All of them came out the same way, even when I tried recording a video. “It probably depletes a bit of Tansy’s magic every time it happens, so let’s not overdo it.”
“Oh, is that how it works? I’m still so new to all this. I mean, I didn’t even realize I had any magic until the wedding. Let’s not tax her powers, then.”
As much as I wanted to take the Hellcat, it was easier to ninja through traffic in the Urus. So despite having portaled back to the cottage so I could drive my green beast home yesterday, a trip that Lillian insisted on taking with me I might add, it had to stay in the garage. Oh well. Baby did draw a lot of attention. And it wasn’t like it was that much fun to drive her in the city.
“Is it even open today?” Lillian asked doubtfully when we got to the giant indoor botanical garden. “The parking lot’s completely empty.”
“Oh, it’s open. For us.” I helped her out of the car, and we stepped inside.
The man who greeted us looked confused for a moment until I said, “It’s booked under Desmon’s name. I have the reservation number and payment confirmation if you need it.” The man blinked a few times. “You’re Gunnar Redrock and the Cat Lady person.”
“My wife’s name is Lillian,” I said firmly.
“Yes. Of course. My apologies, sir. I’m just a bit shocked to see you two, that’s all. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Booking the place out under a different name was an extra precaution to make sure we’d have the place to ourselves. There’s a lot of media attention on us right now, and we enjoy our privacy.”
Was it excessive on my part? Okay, maybe. But I wanted Lillian to be as comfortable as possible exploring the city with me. I’d been on the receiving end of public curiosity before, and it wasn’t much fun…and Ilikedattention.
Meanwhile Desmon was currently at the aquarium with Carly, which was the outing I’d booked undermyname. While his mate didn’t love the extra attention, she had a laissez-faire attitude, and nothing really phased her, certainly not the cameras.
“It’s usually quiet on Wednesday during the day anyway, but you did book the place for yourself, so it’s all yours. And so am I.” He gestured to the gold name tag on this shirt, which listed his title as Horticulturalist/Educator. “I’m Jason. Did you want a thorough tour, or to just go around enjoying the exhibits yourself?”
I turned to Lillian. “Your pick, Kitten.”
“How about we go through on our own, and if we have any questions, I’ll ask you later?”
“Works for me.” Jason handed us each a brochure with a map. “Make sure you don’t skip the tropical section. We just put in a new waterfall, and it’s gorgeous. People sometimes miss it, because it looks like a dead end, but if you stick to the right, that stone path leads right behind the fall and out the other side.”
“Thank you,” I said with a nod.
Then Lillian was pulling me into the first section, which was labeledPrimeval Gardens.Her excitement already was enough for me to know I’d made the right choice coming here.
“Did you know I’ve been living in Darlington for years and I’ve never visited this place?” she said as we stepped into a warm, humid world of giant ferns and fuzzy mosses.
“You, of all people? I’m surprised. Why not?”
“I only got into plants in the past…maybe…three or four years, after I started working. And I haven’t seriously dated since…” She made a face as if remembering something unsavory. “College. I know, I know!” She held her hands up placatingly. “I can come here on my own, it doesn’t have to be a date. But it just never happened.”
“Why haven’t you dated since college?”
“Well, I’m in Darlington. And there’s a lot of shifters.”
