Magical Dames and Dating Games Read online

  I crossed to Thorne and bent down where no one but him could see me. Thorne stiffened as I leaned over and whispered in his ear.

  “You’ve got to put effort in this.”

  “I don’t want to,” he whispered.

  “This could mean my job.”

  He glared at me. “I’m taking her out on a date. Isn’t that enough?”

  I bit my lower lip and placed a hand on Thorne’s knee. Warmth snaked up my arm. I forced myself to look into his eyes. There I saw emotion swelling.

  “If you won’t do it for anything else,” I said, prepared to go out on a limb, “do it for me.”

  “I am doing this for you,” he argued.

  “Really do it for me. If you botch this, I could end up fired and be forced to leave.”

  Thorne’s eyes narrowed. He clenched his jaw and shook his head in disgust. “I didn’t want to do this because of you.”

  His words hit me like a barb to my heart. “What?”

  “Bachelor?” Vic’s voice cut through our conversation. “Are you still there?”

  “I’m here.”

  “What else would you do besides dinner? I have to say, our bachelorette doesn’t look impressed.”

  “I don’t care about her,” he whispered.

  I shot him a warning look.

  He rolled his eyes and huffed. “Fine. After dinner we’d go dancing. Then take a long walk on a magical beach that she created because I don’t have magic. We’d talk all night and wouldn’t notice the time passing.”

  I gave Thorne a thumbs-up while he glared at me. “We’d have so much to talk about that we wouldn’t notice when the sun rose in the distance.”

  “Ahh,” Vic said. “That sounds about as romantic as romantic can get. What do you think about that, Bachelorette?”

  Frankie’s voice sounded like she had a huge smile on her face. “That sounds like one of the most romantic dates I’ve ever heard.”

  “Satisfied?” Thorne said to me.

  I nodded.

  “This isn’t my cup of tea.”

  “You mean blood,” I corrected.

  He shot me a scorching look. “You know what I mean.”

  “All you have to do now is go on a date with her. No one said you have to do more than that.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  Vic’s voice cut into our conversation. “Tell us, Bachelorette, who will you go on your first date with?”

  Frankie paused for a moment. “I think I’ll go out with Bachelor Number Three.”

  I was shocked. Tex had given way better answers than Thorne, and even Watts Pugh before him had said he would take her on a hot air balloon ride over Witch’s Forge before landing on a mountaintop to eat dinner. I mean, come on. Who wanted to give up a hot air balloon ride over a grumpy vampire?

  Frankie Firewalker, apparently.

  Vic’s voice rang out again in all its cheesy glory. “Well, okay, then. Bachelorette, get ready to meet Bachelor Number Three as well as your other potential suitors.”

  “I’d better go,” I whispered.

  Thorne shot me a look full of envy, as if he’d rather be retreating than me. The screen hiding his identity disappeared, his chair whirled around and the crowd cheered as Thorne’s identity was revealed.

  I scooted back to the audience sideline just in time to watch as Thorne rose and strode toward Frankie. Frankie extended her hand and a rose. Thorne took it and went for a shake but Frankie threw herself at him and planted her lips atop his.

  The crowd roared.

  My heart stopped. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Frankie wasn’t supposed to kiss Thorne. I stared openmouthed, shocked and, I’ll admit, jealous.

  Anger knotted up my stomach as Frankie kept her lips hinged on Thorne’s.

  And the crowd just kept on shouting with glee.

  Thorne pulled away from Frankie, finally, and shook her hand. His gaze flashed to me, and I made sure to keep my expression stony.

  “Well,” Rose said from behind me, “looks like Frankie is up to her old tricks again.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Vic motioned for Thorne and Frankie to sit. “Tell me, you two lovebirds, are you all set for your date tomorrow night?”

  Thorne cleared his throat. “I just have to get a few things in order and we’ll be all set.”

  Vic wagged his eyebrows. “A few things in order, huh?” he said suggestively. “Sounds like this relationship is headed toward a love connection.”

  “He is one of my potential soul mates,” Frankie added with a smile.

  Rose shuffled up beside me. “What I mean is this is the sort of thing she did to your mother and father, the thing that started the rift between Glinda and Frankie.”

  I glanced over as Rose cooed to Pig, who sat, no surprise, in Rose’s arms.

  “But this isn’t like that. I touched Frankie’s arm and felt for her soul mates. This isn’t like she knew I was dating Thorne or anything. She’d just appeared at the wedding.”

  Rose quirked a brow. “I wouldn’t be so sure about what you know when it comes to that witch. She’s manipulative and doesn’t like our family. If Frankie had things her way, she would have married William.”

  “My father?”

  Rose nodded. “That’s right.”

  Pig snorted and Rose pulled a chocolate square from her purse before feeding it to the swine.

  I watched as Vic droned on with Thorne and Frankie. Then he rose and introduced the other two suitors.

  “I just don’t see that,” I said. “There’s no way Frankie somehow adjusted what I would see when I touched her. I don’t buy it.”

  Rose shot me a look full of warning. “She’s a wily one.”

  “All I know is that I have a job to do. One that means I have to be impartial about this entire process. Who Frankie picks and who picks Frankie isn’t up to me. It’s up to them.”

  “Still.” Rose fluffed her hair. “I’d keep a close eye on her. There’s no telling what Frankie will do when she’s left alone with him.”

  Rose glanced over her shoulder back toward where Mama sat. “It wouldn’t be the first time Frankie tried to steal a man from a woman in our family. If she lives to be one hundred, I doubt it will be the last.”

  Vic rose. “Thank you all for coming out to watch our dating show. Stay tuned for tomorrow night when we shoot live from Frankie’s first date with Thorne. I guarantee you won’t want to miss out.”

  The crowd clapped and the audience murmured as they exited the studio.

  The mayor shuffled up to me, India quickly following, her heels clacking on the floor.

  “Charming, that went great, don’t you think?”

  Before I had a chance to reply, the mayor bulldozed right on through. “I want to make sure these dates show Witch’s Forge in a good light. That will be up to you, Charming.”

  “Me?” I scoffed. “Mayor, I’m supposed to make sure the men show up. I’m not supposed to be some sort of date coordinator.”

  The mayor turned around, pulled a compact from her purse and powdered her nose. “I don’t see the difference. You brought all of them together; you can make sure the dates are successful. It’s simple, really. Just make sure the dining goes smoothly and the hot tub scenes do as well.”

  I bristled. “Hot tub scene? Are we really doing that?”

  She nodded. “Absolutely. With each man. They always do it on those big network shows. There’s no point in not doing it here.”

  My stomach pretzeled. “I don’t know…”

  The mayor dropped her compact in her purse and splayed her hands wide. “I can just see it now. All our advertising will say, ‘Come to Witch’s Forge, where you can pretend to be a witch while having a romantic time doing it.’”

  “Um, do you really think that’s a great advertising campaign?”

  She scoffed. “Of course I do.” The mayor pinned her attention on India. India withered. “Come, India. There’s a lot to do. Create flyers. Start
the campaign. We’ll need new PR people. I expect you to get on that first thing in the morning.”

  Poor India scribbled notes on a pad as fast as the mayor shot them off, but it looked like the poor girl could barely keep up.

  “And new PR people,” she said slowly. “Got it.”

  “Wonderful.” The mayor clapped her hands. “Now, Charming. Be sure to see Frankie home.”

  My heart lurched. Vic gave everyone a round of handshakes. Tex and Watts each gave Frankie a chaste kiss on the cheek.

  My own cheeks burned as I thought of how Frankie had pulled Thorne in for a kiss. As soon as the cameras were off and the audience gone, Thorne stormed off the stage, avoiding contact with anyone.

  The mayor took my elbow. “Well, I think that went great. Charming, be sure to see about Frankie.”

  I glanced at Frankie. She tore herself from the men and gave me a sly smile.

  My stomach turned. The less time I spent with that woman the better.

  But it didn’t look like I’d be able to avoid her anytime soon.

  Chapter 5

  We didn’t reach the condo that Frankie was renting soon enough.

  “Don’t you think that went well tonight?” she purred.

  I killed my initial response that was a vivid no. “Yes. Great.”

  “I really think Thorne and I have a connection, something deep.”

  My stomach folded in half. I could feel vomit edging up the back of my throat. “That’s great,” I lied.

  I felt her gaze drill into me. “You know, when I first saw the two of you together, I could have sworn there was something going on between you two.”

  I waved my hand in dismissal. “Between Thorne and me? No, not at all.”

  “Good.” Frankie lifted her arms and ran her fingers over the ceiling lining of my Mini Cooper. “Because I really think he might be the one.”

  Right. And so were your first three husbands. They were all the one, too. “You have two other possible matches,” I gently reminded her.

  “Yes. But only one vampire.” Her voice dropped, and she turned to me, cozying up beside the gear shift. “I will admit that I’ve always secretly fantasized about what it would be like to…you know…with a vampire.” Her voice shifted to elation. “And now, here’s my chance.”

  “Yep.” We pulled into a line of condos—each made of brick with beige front doors. Since Frankie was only visiting, she’d wanted to stay in the human part of Witch’s Forge instead of Fire Town, where she technically belonged.

  I pulled into a spot. “All right. This is you. See you tomorrow at sunset.”

  Frankie’s gaze darted left and right. “Aren’t you going to walk me to my door?”

  This wasn’t a date. Was she crazy? Probably. But being the good little matchmaker that I was, I smiled politely.

  “Sure.”

  I walked Frankie to her front door, where I spied something resting on the stoop.

  “What’s that?”

  Frankie’s nose wrinkled. “I have no idea.”

  She flicked her hand, and a rope of fire spewed from her fingers, coiling around the package and lifting it from the ground.

  Dead red roses, their leaves like tinder, burst into flames. With a snap, Frankie extinguished her fire.

  “What on earth?” she whispered.

  “Looks like someone left you a present of dead roses. Is there a note?”

  There was. Frankie pulled it from the smoking bouquet and squealed. The roses dropped to the ground, and several large cockroaches scurried across the concrete.

  They were different looking. Each had a black stripe down its back.

  I tiptoed back. “Gross. What does the note say?”

  Frankie’s hands shook as she opened the envelope. The cocksure witch had vanished, and in her place stood a woman that I would almost have described as fragile.

  She scanned the note card before throwing her head back and laughing. “What a crock. Someone’s trying to scare me. That’s all.”

  “May I?”

  She handed it to me. In bold typewritten letters was written, STAY AWAY FROM HIM.

  She looked at me and scoffed. “Some fool’s idea.” Frankie pointed to both the roses. They burst into flames. She then pointed to the note card. I dropped it before the slip of paper burned my hand.

  Frankie shook her head. “Idiots.”

  The whole thing seemed strange. Frankie received a threat to stay away from him. Who was she supposed to stay away from? There were three beaux for her to choose. Plus, Frankie’s reaction when she opened the envelope didn’t jive with what she was now saying.

  “Why were your hands trembling when you read the note if it’s just a crock?”

  Frankie flung her hair over one shoulder. “A bouquet of dead flowers and a stupid note? Someone’s trying to scare me. You might find this hard to believe, seeing as I’m such a nice person and all, but some people don’t like me. I actually have…enemies, for lack of a better word.”

  “I never would have guessed.”

  She smirked. “Well, I must be off to bed. Have to get my beauty sleep, you know.”

  “Right,” I murmured. “Beauty sleep.”

  I turned and walked toward my car. But I was still bothered by the note and flowers. Frankie may have been brushing it off, but I had a feeling someone was being serious. They didn’t want Frankie involved with another man.

  As I opened my door, I glanced around. The night air was still—too still. Gas lamps flickered up and down the street, and the quiet of the evening was eerie.

  Not even a cricket chirped.

  I shivered before sliding into my car, locking the doors and driving off.

  “Well, Frankie certainly lip-locked Thorne, didn’t she?” Mama sat in the living room cradling a cup of coffee. She’d done something to the house to open up the room so that as soon as I opened the door, I faced her instead of the wall that normally cut off the living room from the hallway.

  I glanced around the room in confusion. “Did you ask the house to change its structure?”

  “That’s neither here nor there,” she said, brushing me off. “I waited up because I want you to be careful. Frankie tried to steal William from me years ago, but luckily your father was a good man. He avoided her wiles.”

  I dropped my purse on the floor and slumped into a chair. “First of all, Thorne is not mine. Secondly, what happened? You never talk about Dad. Not really.”

  Mama hiked a shoulder to her ear. “Nothing really to tell. She basically strong-armed her way into getting several dates with him when Frankie knew good and well we were interested in each other. Threw herself at him, from what your father said. Kissed him. She may have even tried to work a spell so that he’d fall for her.”

  She sipped her coffee. “Luckily none of it worked. But he was a wizard. I can’t say the same for the vampire.”

  “We’re not involved, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Mama picked at a thread on the couch. “There you go, denying your feelings for the man.”

  “Mama,” I snapped, “Thorne wasn’t going to do it. This morning he wanted out and then Frankie had five minutes alone with him and suddenly Thorne was fine with it.”

  “She blackmailed him.”

  I laughed. “That’s ridiculous.”

  Mama sniffed. “Well, she certainly said something that made him change his mind.”

  I nibbled my bottom lip, thinking about the note.

  “What is it?”

  “When I dropped Frankie off, someone had left a threatening note.”

  Mama slowly rose. She pulled her hair over one shoulder and lifted her chin. “It wouldn’t surprise me if that woman’s actions eventually become the death of her. Come, Charming. It’s time for bed. You have a long night ahead of you tomorrow.”

  “There’s no way I’m getting into a hot tub with her,” Thorne said.

  We stood near a table and chairs that had been set up overlooking the town.


  Thorne looked great—gray suit, black tie with flecks of gray and green in it and polished shoes. His hair was tied back, but his smirk seemed to be etched even harder onto his face.

  I noticed his tie was slightly crooked. “Bend down.”

  “Why?”

  “So I can fix your tie.”

  “Can’t you get a stool?”

  I glared at him. He chuckled and lowered himself. I wove my fingers under his collar and started to straighten the knot.

  “You smell good,” he said.

  My breath hitched. “You shouldn’t be talking to me about how I smell when you’re about to have a date with another woman.”

  He scoffed. “Yeah, some woman who might supposedly be my soul mate.”

  “She might.”

  “Charming, I don’t trust magic to pick my women for me.”

  I quirked a brow. “Your women? What, are you like a vampire caveman or something? You going to beat a lady over the head and drag her off to your lair?”

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Give you a reason to stereotype me.”

  I shook my head. “That’s so not true.” I finished fixing his tie and lowered his collar. I smoothed my hands down his chest because I could.

  It might have been wrong, but my hands lingered on his chest for another moment.

  “You know I’m only doing this for you,” he murmured.

  I stopped breathing. I could hear blood flowing through my ear as my heart drummed in my chest.

  “You’re nervous,” he said.

  “No I’m not.”

  “Listen, Charming, I’m not getting into a hot tub with that woman because she’s not the one I’d like to be in a hot tub with.”

  I stared at the knotted tie at his throat. I couldn’t look at Thorne because I was afraid of what he would say. Afraid to admit something buried deep within myself, something knotted and coiled so tight that if it sprang loose, a geyser of feeling would surge out with it.

  “Oh?” I said, trying to sound like I had no idea what he was talking about. “Who would you rather be in a hot tub with?”