a tantrum and quits this close to the Holidays….” She shuddered dramatically. “So, ladies, what’s it to be? The Landmark’s usual menu, or would you prefer somewhere else?”
“Doesn’t matter to me,” Thia said, which left Abby—
—who shrugged. “We’re here. And he isn’t.”
Kendra laughed. “Okay, then. Here, it is.”
Waving off their tab for two lavender sodas, she bid the bartender goodnight and led the way the lobby elevator. It sat empty and waiting, its doors conveniently (or perhaps magically) open.
“Things didn’t go so well this morning?” Kendra asked as they sped smoothly to the top floor.
Thia sighed. She had managed to push all of that to the back of her mind. “Broke a bunch of jars, scattered stuff all over the floor. Thought I’d wrecked the door again, but it rattled along okay.”
Her friends exchanged a look.
“That’s not so bad, really,” offered Kendra.
Thia snorted.
“No, no—I mean it. The door worked! That’s a definite improvement.”
“I could’ve imploded the whole damn garage!”
“You don’t know that.”
“The whole place was shaking,” Thia said, incredulous. “I’m amazed the shelves didn’t come down. I can’t control the power.”
Maybe she never would.
“Nonsense,” Abby said.
Thia stepped up to the doors as the elevator slowed to an easy stop. She didn’t want to get into this now. Her failures and inadequacies, how overwhelmed and disheartened she felt—these were not things to air in public. Or, possibly, even among friends. But whatever the case, tonight she wanted to relax. That wasn’t too much to ask, was it?
She was the first out when the doors opened, and so led the way down the short hall to the restaurant. To the left of its entrance were doors to the garden and saltwater pool, and Thia caught a glimpse of twinkling lights and people out enjoying the evening before her attention went to exchanging greetings with the hostess at the podium.
Smiling serenely, the elegant blonde gave them all a bright smile.
“Hey, Sam.” Kendra came up behind Thia. “I believe you’re holding table seven.”
“I am.” She pulled three menus from a stack. “Want an escort?”
“No, I got this.” Kendra took the offered menus and Thia and Abby followed her into the busy room. To take advantage of the daytime views, one of the long sides of the rectangular room was made of floor-to-ceiling glass (the other hosted the bar). Tonight it was all about the garden, dressed in what must have been a zillion tiny lights. It was like looking out on a fairy land.
The kind she once imagined, anyway, thanks to cartoons and storybooks: all whimsical beauty and innocent fun. She had no idea what a real one might be like.
The table Kendra took them to was one of five set along the glass wall. As they settled, she handed out the menus. “Is this okay?”
“It’s perfect.”
Abby had yet to look away from the view. “How much is your electric bill?”
“Gorgeous, isn’t it?” Kendra’s pride was well-deserved. “We should take a walk later.”
“Sure. But seriously—how much?”
Thia laughed. “Why, Abby? Are you thinking of trying this at home?” Her house sat on a fair amount of acreage in the mountains northeast of town. What she hadn’t left as natural woodland, she had landscaped beautifully.
“Some of it, maybe. The coven might hold our Beltane gathering there this year. So, Kendra, please. How much?”
She shrugged. “More than November’s. But we’ve got a bank of solar panels. And Murphy got a deal on some strings of bespelled crystal.”
Thia was intrigued. “They glow on their own?”
“Kind of like solar.”
Eclectica’s customers would love something like that. “Which ones are those? Are they a lot of work to set up?”
“They’re easier to spot when outside,” Kendra said, sounding amused. “And, no, I think they’re good to go out of the box. Don’t bother asking your next question, because I don’t know the name of the supplier. I’ll have to get it from Murphy.”
Thia tore her attention away from the window, found her friends both laughing silently at her expense. To Abby, she said, “Come on. You know they’d sell like crazy.”
“They would.” Abby broke into a grin. “Including to me.”
Kendra’s green eyes took on a teasing light. “I could call Murphy now and ask—”
“Don’t you dare.” Abby’s smile vanished.
A waiter arrived and began filling glasses from a pitcher of ice water.
“Hey, Danny,” Kendra greeted. “Everything going well?”
“Busy, but smooth so far,” the young man replied. Ice pinged cheerfully. “Some really good tippers, too.”
Kendra arched her brows. “We’ll try not to disappoint.”
“Oh, no, Ms. Ross, I didn’t mean—”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said, laughing. She looked to the others. “Wine, ladies? Beer? Cocktails?”
They settled on a bottle of pinot grigio, and then were presented with the specials that included an unusual white salmon. While Danny described the preparation, Thia’s found her gaze drawn to a man seated across the room, near the entrance. Alone. For a moment, she thought he might have been watching them—and that it was the same man from the morning.
She was wrong on both counts. His focus was entirely on his meal; and while he and Connor Michaels shared a similar build, this man was older and had salt and pepper hair.
She looked away before he noticed her staring, in time for Danny’s departure.
Kendra leaned back in her chair, fixed Abby with an interested look. “I thought you and Murphy were doing better. You managed an entire transatlantic flight without incident.”
“I was feeling generous.”
Thia took a drink of water, then: “And that generosity has worn off?”
Abby shrugged and took a drink of her own.
Danny returned with their wine, pulled the cork with a skilled flourish, and poured Kendra a taste. She swirled it in the glass, sniffed. Sipped. Nodded. And Danny poured into three trendily oversized glasses.
Thia’s gaze drifted across the room again. The man took up his knife to slice a bite of steak. Was there something familiar about his hands?
She couldn’t seem to stop looking for things that simply weren’t there. It was almost cruel, what she was doing to herself.
Danny’s voice cut through her muddled thoughts. “Have you decided on your selections or do you need more time?”
She hadn’t given them any thought at all, but she didn’t need to. “I’ll have the fried chicken,” she said in turn. Her usual.
Not that there weren’t other tempting entrees, but she was a sucker for the accompanying mashed potatoes and green beans.
After Danny left, Abby passed around a basket of warm rosemary bread. “For tonight, Thia, I thought we would try a few focusing exercises.