Page 45 of Cursed By Fate

Gaston doffed his hat. “It’s been an honor and a privilege, my beauty.”

Louise climbed the ladder first, with the level of skill and grace you’d expect from a woman who once swam to Tybee Island with a Bowie knife between her teeth in case she encountered a shark or an alligator.

Margie was wobbly, but she made it with our help.

“Looks like you two had quite the adventure,” I said.

Catherine’s gaze flicked to Louise’s bandana. “I’m so jealous right now. Tell us everything.”

“Spare no detail,” Joan said. “Did you walk his plank?”

Louise wore a Cheshire cat smile. “A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“You’re no lady,” Meemaw rasped. “You’re a pirate.”

They burst into a cluster of cackles.

I sent a text to Vale as the yacht sailed into Evermore’s harbor. Home safe. Thank you.

My pleasure. The response was immediate, as though he’d been waiting to hear from me. For a demigod, I couldn’t accuse Vale of standing on ceremony. He was forthright, considerate, competent⁠—

“Maya, why are you fanning yourself with your phone?” Catherine asked.

I shoved the phone in my back pocket. “Because it’s hot. Why else?”

Meemaw gave me a sly look. “Why else, indeed?”

CHAPTER SEVEN

I whistled on my way to work the next morning, relieved that I’d successfully made it through the night with nary a nightmare or a dream featuring Vale—at least not one that I remembered. What happened in my subconscious stayed in my subconscious.

“Good morning, Miguel,” I said, approaching the vampire in the corridor.

“Hey, Maya.”

“New headgear?” He’d swapped his green Eagles hat for a dark blue USWNT hat.

His fingers skimmed the brim. “You like it? Penny gave it to me. She made a convincing argument for showing more support for women’s sports.” He beamed, showing off his fangs. “She’s a keeper, that one.”

Only time would tell. “Glad you two are hitting it off.”

“Hard not to when she makes enough coffee for my office.” He raised a mug in salute. “See you around.”

I entered the office and went straight to the coffee pot to see if there was any left for me.

There was.

Penny glanced up from her computer. “Good morning, boss.”

“Is it, though?” I filled a mug to the brim and sat across from her.

“Seems to be. The pack has certainly been calmer. I haven’t seen any incident reports involving a werewolf.”

“Anything to report on Francesca?”

“Nothing special. She swam the perimeter again, but this time she stayed within the permitted border. She complained about the giant tortoise in the water, though—that it slowed down her time.”

“Who’s she racing?”