Not Your Ex's Hexes (Supernatural Singles, #2)(31)

Rose ran her gaze up and down her sister’s black cocktail dress, another ceremony detail that nearly sent their mother’s head into a spin. “Evidently Mom isn’t the only one who was body-snatched. Who are you? Your voice sounds like Olly, but that advice is something that would come out of our older sister’s mouth … or Harper’s.”

“Not all their advice is bad. Some just aren’t particularly well thought out.”

“Neither is that one.”

“Why? Because you’re not the one giving it?” Olive challenged with a smirk. “He’s friends with both Linc and Adrian, and has been for a long time. That wouldn’t be the case if he wasn’t a good guy.”

“I’m not saying he’s not a good guy. I’m saying me going for it with him isn’t a good idea. Are we forgetting the last time I went for it with a guy?”

“There’s one slight difference. Okay, two huge ones.” Olive kicked up her fingers one at a time. “First, Vi and I hated Pepé Le Pee-Yew from the moment we laid eyes on him.”

“Then why didn’t you—?”

“Say something? Because if it’s something you don’t want to hear, you won’t. And you most definitely didn’t.”

She couldn’t argue the point because it was true. Tunnel vision—and hearing—was a known fault of hers.

“And secondly,” Olive continued, “Damian’s not a power-hungry, opportunistic narcissist with psychopathic tendencies. He made a career around helping animals. The only animal Pepé liked was the tiger he shifted into.”

“Not wrong … but what’s your point?”

“My point is that they’re night and day.”

“Being a vet is what Damian does, not who he is.”

Olly blew out an annoyed sigh. “Are you telling me he’s a narcissistic psychopath?”

“No,” Rose denied, “but he’s not exactly a Guardian Angel type.”

Olive snorted. “Bax isn’t a Guardian Angel type and he’s an actual Guardian Angel. Damian has a past. Big deal. We all have baggage.”

Rose smirked. “What baggage do you have?”

“If you only knew…” Olive muttered cryptically.

Before she could ask her sister what she meant, Olly’s cell rang. “It’s work. I better take it. I’ll be back in a sec.”

Rose stood in the middle of the bowling alley, nibbling on her recently procured cheese nachos, and watched as people, decked out in their finest gowns, sat on benches or leaned against walls to slide into scuffed rental shoes. The kids from the community center surrounded Vi and Linc, everyone practically bouncing in their skin from all the excitement.

Gran had once suggested Vi give up her time at the KCC to focus on her Prima training and her sister wouldn’t hear it, vowing she’d make it work. She loved those kids more than her favorite pair of Converse, and that was a damn lot.

Soon enough, Rose couldn’t avoid the guests. She eased into her training, plastering a smile on her face as people approached her, some asking questions about the night while others simply marveled at the gorgeous Bonding Ceremony. The I-Squad snickered unabashedly on her left, mocking the people who enjoyed the laid-back affair.

Rose’s Magic hovered on the tips of her fingers, letting her know it had her back, and while the trio definitely deserved a lesson in humility, it would be a lost cause. They wouldn’t learn anything except one more way to push her buttons.

She spun around, prepared to pull an Olive and disappear outside to call Miguel and check on the puppies when she nearly bowled over a five-foot-tall granny.

Her five-foot-tall granny.

The Prima witch.

Head Witch in Charge.

And more accurately, the woman who could practically read minds, and not from using hocus-pocus. It was her super-granny powers, and those she’d possessed since before Rose and her sisters could even spell their names.

Edie Maxwell lifted a silver eyebrow. “What lit your rental shoes on fire, sweetheart?”

“Nothing,” Rose denied too quickly. “I was about to check on the status of the cake.”

“You three girls have no poker face. Come, walk with me.” Edie linked their arms and turned them both away from the I-Squad’s snickering. She nodded politely at a few people as they passed. “Vi tells me you’ve turned down her wing-witch proposal … multiple times.”

Rose groaned. “Seriously, Gran. Not you, too.”

“I don’t bring it up to try and change your mind…”

“You don’t?”

“Not at all. I’m simply curious as to why you said no. You’re a natural leader. Standing side by side, you’d both be forces of nature in the Supernatural world. Together you’d create a lot of change.”

“I know, but Violet’s the Prima Apparent,” Rose pointed out. Edie looked at her expectantly. “How has her training been progressing?”

It was a needless question because they both already knew the answer.

Edie’s mouth pinched slightly. “It could be going better. Your sister is much more headstrong than yourself … always wanting to know why something is done. She’s not particularly fond of the answer tradition.”