Not Your Ex's Hexes (Supernatural Singles, #2)(39)

Why didn’t people come to watch? Except for @WitchBitch, @BookMage, and @SexySucc, which she was 99 percent certain were her sisters and Harper, there hadn’t been much traffic to the site.

Not much traffic. Not much money. Not much help for the sanctuary animals.

Rose didn’t like failure, and that’s exactly what she felt like.

An unhelpful dud.

Harper’s empty serving tray clattered on the bar top in front of her. “You’ve been wiping the same ring spot for the last twenty minutes, babe. At this point, you’ve not only polished away the stain, but the varnish on the table … and maybe scared away a few customers with a very un-Rose-like glower.”

“I don’t glower. I don’t even know how to glower,” Rose defended herself half-heartedly.

“Hey, Gage!” Harper shouted to their vampire boss at the other end of the bar. He spun around, handsome face guarded as the succubus pointed at him but turned to Rose. “See! Glower, and honey, that’s what you’ve been wearing on your face for your entire shift. Talk to Harper.” She kicked up a delicately plucked eyebrow and lowered her voice, leaning close so only Rose could hear. “Or we’ll go somewhere private and you can talk to Savannah … whoever will help you the most.”

Rose chuckled.

A licensed sex therapist, Harper the Sex Demon often doled out sexy-time advice whenever the mood suited her. But her super-secret counterpart, Savannah, not only dished out relationship advice, but did so anonymously on her popular radio show, Sexy Talk with Savannah.

“Thanks for the offer, Harp, but there’s no need to break out Savannah.” Rose smiled wanly. “Sex advice would require the partaking of sex and things have been a little lacking lately.”

“Then there’s your problem! See! All fixed. Savannah does it again!”

Rose sighed, tossing the rag. “I wish it were that easy. I haven’t gotten much of anything right lately. Haven’t found any hobbies that felt like me. Haven’t held a job longer than a few weeks. And what about the sanctuary? Those animals don’t deserve to be on the receiving end of my sucktastic luck. Maybe I should’ve just kept my big-witch mouth shut.”

“Nonsense.” Harper squeezed her hand. “The sanctuary cam is a good idea. Not just good. It’s practically genius.”

She snorted. “Tell that to Damian. He seems pretty sure it’ll go down in a burning ball of epic flames.”

“Because he doesn’t know the Maxwell triplets like I do. Seeing as I’m a bit of a Rose Maxwell expert, I’ll let you in on a not-so-little secret. You’ll figure it out. If the cam-feed doesn’t pan out, you’ll pivot until you find a way to make it work. You three are nothing if not determined—and resourceful, and that whole hobby thing? It’ll happen when it happens, and probably when you least expect it. My advice is to have fun while you’re waiting.”

“Have fun…”

“Yeah. That thing people have that makes them all warm and tingly?” Harper looked thoughtful, tapping a freshly manicured finger against her lip. “That could describe an orgasm, too. I’m pro-both. When was the last time you had either?”

An orgasm … at least one Mr. Wiggles didn’t have a hand in? The night with Damian. Months ago.

Warm, tingle-inducing fun? Also the night with Damian. Damn it.

At the other end of the bar, a horrendous crash had all heads turning to where a blonde stood, her mouth hanging open as she stared at what used to be Gage’s extensive collection of high-end alcohol. The vampire was there in an instant, he and the young woman talking in hushed tones before she burst into tears and ran toward the back room.

Next to her, Harper sighed. “And another one bites the dust…”

Gage dragged a broom and dustpan from the far corner, shooting Harper a passing glare. “Keep it up, Harper…”

“Or what? This broody grump routine only plays into the vampire stereotype. You should try and mix things up. Wear yellow. Wear an occasional smile. Or at least, don’t always wear that tattooed Fuck Off stamp on your forehead.”

“Do you want me to stick around and clean that up?” Rose asked him, nudging the mess on the floor. “I can stay a little later.”

“Nah. We’re good. Things are winding down. Harper and I can handle things until closing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” His lips twitched as he flickered a glance to Harper. “Besides, it wouldn’t hurt Harp to work for her paycheck for once.”

The succubus rolled her eyes but took the hint, telling Rose goodbye before returning to the floor to take orders. Rose tidied up behind the bar before waving goodbye, grabbing her things from the back room, and heading out.

It was a nice night, the air crisp but not freezing. She forwent the Ryde and the subway and opted for a walk that would hopefully clear up the million and one thoughts in her head.

As she stepped onto the sidewalk, her phone pinged with a notification and almost immediately after, another chimed. She pulled her phone from her pocket and did a double take.

On the sanctuary’s home screen, where there’d been a mere fifty dollars, there was now five hundred and fifty. Rose blinked and the number climbed to seven hundred … then a thousand. With every uptick in funds, the camera views rose, too, more and more people checking in on Bella and the puppies.