Witcha Gonna Do? (Witchington #1)(75)
Gil shakes his head at Vance and Griselda as he sits down in the pink-and-purple-striped lawn chair next to me. “Those two are going to spoil the girls rotten.”
“Only Vance and Griselda?” I scoff and scoop up a bite of potato salad. “Both of our parents are already locked in an unspoken battle to be the grandparents supreme.”
We both look over to where our parents are chatting by the lavender bush. Gil’s parents smile more than I’d ever expected, but I guess surviving exile and helping to take down a band of asshole fascists tends to make a person appreciate all of the small bits of happiness in the world. And my parents haven’t stopped smiling since the wedding. Fine. That’s a slight exaggeration, but you understand what I mean. I think keeping my spellbinder secret weighed on them and having everything out in the open is allowing them to relax their guard for the first time in a long time. Well, that and the fact that the Council’s master plan to take out our family didn’t come to fruition. You know, just the little things.
Wait, you don’t know that part yet? Not even about the demon dog, the pixie kidnappings, and the only-one-bed incident?!? Well, my sisters are going to have to share all of that with you. After all, those are their stories to tell. You’re gonna love them. Trust me.
Still, after the past few years’ excitement, I could really go for a little vacation.
“Do you think we can still find our way to that uncharted island in the Pacific?” I whisper to Gil. “Just you, me, and the girls?”
Gil puts down his empty plate—how did he manage to eat it all so fast? Men! “We can go wherever you want.”
Best. Answer. Ever. “Today?”
“Or tomorrow, or whenever.” Gil snags my plate and then magicks me so I’m floating one minute and sitting on his lap in the next. He wraps his arms loosely around my waist. “As long as we’re together. It was in the cards for us all along, you know.”
Ugh. This man loves to bust my chops about that. I haven’t given up on reading tarot, but I still stink at it. Turns out that there are some things even a spellbinder can’t do.
“You’re never going to let me forget that I thought you were going to marry Leona.”
He tucks a few strands of hair behind my ear, gliding his fingertips over the shell of my ear with just enough pressure to send a shiver of desire through me that I can’t blame on second-trimester horniness. Truth of it is, I cannot get enough of my husband. Luckily for me, he has the same problem when it comes to me.
“Yeah,” Gil says, his tone teasing, “even if I wasn’t against it being anyone but you, I think Erik would have something to say about that.”
“He’s not the only one.” A more-than-satisfied happy sigh escapes and I settle back against him, letting my head rest against his shoulder. Who would have thought that my know-it-all dating nemesis would turn out to be the one I’d fall for? “I love you, Gil Connolly.”
“I love you right back, Tilda Grace Sherwood Connolly.” He brushes a kiss against my temple. “And I always will.”
Cheesy? Completely. Who knew the sexy double agent with the metaphorical stick up his butt would be such a softie under it all? Don’t even get me started on his love of old rom-coms and the tearjerker commercials they show during the Super Bowl—he’d deny it anyway.
Across the garden, Zita, who is climbing Vance like he’s a jungle gym, starts babbling to Marisol in their shared triplet language and Thea joins in on the conversation. There’s a shiver through the atmosphere half a second before flowers from the garden start floating and dancing in the air. The girls all start giggling and clapping their hands. Oh man, the Witchingdom is very much not ready for whatever these three are going to cook up.
I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.
“You’re plotting again,” Gil says as he kisses that sensitive spot where my throat meets my shoulder.
“Maybe I’m plotting how we can sneak out of here and get at least a few minutes of mommy and daddy alone time.” I mean, I wasn’t half a second ago, but with that kiss I definitely am now.
“Already ahead of you.” He snaps his fingers and poof! We’re gone.
I really do love it when a plan comes together; almost as much as I love Gil, my girls, our baby on the way, and the happily ever after we have together.
Life’s kinda magic like that—even when you don’t think you are (but trust me, you—yes, you—totally are) a magical badass.
xoxo,
Tilda
Acknowledgments
The devil works hard, but copyeditors work harder—especially on this book. Trust. A huge thank-you to the entire team at Berkley for helping to bring Witchingdom to life: Kristine for asking if I’d ever thought about a witchy rom-com, Leni who created the most beautiful illustrated cover, Tina and Bridget for their hard work getting it in readers’ hands, Mary for being a true force for good, the copyeditors and proofreaders who are magic, and the rest of the team who helped bring Tilda and her family to life. A huge thank-you to my agent, Elaine, for being with me on the journey and being just completely awesome along the way. As always, I couldn’t do any of this without the support of my family (who are all against getting dog number six, spoilsports). I love y’all so much. However, the biggest thank-you goes to the readers. THANK YOU, FELLOW BOOK NERDS!