Ethan
You’re prejudiced against cats.
Stacy
Am not!
Ethan
More of a dog person?
Stacy
Didn’t have pets growing up. Except for a turtle named Hernando. He ran off one time. Never saw him again.
Inwardly, Stacy wondered if the hundreds of sprites on the grounds could be considered pets. She didn’t say this to Ethan.
His last reply for the night came in.
ETHAN
You must’ve had a sad childhood. And poor Hernando.
Stacy’s amusement shifted into a strange new feeling. Was it right to indulge in the frivolity of watching cat videos when more serious matters were at hand? She’d been avoiding the paperwork in her office.
Any further doubt or guilt was pushed aside when the front door opened, and a cheery voice called, “Darling, I’m home!”
“Fucking finally!” Stacy replied, making herself get off the sofa.
Amy strolled into the living room, green eyes sparkling. She set a briefcase on the floor.
“How was your trip?” Stacy asked, hugging her friends.
“It went well. I’m excited about a new project. I was assigned research of great importance.” Amy waggled her brows.
Stacy arched hers. “Why so mysterious?”
“Isn’t it more fun to be mysterious? Tell me about your dinner.”
Stacy was about to share the details when Amy’s phone rang. She answered, golden hair glinting in the soft living room lamplight. “Hello?” The pleasant male voice on the other end said something that made Amy smile. Stacy had a good guess who that could be. Following a short conversation, Amy said goodbye and hung up.
“That was Spencer,” both women chorused, then laughed.
“How’d you know?” Amy asked.
“Because when you saw his name on your screen, you started grinning like an idiot. Didn’t you two just see each other?”
“He wanted to make sure I made it home safely!”
“And?” Stacy prodded.
“Annnnd he’s coming over tonight. We’re supposed to leave to start researching early tomorrow morning, and since we have about a bazillion spare rooms here, I figured he could stay over. I didn’t have to ask you, did I?”
Stacy laughed. “This is your home too, Amy. You can have guys over.”
“It’s not like—” Amy stopped short when she realized Stacy was joking and whacked her arm with a small notebook she’d been holding.
Feigning injury, Stacy replied, “But things went well with him? On the security side, I mean?”
Stacy couldn’t spare Rowan to go with Amy on her work trip as a bodyguard. Amy had insisted she didn’t need one since she would be out of state, but Stacy wouldn’t hear of it. So they had agreed to ask Spencer and that his going with Amy would serve as a trial run. Based on Amy’s excitement in talking to him, Stacy now wondered if things had changed.
“Security side went well. He knows what he’s doing,” Amy replied. “And stop giving me that look!”
“What look?”
“The look that says, ‘Amy, did you have sex with him?’”
Stacy smirked. “Well, did you? No shame in shagging the bodyguard.”
Amy glowered. “I didn’t. And he’s not my bodyguard. Yet.”
Soon, Stacy thought. Maybe he’d be Amy’s boyfriend, too. There was no denying Amy and Spencer were insanely hot people, and together…
They had first befriended Spencer because he worked at their local gym. Not long after meeting him, they learned his gym job was part-time, and he was a seasoned investigator. Amy thought this made him hotter. Stacy thought it made him far more eligible to be Amy’s partner. He was the perfect guy to trail Amy and ensure she wasn’t harmed.
They had previously discussed hiring him as Amy’s personal bodyguard since Rowan had many other duties. Stacy was worried about Spencer getting involved in magic, but she trusted anyone Amy trusted and wanted her safe above all else.
“He’ll be here in fifteen,” Amy added as she headed for the kitchen.
