Part 12 (1/2)

Exactly. Layla nodded. As long as youre wearing the pink lip gloss, the potion wont affect you.

Am I wearing the pink one now? I smacked my lips and looked in the mirror. Layla had slathered something sticky on there.

She nodded. It wears off about every sixty minutes. Maybe a little faster if youre eating. Speaking of, Ive seen the way you eat. Tonight, try savoring your food. You are not in a rush to get this date over, understand? Now get a move on, and dont forget. Apply pink at least once an hour. If you ever feel unsafe, just uncork the red and itll knock everyone out around you for the next couple of minutes. The spell doesnt last long, but itll give you plenty of time to call for help.

Does this smell have a name?

Oh yeah. Layla smiled proudly. I invented it. I call it the Lip-Smacker. Get it? Do you get it, Rosie? Like lip-gloss, but when you open it, the spell smacks everyone unconscious.

I get it, I said dryly. Clever.

Have fun, Layla said. Come home with one more kiss to add to your books.

I grabbed my purse, stashed the lip gloss containers in an easy, accessible place, and headed towards the front door. Halfway there, a light popping noise startled me.

Be nice, will you? Madrina said, standing in our entrance hall. Thankfully, shed gone back to wearing her loose, flowing black robes. I see you staring at me. And if youre wondering, yes”Im wearing the new outfit from Laylas. I hope you are too; it really does give a girl some confidence.

I am feeling so confident, I said, trying to step around my fairy G.o.dmother. If youll excuse me, Im late for a work event.

Stop calling this date a work event! Madrinas bony, old fingers grasped my shoulders and gave me a good shake. If you arent looking for love, youll never find it.

Youre just quoting Layla. You spent too much time in her store today.

Or maybe she spent too much time around me, and shes quoting me, Madrina said. Did you ever think of that?

I didnt bother to argue, and this time, she let me slip around her and reach for the front door. Ill see you later.

I want that television, Madrina called after me. So chew with your mouth closed and do your best to be charming, understood? Youre my biggest hope at the moment for my television.

I rolled my eyes and shut the door behind me, though as I walked out to my car, I couldnt help a small smile creeping onto my face. Layla, Madrina, all of them acted tough, but really, I knew deep down that they cared.

As much as Madrina wanted her big screen television and Layla pretended that she wanted to make a sale on lingerie, they both wanted to see me happy. Otherwise, they wouldnt have shown up to help me get ready and wish me luck. For that, I was grateful.

Good luck tonight, Bel called. She walked towards me, turning around and beeping her car locked as she returned home late from work. Remember to enjoy yourself.

I gave her a wry smile. I dont know how. Madrinas gunning for her television, while Layla is all over me one second to kiss my date and wear lingerie, and then the next second shes handing me deadly lip gloss.

Bel smiled, her gentle face crinkle into a sunny expression. You know they love you.

I nodded. That I do. So, any last minute words of wisdom from the most famous wedding planner in the world?

Bel inhaled. I plan other peoples love, not my own, so not really?

At Bels questioning lilt, I looked up and gave a shake of my head. According to legend, Bel had been cursed from birth; shed never find love. She theorized it was that very curse that made her good at her job. She was so intrigued, so invested in others love because she believed she couldnt find her own.

Youll find someone, too, I said. We have no proof the curse is real. And if it is well, curses are meant to be broken.

Yeah, thats what they say. A flicker of sadness crossed Bels face before she looked up, her expression turning polite and happy and sunny again.

It was no wonder she made such a perfect wedding planner. The woman could compose herself into a sunflower no matter the circ.u.mstances.

Have fun. Thats the best advice I can give you, she said. If youre having fun, itll show. Itll show in how you look, how you act, and how you move. And the only way to truly fall in love is to be yourself.

Thanks, Bel.

She reached out and gave a teasing pinch of my cheeks. All masks, all makeup falls away. Its whats left underneath that matters, and your insides are you best part.

I laughed, then pulled her into a hug. Ill see you later.

Well be waiting up, Bel said. Layla and I are watching the Bachelor and drinking wine all night, so believe me. Well be ready to talk when you get home.

I groaned. Can I stay with you two?

She pointed at the car. Go now before I get Madrina to make you show up to your date.

Chapter 19.

As I drove across town, I couldnt help the list of all the men I knew to be single and available in town flick across my mind. Surely Layla wouldnt have set me up with Ernie the Shoe Guy.

Ernie was nice and all, but he was more into shoes and fas.h.i.+on than me. Or there was Mike, who had a reputation for being in and out of jail ever since he was ten. Again, the guy was great. Super nice guy, just not for me.

Could she have set me up with Sebastian? No, I thought. Sebastian was single, successful, and handsome. Some theorized he might be gay. I was willing to overlook that if he was good company. Hopefully it was Sebastian, now that I thought about it some more; he was courteous and intelligent and Id once interviewed him about the stock market. If nothing else, Sebastian would make for an evening full of pleasant conversation that could possibly take my mind off of everything else happening at the moment.

More than anything, I wanted a distraction. I didnt want to think about Crazy Dan, or Madrina and her television set, or poor Hank. I didnt want to sit around and worry for Jo, when I couldnt do anything at the moment. I just wanted a night so full of work that I couldnt think about anything else, a project so immersive that I was focused on saving The Witch Weekly and nothing else.

I pulled onto one of several frontage roads that connected the main drag to the Forest of Fairies. The one Layla had directed me to was a half mile away from the turn-off Id taken earlier today in an attempt to elude the Chief. When I reached the furthest point I could go with my car, I parked in a small clearing that served as an unofficial parking lot.

There was one other car in the lot, but I didnt notice it until too late. It was parked a few feet further down the road, just at the edge of the forest. The vehicle stopped me in my tracks. A cop car.

No. I shook my head and took a few steps back towards my own vehicle. Layla did not.

Are you leaving so soon? A shadowy figure stepped from just inside the edge of the Forest of Fairies, the moon glinting down onto a tired, smiling face. What are you doing here?

What am I doing here? That was it. I shut the door to my vehicle, beeped it locked, and strode towards the edge of the trees. My handy-dandy dangerous lip glosses gave me a small sense of security as I tucked my purse closer to my body. What are you doing here?

Im working, the Chief said, leaning against one of the largest, thickest tree trunks. And it seems like you cant stop ruining my work plans today.

Youre working? Im working.

I thought I told you to stay away from the case.

Im not working on your case, Im working for my own job, believe it or not. I crossed my arms. I do have a job, you know.

Yeah, writing articles. Why do you have to come out to the Forest of Fairies to write your articles?

Writing articles requires research.