Part 19 (2/2)

Jasper let that joy sink in for a while. Cool. Something good had come out of this disaster. He thought about the animal rescue site, the one he'd given so much money to. He didn't intend to give any more money, but he might just go over there and click the b.u.t.ton a few times so the pet food company had to give some more.

Once he was there and had cost the pet food company a few hundred bucks, he had the strangest urge. Giving that money yesterday had been horrifying . . . at first. Now, not so much. He wouldn't get carried away like last time, but his info was already in the system. He gave them another two hundred, being careful about the zeroes. Nice feeling. If he weren't a cat, he'd be smiling right now.

In an increasingly good mood, he continued with his research. As he was clicking back to the Google page listing sites about magic, he noticed a business card lying on the desk. He thought it might have been there before, but maybe the name registered this time because he'd been thinking about Sheila.

The card had her e-mail address on it. He probably would have remembered it regardless. In fact, he had a good memory for e-mail addresses. If he concentrated he could probably come up with an e-mail contact for the women he'd dated-and misled.

Slowly a plan developed, one that had nothing to do with reversing the spell, but everything to do with his peace of mind. Tonight, besides reading Anica's magic books, he'd write some e-mails.

Chapter 18.

Lily came by the coffee shop around two, and Anica was thrilled to see her. n.o.body besides Lily knew the h.e.l.l Anica was going through-well, some heaven mixed in with the h.e.l.l-and she was relieved to talk to someone who would understand.

Lily breezed in wearing her do-me boots, her red trench coat and a slinky black dress under it. She glanced around the coffee shop as she walked over to the counter to get in line. Anica was manning the counter because she'd given her two employees, who happened to be dating each other, a half-hour break. They'd missed getting those breaks during the days she hadn't been spending much time at the shop.

”The place looks a little ragged around the edges,” Lily said when her turn came to order.

Anica sighed. ”I know. I never realized how much I depended on my powers to keep the place tidy. What can I get for you? The usual?”

”You bet. I love those triple shots and they love me back.”

Anica felt energy pouring into her just by being around Lily. Maybe it was because Lily still had her magic, but Anica thought it was mostly because Lily was so full of life. ”Want a brownie? It's on the house.”

”Sure, but can you come and sit with me? I don't see Frick and Frack around anywhere.”

Anica laughed. ”They're in the break room.” She lowered her voice. ”Probably making out. But they're due back on duty in five minutes. Take a seat. I should be freed up soon.”

”Good. Interrupt them if you have to. I don't much care about their s.e.x life, but I'm dying to know how yours is coming along.”

The customer behind Lily, a middle-aged secretary who arrived every afternoon about this time, widened her eyes.

Anica ducked her head to hide her blush. ”Gee, Lily, could you say that a little louder, please?”

”I could, but I'd hate to embarra.s.s you in front of your customers.”

Anica looked up and gave her sister a big fake smile. ”Sure you would.”

”I'll just go sit down right over there.” Lily c.o.c.ked a hip and pointed dramatically to a table by the front window. ”And wait breathlessly for a description of your latest orga-”

”Yes, I'll have that triple shot right up for you, Ms. Revere. Thanks for coming in.” She turned immediately to the secretary. ”Ellen! The usual? Decaf latte with skim?”

Ellen glanced over at Lily sashaying to a table. Then she turned back to Anica, her eyes sparkling behind her cat's-eye gla.s.ses. ”Actually, I think I'll change my order, shake things up a bit.”

”Really? What can I get you?”

”A triple shot. Just like the one you're making for her.”

”Absolutely.” Anica grabbed the smallest paper coffee cup, which was what Ellen usually ordered.

”The next-biggest size, please.”

”You bet.” She put down the first cup and picked up the medium.

”No, wait. I'll take the largest one.”

”Coming up.” Anica wasn't surprised. Lily had this effect on people. She gave off att.i.tude in a way that made others want to imitate her. Anica used to envy that about Lily, until she realized that underneath all that bravado her sister was confused and had no idea what she wanted out of life.

Lily returned to the counter using her runway model walk just as Ellen was paying for her coffee. ”Can I have the brownie now?” Lily asked. ”I need something to nibble on while I wait.”

”Sure. Just let me finish this and I'll get it for you.” Anica took Ellen's five-dollar bill and opened the cash register.

”No problemo. I'll wait right here.” Lily twirled the end of the red belt hanging from her trench coat.

Ellen took her change from Anica and dropped some coins in the tip jar. Then she leaned forward. ”Glad to hear you have a boyfriend, dear. I hope he's a sweetheart, like you.”

”He's great,” Lily piped up, uninvited. ”In fact, he's a real p.u.s.s.ycat, isn't he, Anica?”

Anica took a brownie out of the case and congratulated herself on handing it to her sister instead of throwing it at her. ”You could say that.” As she turned to make the two drinks, she wondered why she'd been so happy to see Lily, who was such a total pain in the a.s.s. How could she make fun of such a serious thing?

But by the time Anica's besotted employees returned and she was free to join Lily, she realized what Lily had been doing when she'd deliberately joked about the situation with Jasper. She was daring Anica to maintain a sense of humor in the face of potential disaster. Anica needed to be reminded of that. A sense of humor would most likely save her sanity.

”Did he change again?” Lily asked the minute Anica sat down.

”Yes. For three hours this time.”

”Ooh la la!”

Anica felt herself blush for the second time in ten minutes. How irritating. So what if they'd spent three hours in bed and she started to burn all over again when she thought about what she'd done to awaken her inner bad girl? Lily wouldn't let herself blush over a little thing like that.

”That good, huh?”

”Yeah.”

Lily seemed to have forgotten all about her espresso as she leaned forward. ”So what else?”

”We had a fight.”

”My, you two were busy little bunnies, weren't you? Does he know that breaking the curse is up to him?”

”He does now.”

Lily nodded and picked up her espresso. ”Given three hours to work with, I would hope you'd get that settled and not spend the whole time boinking. But I'm proud of you for grabbing the opportunity when it was offered, sis.” She lifted her cup in a toast.

”Thanks. Oh, and I called Dorcas to check out a technicality. She'd said I could confirm the cure if Jasper guessed it, but I didn't know if he had a limited number of tries.”

<script>