Page 23 of All's Fair in Love and Magic

“Technically, no. He left me in our room and said he’d be back soon. I wasn’t comfortable waiting, considering everyone in the resort knows the code. That’s true, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s 8888,” Madison agreed.

“But when he gets back and finds you gone…” Vera trailed off.

“I’ll figure it out.” I waved her worry off as we reached a restaurant that sat on the edge of the beach.

“At least one of us is confident about that,” Vera murmured.

“Can we get a table on the beach for three?” Madison held up three fingers to the man in front of the podium of the busy building. He was looking down, so he couldn’t have seen her fingers. “Two vacationers, one lifer.”

“No problem. I just need the lifer’s… oh.” The man finally looked at me, cutting himself off. His nostrils flared as he stared.

Madison waved a hand. “Hello?”

The guy’s attention snapped to her, and he cleared his throat. “She doesn’t have a Resort ID yet.”

Madison didn’t bat an eye. “Just put it on her mate’s account.”

He hesitated.

“Sage is supposed to spend all day fixing the wards that keep everyone in this place safe, so I’d recommend feeding her,” Vera remarked.

The guy nodded. “Follow me.” He led us into the restaurant, around a few tables, and out under a large canopy.

I stopped in my tracks to take in the view. The ocean was a gorgeous shade of blue, its waves rolling lazily onto the pristine white sand. Further out, the waves must’ve been better, because I could see a few people on surf boards.

Vera and Madison were already sitting down when I joined them at our table.

“We can walk on the beach after we eat,” Vera suggested. “Unless your mate shows up to lecture you for disappearing.”

I grimaced.

Hopefully his meetings or whatever took a while.

We chatted about the food as we looked at the menu, and both of the women gave me advice about what they liked the most. It was technically lunch time, but I couldn’t resist ordering the macadamia nut pancakes they both raved about.

The conversation was surface level, but laid-back while we ate. They asked me questions about the coven, and I asked them about their lives.

Vera mentioned the water a few times, so I figured whatever she could shift into liked to swim. I was drawing a blank on what she could be, though. Madison mentioned climbing a tree, so whatever she was could climb. If I’d known more about animals, maybe that would’ve told me something, but all I really knew was plants and runes.

When we finished eating, we walked out onto the beach.

The sand was insanely soft, sliding between my toes as we walked in the direction of the wards’ anchor.

A gigantic dude came jogging up the beach straight toward us. I barely glanced at him, but Vera made a face. “Alpha werewolf, twelve o’clock.

I looked back, and realized who he was.

The werewolf from the lobby. Harvey.

“Sage!” he called out.

“We can distract him while you run if you want,” Madison whispered.

“Thanks, but I should probably find out what he wants.” Theycouldtechnically still kick me out of the resort. And if they did, I was toast.

Although, maybe that would end the heat thing…