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Mia: I’m visiting there next weekend from Vancouver. Wondering if you’re up for drinks? Or coffee? Or…? ;-)

Crap.Mack really thought she was safe with this one. They met in a different country, for God’s sake, when she spoke at a conference in Canada last fall. Viviane needed to stop telling the social media team Mack’s location.

And Mack really needed to stop giving out her number to people.

She silenced her phone and returned to the manuscript.

Two hours later, a thunderous rap on the door caused her wrist to bang on the computer. “Yeah?”

An arm poked through the crack, holding up anI Love NYCmug. “Coffee?”

“Dear God, yes, please.” Mack tossed her laptop to the side. “I’ve been up since five.”

“Don’t you ever sleep in?” Her mom shuffled towards her and handed over the mug.

Mack gripped the warmth between both palms. “Sometimes. But when inspiration hits, you gotta jump on that.”

“Inspiration, huh? Oh… goodie. Tell me everything.”

Mack pushed away her budding irritation and sipped. Coffee, fine. Conversation, not fine. She was powering through her word count and didn’t want to stop for a chat. Besides, her mother knew her rules: No talking about the manuscript while in progress.

Her mom sipped from a mug. “Would this creative spark have anything to do with that smokin’ hot redhead your dad met yesterday?”

Mack snapped her gaze at her mom. “It’s really weird he’d say that. Did he use those words?”

Heavy booted footsteps stopped outside of the door. “Say what?” Her father poked his head into the room. “What did I do this time?”

Mack narrowed her eyes. “Did you call Charlie a smoking hot redhead?”

“No. She’s the same age as my daughter. That’d be gross.” He nuzzled his head on her mom’s shoulder. “But I might’ve said that you were candy-eyeing a cute redhead and ditched me for her.”

“I did not ditch you! You left me.”

“You’re welcome.” He smacked her mom on the butt before leaving the room.

Not like Mack actively thought about it, but her parents’ obvious attraction after all these years was impressive. She’d been drawn to lots of women. Probably too many. If she burrowed deep enough to analyze her behaviors, she was most likely attempting to counterbalance her awkward, celibate high school phase by making it up for it now with soulless, yet efficient, one-night stands. But having sex with someone she loved? A whole new level of intrigue.

“So, this Charlie girl. Tell me about her.”

She avoided her mother’s probing gaze and scraped her thumbnail against the mug’s logo. “I don’t know her all that well.”

Both true and untrue. Mack cracked up over Charlie’s obnoxious customer stories and her refusal to relinquish her three-year-old Monopoly championship title by agreeing to a rematch with Ben. She gave Mack touching snippets about her favorite retired customers and told her about a rainforest up north where the earth spoke to her. But Charlie retold events with very few personal details sprinkled in. No talk about a family. No talk about friends. And the one time Mack fished for a tiny bit of information about her love life, saying, “The dating scene is brutal in New York. How about here?” Charlie made an excuse about needing to clean the storage room.

“Is that where you’ve been spending all your time?” Her mom’s lopsided grin was one of her tells. She wanted intel. No way was she getting it.

Charlie was a magical entity. An auburn-haired, emerald-eyed genie who Mack needed to protect in her literary bottle. Rightnow, Charlie’s spirit was the only thing keeping Mack afloat. If she talked about her, she’d ruin the powers. “I wouldn’t sayallmy time.”

Mack’s mom’s lips drew into a straight line.

Oh no.Her mom’s supersonic listening skills clearly heard the shift in Mack’s tone.

“Are you in some kind of trouble?”

Yes.

But her mom didn’t need to know that. Mackhadto protect her mom this time.

When her parents called her three years ago and said, “Breast cancer,” Mack transformed into hyper-research mode. She scoured article after article for medical treatments, naturopathy, a Shaman, miracles… literally anything that could help her mom.