Page 26 of Spellbound & Speechless (Witches of Starbrook #2)

Aspen

I expect the dream of my boutique to fade into the background, but days pass, and that doesn’t happen. It never fades. If anything, I’m more certain than before. The vision is clear in my mind, and the dress I’ve been working on seems to be coming together, too.

It’s a wedding dress. I’ve never designed anything like it, but the strangest part is that I’m imagining myself in the dress.

There’s a chance it means nothing, but there’s an equal chance it’s a sign from Aphrodite, and I’m not ready to acknowledge what it may mean. It feels foolish to consider.

I shake my head, closing the sketchbook and hiding it in my bag. No matter how happy I am with Mac, I won’t be getting married anytime soon.

Oh, but marrying him would be a dream! A foolish, silly dream—one I shouldn’t keep thinking about.

There are more important things to focus on, like the announcement I’m sharing with my sisters. And, no, it’s not a wedding announcement .

Not yet, anyway.

I meet them at the empty bar a few hours before we’re set to open.

“I have something to tell you.” I place my purse on the bar top. “All of you.”

Maple clasps her hands together, looking at me with stars in her eyes.

Rowan’s expression hardly changes. “What is it?”

“I’m staying in Starbrook.” I hold my head higher.

They all exchange a look.

“Well…” Juniper says. “You’ve been here for a while, so we sort of… assumed.”

I glower. Of course, their assumptions are ruining my announcement. Typical.

“Well, I’m staying for good .” I think. There’s no saying whether my new venture will lead me somewhere else, if I’ll be able to open other locations eventually. For now, Starbrook is calling to me. My hometown is begging for me to stay. “And I’m opening a boutique!”

Finally, my sisters have a normal reaction. Maple gasps, and Juniper’s brows disappear into her bangs.

“A boutique?” Juniper smiles softly. “I think that’s a great fit for you. With your original designs?”

“Yes!” I beam. “That’s the plan.”

“That will take a lot of work.”

I won’t let Juniper’s realism bring me down. “I’m ready to do the work.”

“I guess I’ll be getting a new client,” Rowan grumbles.

“Or so you assume.” I glare playfully. “I won’t have any trouble finding another accountant.”

“Stop.” She rolls her eyes, the corner of her lips ticking up in a rare smile. “You know I’m happy to help.”

“Then act happier.” I sit at the bar. “This is good for all of us, and for the entire town. I mean, that’s like… assuming that it happens.”

“It will,” Juniper says. “You’ll have to make it happen.”

“I will do my best.” I beam proudly. “For now… a round of shots? Yes?”

After all, we’re at a bar, and we have something to celebrate.

For the first time since leaving New York, I have a purpose, and it isn’t too far off from what I planned to do before.

The only difference is that I’m in charge now.

While that’s a significant change, it’s one I can handle.

I no longer feel as if I’m tearing my entire life apart, left with nothing but the rubble of my old ambitions.

I know what I’m doing, and I know who’s going to be there with me.

My eyes drift to Mac in the corner of the bar, and I find him smiling at me.

Yes. I am definitely making the right choice.

MAC

It’s late at night when Aspen is sketching at the little white desk in the corner of her room. She doesn’t bother looking up when I amble closer.

“What are you working on?” I ask, looking over her shoulder.

I can’t make much sense of the drawings. There’s a dress, I think, and it sort of looks like a mushroom. Maybe that’s not her intention, but it tickles me—it even reminds me of the mushroom tattoo on my arm.

“Working on my designs.” She looks at me with sparkling eyes. “Look. This one comes with a matching mushroom hat.”

“So, it is supposed to be a mushroom?”

She nods eagerly. “Cottagecore is in right now—especially in Starbrook.”

“Cottage… core?”

“Mhm. I’m surprised you don’t know about it. You’re sort of cottagecore—or maybe closer to rottagecore.”

“Rottagecore?”

Aspen is stranger by the moment.

“Yes.” That’s all she offers as an explanation. She flips through the pages. “See. This is a simpler swimsuit, but we need more cute skirt swimsuits.”

She drew the swimsuit on a larger body, which I know is important to her. It’s admirable that she wants to make sure her sisters are seen in fashion. As much as she may have run from her family, or at least she makes it sound like she did, it seems like they were always in her mind.

I hope they realize how much she cares for them and how lucky they are to have someone like Aspen. I know how fortunate I am.

“You’re so talented,” I say. “I guess I owe you some of my photography now, huh?”

“I would say that you do.” She shuts her book and turns to me, poking a finger into the center of my chest. “Pay up.”

“It won’t look as good as your work… you’re fucking talented, and I’m?—”

“I don’t care.” She rolls her chair closer to me. “I want to see. Don’t be a tease.”

My photos are all on my phone now. Back at my mother’s place, I have a few prints and even an old dark room. That’s another thing I can show her someday…

If I ever take her home to meet my mother. I haven’t even found the courage to tell my mom about accepting our mating bond, and that’s fine by me. We have plenty of time to figure that out.

I pass her my phone. “You can, uh… swipe around.”

She lifts a brow and smirks. “You’re not afraid of me seeing something I shouldn’t?”

“There’s nothing you shouldn’t see.” I sit on the edge of the bed, watching her as she takes her time looking at each picture. “I don’t plan on keeping any secrets from you.”

“Good answer.”

All she’ll find on my phone is photos of mountains, flowers, and even a few shots of my mother on the trails. My travels across the states, looking for the corrupt witch, have given me plenty of opportunities to snap pictures.

The journey also brought me to Aspen. I didn’t believe in fate before, but I sure as hell do now. It’s like everything that happened was to get me closer to her. If someone told me that before, I would have said it wasn’t worth it to lose my father and gain a mate..

Now… I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t think about it.

She looks up from the phone after several moments of silent swiping. “Did you study this in school? I thought you were trying to be a doctor.”

“I’m completely self-taught. Took a few editing courses online, but the rest is all me.”

“Wow. I have a master’s degree, and I’m not nearly as talented as you.”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, you are. Don’t be like that.” I take the phone from her and run a hand across my hot cheeks, down over my stubble.

“I’m not, I guess it’s true that education can’t make someone talented.”

“No, I just worked a lot. Being self-taught still means I have to study, you know.” I smile. “What if we agree that we’re equally talented?”

“Then I would say we’re a pretty good match.”

We’re a perfect match.

Fuck. I need to tell my mom about her, don’t I? I’m falling harder for Aspen by the day. The longer I put the conversation off, the more pissed my mom will be. Pissed isn’t the right word.

Worried . She’ll be concerned, and she has good reason to be. Aspen already owns my entire heart. I would give up anything, including my life, to keep her safe and smiling.

“I guess we are.” I lean back on the bed. “Don’t let me stop you from working on your sketches, princess. I’ll be over here.”

“Fine.” She turns away to her desk, wiggling in her seat. “But someday, I will get you back into your photography era. Wait and see.”

“I believe you.”

If anyone can do it, she can.