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TO WEEKS LATER

Prim Easton walked up the pathway to the front door of Gothic Books and grinned at the lights that suddenly came to life in the form of characters from her favorite childhood books. The Velveteen Rabbit hopped away into one of the bushes, while a pants-less bear appeared beside a pink piglet as the two walked into the neighboring woods. A bear in a raincoat bowed to her, while a pig with a spider on its back lay under one of the bushes.

Her sister Indigo had gone all out on spelling the lighting effects for the event. It made her happy to see Indigo fully embracing her magic again. It had been years of her older sister hiding her light under a bushel, and now was her time to shine.

They were all there for the library fundraiser. Prim had done her part by donating a magical quilt. It had been spelled to help its owner’s dreams come true. It wasn’t a wishing well or anything like that. It was more that it helped nudge the universe in the right direction. She was very proud of it and hoped it went to a good home.

The door swung open all on its own when she stepped up onto the landing.

“Good evening, Ms. Easton,” Mateo Silva said as he welcomed her in. “We’re pleased you could join us.”

She grinned at Dante’s stepbrother. He was the manager of the bookstore, and from what she’d heard, everyone in town loved him. And why not? He was both charming and handsome. If he was just five years older, Prim might have already asked him out herself. But alas, not only was she not exactly looking for a date, but she also preferred her men a little less… pretty. Mateo was a little too polished for her.

She chuckled to herself. Look at her, acting as if Mateo Silva was even interested. That was rich. Especially since she hadn’t even been asked out since the last disastrous dating incident she’d had three years ago when she’d accidentally spelled her date and he’d ended up with chicken pox on his… well, you know. Let’s just say he had a very embarrassing trip to the healer.

That was the kind of thing that stuck to a person.

No one wanted to date the Shlong Pox Girl.

“Prim!” Lily called out, waving for her sister to join her and her partner Braxton. “Over here.”

“Is this for me?” Prim asked, taking the champagne glass from her sister’s hand and sipping before Lily could even answer.

Brax laughed and handed Lily his glass. “I’ll go get another one.”

“Make it three!” Lily and Prim called at the same time.

The two sisters looked at each other and cracked up. There had always been an preternatural bond between the two youngest Easton sisters, and this was just one of the ways it manifested.

“Prim, listen,” Lily started, but before she could get the words out, Bethany Befana was on the makeshift stage with a microphone in hand.

“Welcome everyone. I want to be the first to thank you for joining us on this momentous occasion. Not only do we have a glorious new bookstore, but the Silvas have brought us much more with the nonprofit library and this venue that they plan to use for all sorts of town events. Give Dante and Mateo a big round of applause!”

The many residents of Befana Bay came through, returning a thunderous applause. When the noise died down, Bethany continued. “As you know, this event is to raise money for the library. The money is to pay the librarian and to further stock the shelves, so don’t be shy with your donations. We have a silent auction. You can find the baskets against that back wall. Bidding will continue until 9:00 p.m., so check back often. Don’t miss out on something you’re dying to have.”

There were rumblings among the crowd as they all looked back at the baskets.

Indigo and Niko arrived at that moment, their arms wrapped around each other. Prim stared at them, a little jealous of the obvious affection they had for each other. She didn’t relish what they’d had to go through to get together, but she loved seeing her older sister so happy. The pair had been inseparable ever since the takedown of the drug ring a couple of weeks back.

It had been a hectic few days right after all the headlines had come out about the scandal at the school, but in the end, Indigo’s reputation had been restored, and there was news that the prosecutor was asking for life imprisonment without parole for the former dean, Officer Pitts, and Jesse. They likely would try to turn on others in their crime organization to reduce their sentences, but most agreed it wouldn’t help. Pitts and Rollins were the ringleaders. No one cared as much about those who worked for them.

And with all that mostly behind them, Indigo and Niko were making plans to move in together. Niko was moving to the apartment above the shop so Indigo could stay in Befana Bay, and he’d be renting his house in Hansville to Dante, who had been looking for better accommodations. In the end, everything seemed to be working out for everyone.

Everyone except Prim, who seemed to be in a rut. She’d been doing the same thing day in and day out, working in her fiber shop, going to coven meetings, having lunch with the same people, rarely dating. She was starting to wonder if she needed a shakeup. She just didn’t know what that might be.

Her grandmother was still speaking, and Prim tuned in just as she said, “As you know, you were promised a live auction. What you don’t know is that it’s a bachelorette auction, and first up is Prim Easton!”

Prim stared at her grandmother, her mouth hanging open. “What?” She turned to Indigo. “What did she just say?”

Indigo let out a bark of laughter and then gently pushed her sister toward the stage. “You’re up, Prim. Go get that date.”

“But—” Prim started.

“Come on,” Lily said, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her up on the stage.

There was a smattering of claps, but for the most part the audience was silent.

“You all know my lovely granddaughter, Prim. She runs the fiber store here in town. She’s the one to see when you need a fresh ball of cashmere or cotton for that special project.”

Still nothing.

“She’ll also keep anyone on their toes on a date.”

“Isn’t that Shlong Pox Girl?” someone called out. Everyone laughed.

“I think it is. Careful guys. Make sure you bring your calamine lotion!” another said.

Bethany cleared her throat and sent the crowd a scathing look. “Everyone in this room has had a spell go bad every now and then. I don’t think it’s polite to embarrass Prim just because she had a slip of a spell.”

There was more laughter, and Prim wanted to die on the spot.

“Can we get this over with?” she whispered to her grandmother, knowing there was no way she’d humiliate herself more by running off the stage.

“Right! Let’s start the bidding at one hundred dollars,” Bethany called out.

Crickets. You could have heard a pin drop.

Prim swallowed a groan.

“Okay, maybe you just need to warm up. How about seventy-five?”

Silence.

“Fifty?”

Prim stared at her feet, wishing a lightning bolt would come down and strike her dead rather than suffer this humiliation.

“Twenty-five dollars?” Bethany asked with a bit of desperation in her tone.

“One thousand dollars,” a man called out.

Everyone turned to see who it was, and then they parted ways as Dante Silva walked up to the stage and held his hand out to Prim.

“Sold! One thousand dollars to the gorgeous Dante Silva,” Bethany called into the mic.

Prim stared at Dante, her mouth hanging open.

“Take his hand, Prim,” Lily hissed from behind her.

“Right.” Prim slipped her hand into Dante’s and let him help her off the stage.

They walked through the crowd and headed to the small patio out back where they had some privacy.

“Thank you, Dante,” Prim said in a rush. “But really, you didn’t have to do that. It’s too much, I?—”

Dante held up two fingers, silencing her, and then said, “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me.”

Before she could say another word, he walked off, leaving her on the patio completely dumbfounded.

***

Get the next book in the series: The Witch’s Hidden Garden , Witches of Befana Bay book 4.