Page 95 of Enchanted to Meet You

Gaia was real, and walking the earth, and making baby daddies out of lonely farmers in Montana (and apparently Oxford deans in England)?

I could believe that my hometown was located on a hell rift. But the Mother Goddess, not being a particularly good mother?

That was a hard one to swallow.

All of this was just too much, too fast. If Rosalie wanted to be the Chosen One, that was fine with me. All I wanted was to be left—

And then it happened. I walked out of the Yacht Club dining room, my coat on, bag in hand, and spied Bartholomew Brewster talking to Esther near the grand piano in the bar.

No. Just no.

That wasnothappening.

Sure, Rosalie and her daughter, Lizzie, were both standing right there as well, looking dazzling in their matching ice-blue sheaths.

And I spied Derrick a few feet away, looking tall and fairly menacing in his all-black ensemble, his gaze still burning, but in a different way, and this time directed at his brother.

But this just wasn’t okay.

I walked up to the little circle and said, “Esther, I’m leaving. Can I give you a lift home?”

Esther looked surprised. She’d evidently been enjoying whatever Brewster had been saying.

“Oh,” she said, glancing around the crowded room. “I thought I’d get a lift home with Gabby.”

“No.”

Everyone glanced in surprise at Derrick. His gaze met mine, and stayed there. “Change of plans. You’re going with Jessica.”

Esther looked from one to the other of us, bit back whatever sarcastic remark she’d been about to make, then said quicklyinstead, “Let me go get my coat,” and ducked back into the dining room.

“Derrick!” Brewster held his arms open wide for a hug that his brother didn’t step into, and eventually, he dropped them. But he didn’t drop his jovial tone. “What a pleasure to see you. I’d heard, of course, that you were here in town.” He shook a finger at his younger sibling as if at a naughty child. “You see? I always know. I have spies everywhere. How have you been, my boy?”

Derrick looked as if he wished Esther had blown his brother’s head off with her hands. But he only said, “Fine. And you?”

“Well. Very well. Sad that the only time I get to see you is at functions like this. What do you say to coming back to my hotel after this, and joining me for a nightcap so we can talk—reallytalk? This lovely young woman here arranged for me to have the most spacious suite—” He gestured at Rosalie, who ducked her head, managing to look modest for what was probably the first time in her life.

It was loud in the bar, and I was standing a few feet away from him, but I could have sworn I heard Derrick grinding his teeth.

Still, his reply was the height of politeness. “That’d be great.”

Then Brewster turned his eyes—the same silver as Derrick’s, only somehow lacking their brightness—on me. “And feel free to bring your young friend here, Miss, uh—”

“Sorry,” I said, since I’d seen, with a burst of relief, that Esther was coming toward me with her coat and backpack. “I have to go. Maybe some other time. But this was a lovely evening.” I plastered a wide fake smile across my face. “Thank you so much.”

“I guess we’ll see you both tomorrow, then,” Rosalie said, looking from my face to Derrick’s, “at the ball?”

“Maybe,” I called back over my shoulder as I took Esther by the arm and began to steer her through the crowd and towardthe exit. “Bye for now.” I’d had to wrench my gaze away from Derrick’s. His stare seemed to plead with me for my forgiveness.

But I needed the one thing I knew we didn’t have: time.

“Maybe?” Esther echoed as I dragged her to the door. “What do you mean,maybe? You aren’t going tomorrow?”

“Of course I’m going tomorrow,” I said. “I just don’t know if I’ll see them.”

“Who? Mrs. Hopkins? Or—” She gasped, her eyes widening. “Oh my God. Are you and—”

Gabby came rushing over, her gold rose crown askew on her rainbow-colored hair. “Wait! You’re not leaving yet, are you?”