Chapter Thirty-Two—Fireworks
Brittany expected him to take his hand back, but he just looked down at Mikos, leaving his fingers linked with hers. He had been a jerkface guy. He would probably be a jerkface guy again in the future, but she wouldn’t have a meltdown next time. Because next time she would know he loved her.
He had been just as frightened that
she
didn’t love
him
as she had been that he didn’t love her. Knowing that changed everything. She had run away to her parents when things got bad instead of talking it out with him and maybe saving them both a terrible night. Just like she’d run away from her parents when things went bad there.
She wasn’t going to run away anymore. She was going to face things. Even things that weren’t sunshine and perfection. She would still look for the good in the world, but she wasn’t going to run from the bad. She would stand and face it. And Luis would be right there beside her, facing it with her.
He began a low chant and, with her fingers still linked with his, she could see the red energy that pulsed from Mikos. As Luis concentrated, she sensed more than saw little bugs of clear energy, like invisible fireflies, shoot from him and begin zipping around Mikos. They circled the demon, moving so fast she couldn’t track them, drawing the red energy pulsing off Mikos until they were glowing red marbles, then glowing red tennis balls trailing scarlet streams. Instead of slowing as they grew heavier, they moved faster, until the air around Mikos and Luis was a red blur.
Luis slapped his hand flat against Mikos’s forehead, his white-glowing crucifix pressed between his palm and the demon’s skin. “
Mikos, I banish you from this plane.
” The words rippled with power. The glowing red grapefruits froze in the air, hovering motionless for just a moment before they flew to collide with one another beneath Luis’s hand.
An explosion of red seared her vision. Mikos screamed an inhuman wail as his body burst into light. The room shook and a sound like they’d been thrown into a wind tunnel rushed through. Brittany tightened her hand on Luis’s and he squeezed back without looking at her, all of his focus locked on the bending, twisting geyser of red light that used to be Mikos. Then the wind-tunnel sound shut off with an audible
pop
and the demon was gone, sucked back to wherever he belonged. Luis knelt in a Mikos-shaped divot in the floor.
Just another day at the office.
“Wow. Talk about fireworks,” Brittany whispered. “Did that hurt him?” Mikos had been a pain in the rear, but she hadn’t expected the banishment to be quite so violent.
“Nah,” the demon inside Katrina Sullivan growled beneath her. “It’s like a rollercoaster. More fun if you throw up your hands and scream.”
Brittany looked to Luis. “I’m on it,” he said. Brittany climbed off the demon-tramp to give Luis room to work. Less than five minutes later, the demon inside Katrina was throwing up its hands and screaming as it rode back to its own realm.
Katrina groaned as the day-tripper left her body. She rolled over and blinked up at Luis in confusion. She looked at his crotch, as if checking to see if he was wearing pants. “Did I win?”
Brittany felt a flash of anger. She should have pulled out more of Katrina’s hair when she’d had the demon to use as an excuse. “Did you
win
?” she repeated angrily. “He isn’t a trophy, you trollop. And you are
never
going to win. You are a healthy, wealthy woman with a family who probably loved you at one point, but you’re not grateful for any of that. Heaven forbid you were actually satisfied with all the blessings in your life. No, you have to do everything you can to throw it away because you’re
bored
. You never wanted Luis. You wanted a distraction, an entertainment. Get a hobby, lady! Take up knitting. Or maybe for a change you should do something for someone other than yourself. You might discover you can be more than the vapid, materialistic
loser
you are. So
no
, Katrina. You didn’t
win
.”
Luis watched her in silence as she railed at Katrina, his eyebrows raised. “You done?”
Brittany gave a little huff and one last glare for the trollop. “I’ve said my piece.”
“Come on.” He caught her hand, and tugged her with him toward the exit. He paused at the door, raising their joined hands to his lips. “Thanks for coming to my defense.”
“That was nothing. You should have seen me on the phone last week. I called a prospective client a filthy slut. I thought Karma was going to fire me for sure.”
“Nah. Karma takes care of her people. Once you’re in, you have to piss her off in a major way to get fired.”
Brittany’s high spirits took a little dive at the thought. Luis held the door for her and she trudged outside, barely noticing that the torrential rains had stopped completely and the clouds were clearing. “I could have been in,” she said wistfully. “But if I’m fired, at least I’m fired for a good cause.”
Luis frowned, handing her the silver bike helmet and grabbing a towel out of a compartment to wipe the water off the seats. “You are in. Why do you think you’re fired?”
Brittany rolled her eyes. Men could be so thick sometimes. “I slept with you. The intra-office dating policy? Karma told me she was very strict about it.”
Luis snorted. “She actually said that with a straight face?”
“It’s a very serious policy,” Brittany informed him primly, fumbling with the buckle on the helmet.
Luis brushed her hands aside and buckled it himself. “Jake worked with the consultants. Wyatt was a client. There’s a finder named Chase who married a client, and I’m pretty sure the top aura reader’s boyfriend wasn’t even hired to work at Karmic until
after
he started dating her. Karma might as well be running a matchmaking agency.”
“But why would Karma tell me that? She said I was going to be working with you and…why are you looking at me like that?”
Luis winced. “I think this might be my fault. I thought you were summoning demons to get me into bed, so I asked Karma to warn you off. She might have mentioned making up some dating policy, but I didn’t realize she was actually going to tell you that. Or that I was going to fall for you so damn hard. Sorry about that.”
“You’re sorry for falling for me?” she asked impishly.
“Never.” He bent and brushed a quick kiss across her mouth before pulling on his own helmet. “Sorry for making you think you had to choose between me and the job. I’m pretty sure Karma still thinks of you as employed.” He glanced at his watch. “Though neither of us will have a job pretty soon if we don’t haul ass over to the church and fix that wedding.”
He swung his leg over the Harley, reaching out a hand to steady her as she did the same.
“You rode over here with Katrina Sullivan on the back of your bike?”
“A demon-possessed Katrina Sullivan. She kept shouting ‘Master, forgive me’ and trying to leap off the bike. I had to bungee her on. Some demons aren’t too bright and Ulgar was definitely in that category. It never figured out it could just unhook the bungee cord. You ready?”
Brittany snuggled up close to his back, her arms wrapped tight around him. “Let’s go save a wedding.”
Chapter Thirty-Three—Happily Ever Afters and Death Threats
When Brittany arrived at the church, everything began to magically go right. The videographer and missing dress were both discovered. He’d accidentally locked himself in an upstairs room that had excellent light, in an attempt to get a shot of the dress before Lucy put it on. His desperate banging to be let out had been drowned out by the cataclysmic storm, but now that the sun was shining and the only sound was birds singing, he could clearly be heard screaming for help.
The caterer called to tell them the dozen servers who had all come down with food poisoning were all, miraculously, feeling better—though they decided not to serve the salmon puffs, just in case. The minister’s anti-allergy medication suddenly kicked in and the violinist discovered that while the fingers on his bowing hand were bruised from their run-in with a car door, he could still play—and he thought it best to do so, lest they stiffen up from lack of use.
The ceremony was beautiful and absolutely perfect. Lucy looked like a fairy princess and Jake was a smoking-hot prince. There was a minor pause when the minister asked for any reasons why these two could not be joined in holy matrimony. Lucy started giggling while Jake muttered darkly under his breath. Brittany couldn’t see or hear anything supernatural, but Jo later told her the dweeby ghost of a loan officer who interrupted the ceremony to beg Lucy not to marry Jake was remarkably easy to zap into his afterlife.
The ballroom at the club had been decorated perfectly, and the salsa band was a hit—especially when they played “Shout” and “Love Shack”. The wedding cake looked divine, the food was excellent—without a hint of food poisoning in sight—and the centerpieces the florist had provided were fresh and lovely.
I did this
. Brittany leaned against a wall, observing the wedding reception she had made happen with a deep and powerful sense of satisfaction.
Just when she thought the moment couldn’t get any more perfect, Luis appeared at her side with two glasses of champagne. He handed her one of the glasses and raised the other in a toast. “Congratulations. You did it. The wedding is a triumph.”
“We did it,” she corrected. “I’d be melted into a puddle of umbrella goo if not for you. Or smashed to smithereens in my possessed car.”
“We did it,” he acknowledged, clinking his glass against hers then bending to brush a soft kiss across her lips. He tasted of champagne and adventure, a bubbly cocktail of everything she’d always wanted.
“Well, don’t you make a cute couple.” The low rasp of Karma’s voice had them breaking apart slowly.
Things had been so harried with getting the wedding off in only twenty minutes she hadn’t had a chance to report to her boss. At least, she
thought
Karma was still her boss.
Rodriguez raised his champagne in salute. “Boss.”
“Rodriguez.” Karma returned the salute. “Brittany. Excellent job with the wedding. Have you given any thought to my offer?”
Her heart gave a little leap. “It’s still open?”
“Of course.” Karma finished her champagne and set the empty glass on the tray of a passing waiter. “Where am I going to find another secretary who can plan weddings, take down demons, and still find time to keep the filing up to date?”
Brittany grinned. “It is a rare skill set.”
“So, Monday?”
“I’ll be there.” She had a job.
The
Job.
“Good.” Karma nodded crisply at Brittany, then turned a speculative gaze on Rodriguez. “Your parents are over by the gift table looking for you.”
Brittany glanced at Luis, but when she found him watching her curiously, she realized Karma was still talking to her. “
My
parents? They’re here?”
Karma inclined her head in a regal nod. “I thought it was only polite to invite them after I told them this morning that you were missing and likely kidnapped by a demon. They took it remarkably well, all things considered. I assume our little demon problem is all taken care of?”
“Banished and exorcised,” Rodriguez said.
“And the summoner?”
“It was some warlock on a power trip,” Brittany said, watching Karma for her reaction. “Prometheus.”
Her reaction didn’t disappoint. Karma’s expression turned black, fury tightening her features. Brittany decided not to mention that Prometheus had done it to get Karma’s attention. Somehow, she didn’t think that would go over well.
“He summoned a mischief demon to stop my brother’s wedding?” she bit out, each word sharper than the last. Karma’s elegantly manicured hands curled into fists. “I’m going to
kill
him.”
Without another word, she spun on her heel and stormed off. As their boss stalked away, Luis frowned. “Somehow I don’t think that was just a figure of speech.”
“She wouldn’t actually kill him. Would she?”
Luis just shrugged and sipped his champagne. They lapsed into silence that stretched like taffy as the lively wedding reception continued around them.
“So…” she said finally. “My parents are here.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Over by the gift table.”
“Yep.”
“I should probably go say hello, and, you know, introduce them to the man I’m in love with.”
“Sounds logical.”
“So are you going to come with me or what?” she asked, impatient with his continued nonchalance.
He grinned. “All you had to do was ask.” He finished his champagne, set his empty glass on a nearby table and caught her hand. Their fingers tangled. She stopped him before he could lead her across the room.
Brittany rested the tips of her fingers along his jaw and went up on her tiptoes to press a kiss onto his lips. “I love you, Luis Rodriguez,” she said against his mouth.
“
Te amo, mi corazón
.”
She rocked back onto her heels, looking up at him. “What does that mean?” she asked, even though she knew. No translation was necessary, but she wanted to hear him say it again.
He took their linked hands and pressed them against his chest. “It means I love you, my heart.” He bent and kissed her again and her heart began drumming double time. “Now,” he said with a half-smile quirking one corner of his mouth. “Should we go meet these fearsome parents of yours?”
“They aren’t fearsome,” she told him, taking the lead and tugging him along by their linked hands. “They just want to protect me.”
“I think I’ll like them. We have that in common.”
Brittany caught sight of her mother across the room. Their eyes met and Claudia gave a tentative wave. Brittany beamed, walking faster, dragging Luis along now.
At the gift table, she stopped in front of her parents. Her smile felt like it was splitting her face. “Mom. Dad.”
“Brittany, you look…” Her mother’s eyes raked over her from head to toe.
Brittany was wearing a slightly too-large skirt and blouse she’d borrowed from one of Jo’s sisters, since she hadn’t had time to collect fresh clothes before the ceremony. She hadn’t had a chance to really fix her hair or makeup since last night. She probably looked like a stowaway, but she didn’t care. She felt perfect.
Tears gathered in her mother’s eyes. “You look so happy,” Claudia finally concluded.
“You look very healthy,” her father added—the highest praise he could have given her.
Brittany’s smile reached supernova levels. “I am. This is Luis Rodriguez.” She turned her smile on him, meeting his warm black eyes and feeling a rush of euphoria. Morphine had nothing on love. “He’s The One.”
Her parents didn’t immediately throw their arms around him and sing his praises, but that wasn’t exactly a surprise. Her father extended his hand and a cautious courtesy. “Mr. Rodriguez.”
“Please, call me Luis.” He released her hand long enough to shake her father’s then twined his fingers with hers again. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”
They made small talk for a few minutes before the DJ called all the single women to the dance floor for the bouquet toss. Brittany made their excuses and dragged Luis away.
“I think they liked you,” she said as she pulled him through the gathering crowd.
“I think your father will probably take a hit out on me if we ever have another fight. He has a grip like a steel vise.”
“They like you,” she insisted.
“They don’t hate me,” he acknowledged. “That’s a start. We’ll work our way up to sappy displays of affection.” He pulled her out of the way of a stampeding herd of small blonde children. “We should invite them for dinner at our place sometime soon.”
Brittany felt that dizzy morphine euphoria shoot through her bloodstream again. “Our place.” She beamed at him. “We definitely should. They should see where their daughter is living.”
Relief flickered in his dark eyes. “So, you’re moving in?”
“Just try to stop me.”
Jo suddenly appeared beside them. “Hide me.” She ducked behind Rodriguez then peeked around his shoulder. “Wyatt wants me to catch the damn bouquet. Do you have any idea how my mother would react to that? She already has a bridal boutique on speed dial.”
Brittany laughed. “She’ll notice if you aren’t there for the bouquet toss. Come on, Jo. I’ll protect you.” She grabbed the reluctant bridesmaid and shoved her toward the crowd of single women in the middle of the dance floor. She started to follow, but Luis caught her hand. She glanced over her shoulder and met his laughing eyes.
“I’m counting on you to catch that bouquet.”
She grinned. “To save Jo?”
He shook his head, his slow smile warming something deep inside her. “To save me.”
Her heart rolled over in her chest. “Yes,
sir
.” She saluted then ran to join the others as Lucy appeared on stage, waving the bouquet like a big-league pitcher winding up for a strikeout. Jo grabbed Brittany and thrust her in front of her, cowering behind her as best she could, considering she had half a foot height advantage. Brittany laughed and winked at the punkette bridesmaid. As the women around her jostled for position, she simply raised her hands up in the air.
She believed. Life was a wonderful thing and good things happened when you believed in them, so Brittany reached up and believed in bouquets, weddings, true love, and happily ever afters. She wished for forever with the man of her dreams, a job where she was valued and had purpose, and parents who could find the joy in their own lives now that the weakness of her heart would no longer be a burden on theirs. And she knew, as the beribboned flower bundle came flying directly toward her, that she would get her wish.
That was her magic.