“There’s little that’s more boring than reining in,” Mia stated. “When I started this place, most people didn’t think I could make it fly. A small community, a seasonal tourist trade. Bookstores and fancy coffee were for cities and snazzy suburbs. They were wrong. I knew what I wanted, and what I was capable of achieving. So do you.”

“In another six months or a year,” Nell agreed. “But I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“Why wait? You need capital, but you can’t risk going to the bank for a business loan. So many pesky questions about credit history, employment history, and so on.”

Mia inclined her head when Nell sighed. She enjoyed hitting the center of the target with the first arrow. “As careful as you’ve been, you may have left a hole,” Mia continued, “and you’re too smart to take chances there.”

“I thought about it,” Nell admitted. “If I opened myself up that way, I’d never relax. Nell Channing doesn’t have a credit history, and it’ll take me time to establish one.”

“Which is one of the obstacles to that capital. There are spells, of course. But I dislike doing spells for financial gain. It seems so . . . crass.”

“It doesn’t seem so crass when I’m trying to stretch my budget to buy basic office equipment.”

Pursing her lips, Mia tapped the tips of her fingers together. “I had an acquaintance who was in a bit of a financial squeeze. She worked a spell asking that her current money worries be cleared. And won fifty thousand in the lottery the next week.”

“Really?”

“Really. She was able to pay her debts and treat herself to a week at the Doral Spa in Miami. Fabulous place, by the way. When she returned, her car broke down, her roof sprang a leak, her basement flooded, and she received an audit notice from the IRS. In the end, she’d done nothing more than trade one set of worries for another, though she did get that week at the spa, which can’t be discounted.”

Nell acknowledged the humor in Mia’s words with a small grin. “I hear you. Magic isn’t a crutch to be used for convenience.”

“You’re a quick study, little sister. So, let’s talk business.” Mia toed off her pretty heels, curled up her legs. “I’m in the market for an investment.”

“Mia, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that, but—”

“You want to do it yourself, and blah, blah, blah.” With a flick of the wrist, Mia swatted Nell’s protest aside. “Please, let’s behave like grown-ups.”

“Are you trying to irritate or intimidate me into accepting a loan?”

“I don’t generally try to irritate or intimidate, though I’ve been told I’m good at both. And I didn’t say anything about a loan. We’re discussing an investment.”