I opened up my stack of newspaper ads and started browsing, but I wasn’t really looking for anything. We still had to fly home on Sunday, and there was no way I was going to ship a bunch of stuff home—it would completely cancel out any deals I found while we were shopping. There were mumbled thanks handed out as the men brought coffee and pie to each of the women, but no one looked up from their papers.

“We’re dragging Morgan and Sarai with us tomorrow,” Ani announced. “Just so you know. Trev, you’re on Etta duty.”

“Sounds good,” Trevor said, kissing the top of Morgan’s bent head. “Get some new towels for the bathrooms, yeah? Ours are too scratchy for the baby girl.”

“Our towels are fine,” Morgan replied, sending him a soft smile.

“Get new ones anyway.”

“Get the towels,” Ani ordered. “Don’t ever argue when they tell you to buy something.”

“I’ll remember that,” Morgan said with a laugh.

“They’ve welcomed you into the coven,” Alex teased softly in my ear as he set a piece of pie and a hot cup of coffee to the side of my newspaper. “You gonna go in the morning?”

“Do I have a choice?” I joked.

“We’ll lock the bedroom door. When you don’t open it, they’ll leave without you so they don’t waste time and miss any sales,” he whispered conspiratorially.

He walked away, and I focused on my paper again. Well, maybe I’d just get a few things…

“We’re going out to smoke cigars,” Dan announced proudly.

“Cigars?” Liz’s nose wrinkled in distaste.

“Got a few from a client,” he replied, grinning. “No better way to end a meal.”

“Don’t come back in this house smelling like smoke, Daniel,” Liz said, raising one eyebrow.

“Aw, baby,” he said, still grinning. “You know I won’t.”

“You better not.”

I glanced across the table to where Alex was standing with his brother, and our eyes met in amusement.

I felt the heat in my belly first, then in my chest, and up my neck, until I felt my face warm. This was why I’d agreed to marry him. I wanted to spend the rest of my life feeling this indescribable, inexplicable feeling when our eyes met across a crowded room. Actually, I couldn’t imagine anything else.

No one ever imagines the absence of that feeling. If they did, they’d avoid it altogether.

*  *  *