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“Good Lord, Trixie.” I groaned, looking away so she couldn’t see my amusement. “Don’t tempt me.”
Chapter 19
Trixie
“I think this is great.” Emmy stood at the kitchen counter.
I was supposed to meet Belinda shortly, and I was procrastinating by caffeinating with Emmy.
“It’s really awesome that you’re opening up to the possibility of releasing some of your magic.” Emmy bit into a bagel. “You’re not going to regret it.”
“Yeah.” I sprinkled some leftover coffee grounds onto the dirt in one of my terracotta pots. “If you say so.”
“It was very kind of Dom to set this up.” Emmy gave me a cheeky glance. “You two official yet?”
“No. I mean, maybe?” I said, then I reconsidered. “No, definitely not official or else we would have made it official.”
“So what is between you?”
“Something,” I admitted.
“Something that scares you?”
I shrugged. “A little. I realize I have issues, but—”
Emmy interrupted by pulling me in for a hug. “Oh, sweetie. Everyone who was supposed to love you when you were little betrayed you. It’s no wonder that you’re afraid of getting close to someone. Just don’t ruin a good thing for no reason, okay? Promise me. He really cares about you.”
“I’m trying.”
“Don’t let your past stop you from being happy in the future. Dom shouldn’t be punished for your mother’s mistakes.”
“How do I know he’s the right person?”
“You don’t really know until you try.” Emmy’s eyes sparkled with tears. “You have to take a risk, just like the rest of us. Nobody falls in love safely. It’s never a sure thing.”
“Do you think he’s worth it?”
“That decision is only up to you.” Emmy cupped my cheeks in her hands. “But as your best friend, if I didn’t think he was worthy of at least a shot, I would’ve already hexed his eyebrows to fall off.”
“So that’s a yes?”
Emmy laughed. “See where it goes. If it doesn’t work out, then at least y’all tried. And if it does...”
“If it does?”
“Then you’ll be happy you tried.”
“Maybe.” I sighed. “Well, I’ve got to get going so I’m not late to see Belinda.”
“Then you’re going to Dom’s?” Emmy said flippantly. “Staying out til all hours of the night on a relationship that’s definitely not official?”
“We’re watching the debates together,” I told her. “You can join us. Sometimes we make a drinking game out of it.”
I shrugged on a light sweater and made my way to the car. I had a potions master to meet today, and wonderous gardens to explore.
My pulse raced as I gave my name to the front desk at Le Jardín and was buzzed right through. I was led through the entrance to the elite botanical garden that was tucked away smack dab in the middle of The Hollow. I’d dreamed of getting a visitor’s pass for a day, but it had always seemed so far out of reach. One snap of Dom’s fingers, and suddenly I was being escorted around like I was royalty.
The gardeners here were the crème de la crème, trained at a special school where they learned to care for the most delicate of plants. The poisons that could kill with a drop of essence. The flowers that bloomed once a century. The endangered species that were close to blinking out of existence forever. It was, I assumed, the most wonderful place on earth.
