Page 72 of Summer L.A.W.

Magda twisted her mug slowly. “You know, love doesn’t have to look like the movies. Or the books. Or the coven’s seasonal romance picks, although those are excellent.”

Sahara nodded. “Marriage isn’t luck. You don’t bind your souls with a kiss and hope the magic holds. You choose each other. Over and over.”

Joell pointed a stern finger. “And if he proposed knowing you are a wand-waving fire hazard? Then he clearly knows what he’s signing up for.”

Rayna snorted. “That’s the problem. He’s too normal. Too grounded. He wants morning routines. And grocery lists. And synchronized calendars.”

“Yes,” Sahara said. “Because he’s in the military. Structure is how he survives.”

“And you…” Magda said. “Impulsivity and spontaneity are how you survive.”

Rayna sagged. “Exactly.”

Magda scooted her chair closer. “But listen. Maybe the question isn’t ‘Do I want to get married?’ Maybe the question is ‘Do I want to keep building a life with Adam?’ The rest are details you can negotiate.”

Rayna stared at her witch sisters. Her eyes were still panicked, but something inside them loosened.

“Maybe,” she whispered. “Maybe you’re right.”

Joell clapped her hands together. “Wonderful. Now show us the ring.”

Rayna groaned, but she reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a yellow gold band with a huge sparkler on it. She set it on the table like it was a live grenade.

Sahara leaned forward. “I swear, if you bent the prongs—” She picked up the many-carat diamond.

Magda gasped. Joell choked. Sahara whispered, “Holy Goddess.”

The diamond caught the lamplight and threw it around in a quiet explosion of fire and rainbow.

Joell whispered reverently, “That ring could propose to me, and I’d say yes.”

Rayna inhaled sharply and stuffed it back in her pocket. “See? Exactly! Too big. Too serious. Too forever.”

Sahara offered a soft smile. “Or maybe it’s just right for someone who deserves something real and wonderful.”

Rayna swallowed hard.

Magda reached out slowly, gently. “We’ll help you. We’ll talk through every fear. Every what-if. But Rayna?” She squeezed her friend’s hand. “Don’t run from the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

Rayna’s eyes filled. “Okay,” she whispered. “Okay. Maybe I can talk to him.”

Joell grinned. “Good. But first? You’re going to put that ring somewhere safer than your damn pocket. I’m begging you.”

Rayna cracked a wobbly smile. “Fine. But I’m still not wearing it.”

“For now,” Sahara said. “You might get there.”

The witches gathered closer, the library warm around them, the mess of the day fading into something smaller, softer.

Rayna exhaled.

And for the first time since Adam had held out that ring, she didn’t feel like running.

The morning sun spilled through the greenhouse windows, painting stripes of gold across Magda’s notebook. She tried to focus on her latest entry, but her pencil hovered over the page like a nervous hummingbird instead of actually making contact.

Wally hopped onto the workbench, setting a tiny paw on her wrist. His pouch bulged suspiciously. Probably rosehips. Or a stolen scone. Hard to tell with him.

“You can’t keep eating my ingredients,” she muttered. “Also, you owe me an explanation for yesterday. I swear Sebastian hasn’t answered my text since the bonding fiasco. Maybe you really did scare him off.”