Bewitching Bitters Read online

  Gavin gave his mother a look of resignation. “At least she forgot about talking like pirates.”

  Kate cut a glance at her daughter. But would she forget her mother’s thoughtlessness? Kate’s mistake could’ve gotten them killed.

  Brett seemed to sense her distress. He tugged on her elbow and offered a reassuring smile. “The storm’s over, Mom. Let’s go home and have ice cream.”

  Kate nodded mutely. In her mind, the storm was far from over. In fact, it seemed to still be brewing.

  Chapter Nine

  Club Cloverleaf was one of the premier restaurants in the area. Kate and Lucas sat across from each other to celebrate their anniversary. Two flutes of champagne bubbled between them. It was more perfunctory than anything. She’d simply noted the date on the calendar and made reservations without much thought or excitement. They’d made it another year without killing each other. Hurrah.

  “I never get tired of this place—or you,” Lucas said. “Cheers to us.”

  They tapped their flutes together.

  Lucas ordered a steak and Kate ordered the salmon. Together, they’d have surf and turf.

  “Nice dress, by the way,” Lucas said.

  “Thanks. You bought it.”

  Lucas smiled. “Oh, I remember. I was relieved I bought the right size. Didn’t want to insult you by getting one too big or too small.”

  She angled her head. “You wore the tie the kids bought you for Father’s Day.”

  “Pretty sure the kids don’t get credit for the tie.”

  Kate wanted to say she’d put the tie to a vote, but the truth was she’d chosen it without their input. She hadn’t wanted to risk ending up with one covered in pictures of dogs or obnoxious colors.

  “It complements your eyes,” she said.

  The server deposited their plates in front of them. Kate didn’t realize how hungry she was until the salmon appeared.

  Her phone vibrated on the table and she immediately reached for it.

  “Do you really need to answer it?” Lucas asked.

  “It’s the landline calling,” she said, which meant one of the kids. Really, it meant Ava. The boys had cell phones.

  Kate listened as Ava complained that Gavin was shut away in his bedroom instead of looking after them. At the end of the call, Kate texted her eldest child to insist he pay more attention to his siblings.

  “Maybe we should have hired a babysitter,” Kate said.

  “Gavin promised he could handle it. We need to trust him.”

  Kate watched as a text appeared from Brett to report they were almost out of milk and could they please stop at the store on the way home?

  “Ava won’t be able to go to sleep without someone sitting with her,” Kate said.

  “Tell Brett. He’ll do it.”

  Kate sent a quick text and then flipped over her phone so she couldn’t see the screen. She needed to broach the subject of the radio show before the end of the evening and now was as good a time as any.

  “Someone wants to talk to me about hosting a radio show.”

  Lucas dragged a napkin across his mouth. “Wow. Seriously?”

  “Yes. Once a week. From what I gather, I’d answer questions on air and give advice based on my YouTube talks.”

  “You gather?”

  “I haven’t spoken to them yet. This was an exploratory email. I didn’t want to set up a call until I spoke to you.”

  He broke into a broad smile. “That sounds amazing. I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thanks, it would involve travel to Philadelphia once a week and it may lead to other speaking engagements that require even more travel.” She watched him expectantly.

  He shifted florets of broccoli around his plate. “That’s tough with the kids’ schedules.”

  “Yes, for starters, we’d need to swap cars so you could fit all the kids.”

  Lucas chuckled. “It’s one thing to drive around here, but you can’t drive a stick shift well enough to drive back and forth to the city.”

  “Then maybe it’s time you think about trading the Audi for a more family-friendly vehicle.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Why has this conversation become about my car?”

  “I’m just trying to find a solution to our predicament.”

  He speared a stalk of broccoli with a violent thrust. “There’s no predicament yet. You haven’t even talked to them. Maybe it won’t work out.”

  “I don’t want to waste their time if we can’t make it work on our end. There’s no point.”

  Lucas averted his gaze. “You know my schedule is tight, Kate. I can’t drop everything at three o’clock to run the kids around town.”

  “Like my schedule is wide open?” she shot back.

  “What good is a radio show in this day and age anyway? You already have a YouTube channel. Can’t you just add a podcast if you want another platform?”

  “A radio show can become syndicated. I’d reach a different segment of the population.”

  He tapped his fork against the edge of the plate. “I thought you were focused on getting a book deal. Do we really need to worry about a radio show too?”

  “Unlike some people, I can be focused on more than one thing at a time.”

  He glanced at the tables around them. “Can we talk about this later? I’d rather not argue in the middle of our anniversary dinner if it’s all the same to you.”

  “It’s not an argument. It’s a discussion.”

  “Sounds like an argument to me.” He shook his head. “I thought we might get through one dinner without tension. Apparently not.”

  “Maybe you should think about why that is. A little self-reflection goes a long way.”

  He gave an annoyed sniff. “Sorry, we can’t all be a self-help guru.”

  Kate stabbed a piece of salmon. “Don’t call me that. You know I don’t like it.”

  “Sorry, I meant personal and professional coach.” He paused. “Commander-in-Chief?”

  She set down her fork and leveled a look at him. “Let me be clear about this. I have no interest in complacency. Either we’re going to grow together or I’m going to outgrow you. I’m a forty-eight-year-old woman with goals and I won’t stand still for anyone.”

  His brow lifted. “Are you talking about a divorce?”

  “No.” Not today, anyway.

  He fidgeted with his tie. “Okay, if you’re going to open that Pandora’s Box, then so am I. You’d rather sleep with the cat than me and you don’t even like cats. How am I supposed to interpret that?”

  Kate flinched. “We’re talking about my career, Lucas. Don’t change the subject.”

  “You want me to make adjustments to accommodate you. Well, it works both ways.”

  She tossed her napkin on the table. “Oh, does it? Because it seems to me that it’s only worked one way for a long time.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Kate hesitated. She knew exactly what she wanted to say. It means you’ve carried on living like a bachelor who just so happens to share a house with a woman and three children who resemble him. It means you don’t pull your weight and this marriage has become completely imbalanced as a result. For whatever reason, she couldn’t pry the words from her lips.

  “Nothing,” she said. “I’ve lost my appetite.”

  “I guess this means dessert is out of the question,” he mumbled.

  “Get your creme brûlée to go.”

  “I can’t. They have to caramelize the top.”

  She groaned. “Fine. I’ll wait.”

  His jaw tensed. “Forget it. You know I don’t like when you watch me eat. It feels like you’re judging me.”

  “And now you sound like a middle school girl.”

  “I’m so glad we decided to celebrate our anniversary tonight. It’s worked out really well, don’t you think?”

  She ignored his sarcasm. “We had to go out and celebrate.”

  “And why is that? So you could post social
media images touting your perfect life? Too bad because there won’t be any photo opps tonight, Kate.”

  “My followers will expect it. I mentioned it was our anniversary in this morning’s post.”

  “I guess you should’ve thought of that before you started picking fights with me.”

  Kate drew a deep breath. “I’m sorry. This is getting out of hand. I wanted to talk about the radio show. I didn’t mean for it to escalate.”

  He observed her with caution. “Does that mean I can get dessert?”

  “I’ll order the cheesecake,” Kate said. “That way I’ll have something to focus on aside from watching you eat.” She smiled in an effort to ease the tension.

  Her phone vibrated again and they both looked at it.

  “I need to check in case it’s one of the kids,” she said.

  “They have my number, too.”

  She said nothing. It wouldn’t occur to any of them to contact their dad.

  The text was an anniversary GIF from Libbie. She smiled and flipped the phone over.

  “Not the kids, I take it,” Lucas said.

  “Just Libbie wishing us a happy anniversary.”

  “I’m glad someone does.”

  The server came to take their plates and dessert order. Kate asked for her salmon to be wrapped. Lucas had somehow managed to devour his steak, despite the uncomfortable dinner conversation. She didn’t know how he could eat under stress.

  He practically inhaled his dessert, too, and Kate took hers to go.

  They paid the bill and stood at the same time to leave.

  Lucas smiled. “Ladies first.”

  Kate folded her jacket over her arm and started to walk toward the door. She was surprised when Lucas appeared beside her and tugged the jacket from her arm.

  “Put this on,” he said quietly.

  “I was going to put it on once we got outside,” she said.

  He met her gaze. “Trust me. You want to wear it now.”

  Kate slipped her arms through the sleeves and adjusted the belt. “Happy now?”

  Lucas said nothing as he snaked an arm around her waist and guided her outside. When they reached the parking lot, she stopped walking and looked at him.

  “What was that about?”

  “Let’s get home first. There’s nothing we can do until we get there.”

  She swatted his arm. “Lucas, tell me.”

  He surveyed the parking lot before responding. “You have blood on the back of your dress.”

  “Blood? I...” The words melted off her tongue. She understood. Her period, which had disappeared for the past five months, had returned with a vengeance. She’d felt cramps during the meal but became so wrapped up in their heated discussion, she’d forgotten about them.

  Lucas gave her a sheepish look. “I guess the good news is no menopause.”

  “How is that good news?” she snapped. “Do you know how awful it is to be stuck in a holding pattern?”

  “Yeah, actually I do.” His voice was soft but the message was clear.

  Kate stalked toward the car, mortified that someone might’ve seen the back of her dress. They drove home in silence. Kate couldn’t bring herself to speak. Her mind was too busy assessing the damage. Kate was supposed to be prepared for all eventualities. She should’ve known her period might make an inopportune appearance and carried pads with her. She tried not to focus on the ruined dress. It had been a gift from Lucas after her income had officially surpassed his. He’d been so proud of her, unlike some men whose egos would’ve been crushed by the change in circumstances.

  They arrived home to an unexpectedly lively house given the late hour. She resisted the urge to chastise Gavin for letting the younger ones stay up late. They were all alive and the house was still standing. Kate considered that a success.

  She hustled the kids to bed and checked on the cat before retreating to the bathroom to change out of her ruined dress and underwear. By the time she finished cleaning herself up and putting on pajamas, the bathroom looked like a crime scene.

  Kate wadded the stained dress into a ball and stuffed it in the kitchen trashcan downstairs. Everything was a mess. While she might not be able to chuck her entire life into the trash, she could at least get rid of the dress.

  When she reached the top of the staircase, she noticed Lucas with his hand on the doorknob to the guest room.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  He looked like a deer in headlights. “What do you mean?”

  “I assumed you’d sleep with me tonight.”

  He let go of the doorknob. “You’re not going to make me sleep in the guest room?”

  “It’s our anniversary. I figured I’d make an exception.”

  “How big of you,” he murmured.

  Kate continued into the master bedroom and he followed. The cat was sound asleep on the pillow. “You’ll have to battle her for dominance. Fair warning, though, her claws are sharp.”

  “It’ll be worth the pain,” he said.

  Kate folded back the sheet, preparing to climb into bed.

  “What are you doing?” Lucas asked.

  She turned to frown at him. “What does it look like?”

  Lucas edged closer to her. “If I’m going to sleep in here, I feel like we should at least take a stab at intimacy.”

  “The key word in that sentence is ‘sleep.’ Have you forgotten what happened during dinner? I’m wearing a pad thick enough to absorb Lake Erie and I don’t think either one of us wants to deal with the bloodbath involved if I take it off.”

  His face crumpled. “Fair point.”

  Kate glanced at the bulge in his trousers. “How about a hand job?”

  “Really?” He seemed genuinely surprised. “I mean, it won’t take long. I’m halfway there.”

  “I noticed, although I don’t understand how.”

  “You’re wearing my favorite pajamas. I can see your nipples.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Since when is it ridiculous to be turned on by your wife?”

  Kate glanced toward the pillow, ready to tell Cat-Cat to take a hike, but the cat was already gone. She didn’t mind a YouTube audience, but one in the bedroom was another story.

  Lucas kissed her slowly, teasing her with his tongue and reminding Kate why she used to spend hours in a lip-lock with him before their kids were born. For a brief moment, she was thirty years old again, with no worries about wrinkles or white hair. She’d had most of her adult life ahead of her. She missed that feeling.

  “You excel at everything, Mrs. Golden,” he said. “Even kissing.”

  She unbuttoned his pants and lowered the zipper, her excitement rising to match his.

  “I like where this is going,” Lucas murmured.

  Their kissing intensified as Kate tugged down his boxer briefs and wrapped her hand around his erection.

  At least, what had been his erection.

  The second she touched him, he grew limp. Their lips froze, and Lucas opened one eye to assess the situation.

  “Traitor,” he said.

  “I assume you’re talking to your penis.”

  “Who else?”

  “That’s not like you,” Kate said. Lucas had his issues, but staying hard wasn’t one of them.

  He pressed his forehead against hers. “I’ve heard of guys my age having this problem. I guess I didn’t expect it to happen so suddenly.”

  Kate released a breath. “It’s not you. It’s me.”

  He held her shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Don’t even think that. I’ll be hot for you when we’re both prunes with a shuffleboard addiction.”

  Kate smiled. “No, I mean I think I caused this with whatever’s happening to me.”

  “What’s happening to you?”

  “That cocktail I made last week, the one I said was Libbie’s creation.” She heaved a sigh. “I lied. It was a recipe from the bo
ok Inga left me. Ever since I drank it, I’ve had a run of bad luck.”

  “Like the wart?”

  “And the hair. The boat.” She waved a hand toward the bathroom. “The dress.”

  “You think it’s all witch-related?”

  “Yes.” Her shoulders grew slack. “No. I don’t know.”

  Lucas brushed his lips softly against hers. “Maybe you’re giving this whole thing too much credit. Maybe there’s no magic. What happened with Libbie was a placebo effect and she made those changes on her own.”

  “But I’m not susceptible to a placebo effect,” Kate said. “Remember that hypnotist on the cruise that one year? He was so annoyed that he couldn’t hypnotize me.”

  Lucas chuckled. “That’s because you influence people, not the other way around.”

  “I’m sorry my influence was the opposite of what you wanted tonight.” She patted his boxer briefs, which he’d returned to their original position.

  “We’re both in good health,” he said. “We still have a lot of anniversaries left to celebrate.”

  “I’m tired and I’ve got a busy day tomorrow,” Kate said. “We should get some sleep.”

  “Same. My first meeting is at eight. I don’t know what lunatic scheduled that one, but he should be drawn and quartered and then fired.”

  They climbed into opposite sides of the bed and Kate tried to get comfortable. She wasn’t accustomed to having anyone in bed with her anymore, although she still slept on ‘her side.’

  “Happy anniversary,” he said, giving her one last kiss on the cheek. “Same time next year?”

  “Sure,” Kate said with all the confidence she could muster. She turned away from her husband and stared at the blank wall until she finally fell asleep.

  Chapter Ten

  Kate’s luck failed to improve the next morning. Her foot slipped on the Peloton bike and she pulled a muscle in her back as she tried to keep herself from falling.

  The silver lining was her delivery from Amazon. The books she’d ordered on Friday night had arrived.

  Kate set aside her other tasks and pored over every page. She studied the plants and their magical qualities the way she’d studied for college exams. She didn’t want an ‘A,’ she wanted a perfect score. She wanted her perfect life back. She used a black Sharpie to cross out any poisonous entries. There’d be no accidental deaths or injuries.