Miss Fortune by Julia London Page B

slowly, I have Mexican vanilla.
    Dagne thought about it. Okay, lets use that, she said, and sprang to her feet, headed for the kitchen.
    Rachel was right behind her.
    They managed to find substitutes for everything Dagne said they neededand Dagne assured her, with what Rachel thought was false bravado, that it was quite all right to substitute in spell work. Skeptical, Rachel nonetheless stomped outside with Dagne, behind the garage, where the elm tree lay across Mr. Valicielos fence. And they even managed to complete one spellthe scent spellbefore the police arrived, called by Mr. Valicielo, naturally, who was convinced someone was sneaking around wanting to steal his backyard gnomes.
    The two cops who camecute guyslooked at Dagne like she was a freak when she explained she was casting a spell.
    The blond one told them both to stop casting spells and go inside and quit bothering the neighbors. Fortunately, Dagne did not argue, because they were both freezing to death. But, Dagne noted cheerfully, all was not lost. If everything went according to plan, Rachel would wake up sexy.
    And vanilla, apparently.
    The spell-casting made Rachel sleepy, and she slept soundly, with the curious scent of vanilla all around her, while a dream of a Flynn Knight romped round her mind.
    Only this time, he was naked.
    WHILE Rachel was dreaming of him naked, Flynn opened the door to his corporate apartment, walked inside and dumped his trench coat, and headed straight for the fridge. He grabbed a kitchen towel, opened the freezer compartment, and filled it with several ice cubes. Then he got a beer and walked over to the cheap, fake leather couch and lay down, his head propped on one arm folded slung behind him. He took a swig of beer, then put the towel with the ice on his left eye.
    Ouch . That really stung.
    He knew the moment he laid eyes on that dodgy water-front pub there would be trouble; he could tell by the way all the blokes had sneered at him and Joe when they had entered the establishment. Nevertheless, he never dreamed that the situation would actually result in fisticuffs.
    He couldnt help himselfhe smiled broadly. And immediately winced at the pain it caused his bruised eye.
    Hed really sent that sad bastard sailing across the table, hadnt he? That was a bloody good cut hed got off, and furthermore, he was quite pleased to note that not one of those sodding nancy boys had gotten as much as a lick on him. In fact it was the bartender who, in an effort to break up the fight, had knocked Flynn across the face with the bar stool.
    All in all, hed had a rather jolly good time of it.
    He was still grinning at the ceiling when the phone rang. He glanced at the clockthree in the morning, which, unfortunately, could only mean one thing.
    With a sigh, he pushed himself up and reached for the phone. Hello.
    Flynn, darling, is that you?
    Funny how sharp Iriss voice could sound, even from across the pond.
    Yes, Iris. Who exactly were you expecting?
    Oh, darling, dont be naff, please! Ive been trying to get you for ages!
    And now you have me, he said, gingerly pressing the towel and ice to his eye.
    Are you quite all right? When you didnt ring back, I began to suspect the worst.
    Im fine. Ive just been frightfully busy.
    Have you? You really mustnt overwork yourself.
    Mmm.
    Ive been frightfully busy myself, she said with a bit of a laugh. Eileen Fiskmark-Jones had a lovely gathering just this last weekend, and I must have gone daft, because I promised to help her put it all on. She held it at the Royal Fitzhugh Hotel on Regent Street. You know the one, where Charles and Camilla had their spring fling last year?
    Flynn rolled his eyes.
    You simply could not imagine all the trouble we had with the caterer! Firstly, they were to have served duck, but what did they come with? Cornish game hens! Can you imagine?
    The horror, he muttered.
    Quite, Iris said, missing the sarcasm in his voice. And then, as if that werent tragedy enough, the flowers didnt