Chapter Eight

Fresh coffee in hand, Layla sat between her grandmothers while facing her grandfathers, concluding a brief rundown of her life. “And that’s when I quit my job at the diner and left Oklahoma. You guys pretty much know what comes next. It didn’t take long for me to find my way to Cinnia’s once I reached Oregon.”

Morrigan and Daleen couldn’t keep their hands off Layla’s arms and hair, and she didn’t want them to. With the exception of Katherine, Layla had never felt so comfortable letting another person touch her so freely. Quin liberally touched her, but his touch made her nervous, flustered and excited; nothing like her grandmothers’ calming caresses.

As if she’d been thinking out loud, Quin’s name popped into the conversation. “Has Quinlan been treating you well?” Caitrin asked, his expression unreadable.

Layla’s cheeks burned as she struggled to maintain eye contact, wondering if her thoughts about Quin’s touch had flared in her aura. “Yes,” she answered, keeping her voice as even as possible. “Quin’s been really helpful. He goes out of his way to make things easy on me.”

“Good,” Caitrin approved. “Quinlan’s a fine young man. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t have placed your fate in his hands, but I had to make sure he’s not making this harder than it has to be.”  

Layla knew they were watching her aura, so there was no point in hiding anything. “He’s been wonderful, really. He seems as happy as you are that I’m here.”

Morrigan swept Layla’s hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “Our entire coven’s thrilled you’re here, sweetie.”

“That’s what Quin said, but it’s hard to wrap my mind around the idea. My entire life I’ve had one person call me family. She was an amazing person, but she was only one. Now there’s a whole slew of you. I’m not sure how to respond to that, what to say and do.”

“You say and do whatever you feel like,” Morrigan insisted. “Nobody expects something in particular from you. We just want to know you.”

Daleen lifted Layla’s right hand, bringing her gaze around. “More family members simply means more love, darling. It’s a huge relief to hear you and Katherine shared such a special relationship. That’s exactly what we wanted for you, so it saddens us that your time with her was cut short. But you’re home now; it’s our turn to be your family, and we’re going to do everything we can to be the family you deserve. We can’t replace Katherine, but we’ll do our best to make you feel as comfortable with us as you felt with her.”

“That’s right,” Serafin advocated, squeezing Layla’s knee. “We’ve waited a long time for the opportunity to take care of you. We’ll make sure we get it right. Whatever you need, we’ll provide.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve accepted an offer like that,” Layla replied, “but I’m going to try to accept it now. Not only because I miss having a family, but because I saw how hard it was for you guys to leave Ketchum without me.”

“Yes,” Morrigan agreed. “That was the saddest day of our lives, but we don’t want that heartache to be the driving force of our bond, so don’t exhaust yourself trying to make up for lost time. Our dreams have finally come true. All we have to do now is relax and enjoy them.”

Caitrin cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, steering the conversation along brighter paths. “How do you feel about your magic, Layla?”

“It’s amazing,” she gushed. “When Quin first showed me he could perform magic, I was blown away, and of course I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. But then I performed it, and there was no denying the incredible feeling it gave me.” 

“Quin says your magic is already impressive,” Serafin noted.

“Quin’s probably just being polite,” Layla countered.

“What have you performed so far?” Caitrin asked.

“Well, the first thing I did was find Quin’s aura while he was concealed, which was amazing, but it was nothing compared to the second thing.”

Morrigan curled her legs on the couch and moved closer. “What was the second thing?”

“I shot a fireball from my hand,” Layla exclaimed. “It was crazy. It felt so . . . invigorating.”

Serafin laughed and traded a glance with Caitrin. “A fireball was the second bit of magic you performed?”

“Yeah,” she answered.

“That is impressive,” Caitrin commended. “Fire’s the trickiest element.”

“That’s what Quin said, but I loved it. I hope I get to try it again soon.”

“You don’t have to hope,” Morrigan pointed out. “You can step outside and shoot a fireball now if you’d like.”

Layla’s eyes widened. “I guess I could. Weird.” But she didn’t jump up and become the fire starter she was tempted to be. She was far too comfortable wedged between her grandmas.

“You have plenty of time,” Serafin assured, checking his watch. “What would you like for dinner?”

“Um . . . I don’t know. I keep forgetting to think about food. It’s been like that for two days. If it weren’t for Quin, I would have starved.”

“I’ll have to thank him for keeping my granddaughter alive,” Caitrin noted.

Layla looked at her coffee, cheeks growing tingly and warm. “Like I said, Quin’s been wonderful. There’s more to thank him for than feeding me.”

“We’ll be sure to do that,” Morrigan replied, touching Layla’s cheek. “Would you like to eat dinner with us? Or would you rather have dinner with Quinlan?”

Layla jerked her head up, face flaming. “I don’t . . . I haven’t . . . I didn’t make dinner plans with Quin.”

“I know, sweetie,” Morrigan soothed, squeezing her arm. “I’m merely asking your preference.”

“Oh. Well he’s probably busy after dealing with me all weekend, and dinner with you guys sounds great.”

Caitrin and Serafin suddenly stood from their chairs. Then they glanced at each other before turning back to Layla.

“Would you like me to invite Quinlan to dinner with us?” Caitrin asked.

Blasted hot cheeks. Although, her aura probably incriminated her more than her skin, so she sucked it up and faced the fact that she was busted. “Sure, but please tell him he doesn’t have to join us if he doesn’t want to.” 

“Of course,” Caitrin agreed. “I’ll be right back.” He stared at Layla for a long and thoughtful moment. Then he blew Morrigan a kiss and left the house.

“What would you like to eat?” Serafin asked.

“Um…” Layla mumbled, trying to think of something crowd-pleasing. “You like spaghetti. Let’s have that.”

“May I ask how you know that?” he returned, titling his head.

Layla didn’t want to bum everyone out, so she purposefully kept her voice pleasant. “I watched you have lunch with my dad in your workshop, the day he told you about my mom.”

Serafin’s mind drifted, but his smile remained. “Ah, yes. I remember the conversation, but forget the meal. Thanks for reminding me. Do you like spaghetti?”

“Sure.”

“Then we’ll have spaghetti.” He headed for the kitchen, lightly running a hand across Daleen’s head, and her bonded light brightened, only to fade once he left the room. 

Morrigan scooted closer, pulling one of Layla’s curls to her nose. “Have you had a chance to see the house?”

“No, but that reminds me, I got to hear you play piano, and you –are – amazing. Do you have a piano at your house? Did you teach my mom to play? I would love to learn sometime.”

“Slow down,” Morrigan laughed. “Yes, I have a piano at my house. Yes, I did teach Rhosewen to play. And yes, I would love to show you what I know.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely, but first you have to tell me when and where you heard me play.”

“Oh yeah. At Karena’s inn. Quin asked the front desk for your CD when he checked me in. I thought he was trying to impress me by saying he knew you, but now that I know the whole story . . .” She trailed off, recalling the way Quin had thoughtfully led her home. “Anyway, he offered to introduce me to you. I thought it was just talk, but I’m learning almost everything he says holds deeper meaning than mindless chit chat.”

“Quinlan’s a meditative soul,” Morrigan agreed. Then she raised her eyebrows and glanced at the door. “Speaking of.”

Caitrin walked in, followed by Quin, and Layla couldn’t help but grin. Then she realized how cheesy she must look and chewed her lip.

Morrigan rose and took Caitrin’s hand, brightening the room with shimmering gold. Then they followed Daleen to the kitchen.

The moment Quin saw Layla’s smiling face, his frustration melted and his pulse quickened. He watched her from across the room as her grandparents made their exit, a tingle rolling down his relaxed spine. Then he closed the gap and sat beside her. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey,” she greeted, grinning despite her blush.

“It went well?” he asked.

“Very well,” she answered.

“Good,” he approved, leaning in for a kiss. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

“I hope I didn’t pull you away from anything.”

He straightened and stretched one arm across the back of the sofa, watching her eyes flit over his chest. “Well you did.”

“I’m sorry,” she offered, meeting his stare. “What were you doing?” 

He smiled and picked up a curl. “I was fretting over you, and believe me, I needed to be pulled away.”

“Oh,” she murmured, unable to hide a smug grin as she cuddled into him. “I would have invited you sooner if I’d known.”

“That’s good to know,” he replied, wrapping her in a hug, “but you needed time with them without me getting in the way.”

“They’re wonderful, Quin. I had no idea what I’ve been missing.” 

“They’re over the moon about seeing you. I’ve never seen their auras so alive.”

“You were right about the bonded lights,” she added. “They’re beautiful.”

“Then you should fit right in,” he whispered, nuzzling her hair.

Layla wiggled closer as an odd feeling swept over her, somehow tantalizing and satisfying all at once. It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced, and it was wonderful. “I missed you, Quin.” 

“I missed you, too, Layla.”

“I hope I didn’t put you on the spot by inviting you to dinner with my grandparents. I know you were concerned about the situation.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he insisted. “I’ve been dining with Caitrin and Morrigan my entire life, so it’s not the least bit awkward. Besides, they’ve avoided asking too many personal questions, and those they have asked were merely voiced for your benefit. Their main concern is your well-being. Now that they’ve seen for themselves that you’re safe and happy and perfectly capable of tossing me out should I misbehave, they’re not so worried about me scaring you away.”

“You’re not scary,” she teased, turning her face into his neck. “You’ve got nothing on the super witch.”

“Oh yeah?” he returned, softly tickling her sides. “We might have to test that theory.”

Layla was extremely ticklish, to the point where prolonged tickling made her manic, so his light touch launched her into uncontrollable giggles. “Not fair,” she squealed. “Tickling’s my kryptonite.”

“Good to know,” he laughed, moving his fingers to the back of her neck. 

She squeaked and rolled her head. “Quin! You’re not playing fair.”

“Who said anything about playing fair?” he returned, sliding his hands to her ribs.

Layla was on the brink of screaming and couldn’t take much more, so she filled her lungs and grabbed his wrists, trying to push them away as she dove for his neck.

Her tongue found skin, and he stilled, his chest rumbling as he pulled his wrists from her grip with ridiculous ease. “Now you’ve found my kryptonite,” he noted, cradling her head in both hands.

Layla slowly closed her mouth, gliding teeth over hot flesh. Then she pulled away, cheeks flaming as her thighs twitched. “Good. Now it’s fair.” 

He grinned and hugged her to his chest. Then he buried his face in her hair until Daleen called them to dinner.