Wicked Bad (WIcked 3)(5)

Keeping her self-enforced ban on all things magical during these last three months, since she’d moved to Cambridge, was the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life.

She’d taken it for granted—all the little ways her abilities had made her life easier. From laundry to makeup, even something as simple as getting rid of a hangover, magic was the solution. And what a spell could not accomplish, Jenner or someone else in her family took care of.

Just thinking of her first attempt at cooking made her cringe. But once she’d figured out the fine art of boiling water? Macaroni and cheese had never tasted so good. And she’d been proud. As proud as the first time one of her spells did what it was supposed to do. Maybe more so.

Not being good at something immediately was new to her. It made everything an adventure. She kind of enjoyed getting messy, turning her underwear pink and having to unclog the old sink in her apartment every other day.

On the other hand…she did it all with the knowledge that she wouldn’t have to forever. Most people didn’t have that luxury.

She bantered with her customers, making sure they had everything they needed before moving on to bus an empty table. The half-filled plates of food and cold cups of coffee made her grimace, then chuckle.

Who knew this would be her rebellion? Harrison Abbott didn’t run away to sow her wild oats, as a Magian she’d done that several times over. She’d run away to live an ordinary human life.

Though she couldn’t say it had started out ordinary. When she’d first arrived in town she’d shut herself inside her small apartment, sure that her fathers or brothers would be knocking down her door at any moment, demanding she return. A part of her was surprised her potions had worked. Surprised no one knew where she was. That her triad matches hadn’t come to claim her.

It took weeks for her to let down her guard. Just enough time for her to go through the money Conway had given her. Walking into this diner had been the best thing she could have done. With no resume, references or non-magical skills, waitress at a small diner was about as normal as she was going to get. Thankfully she had a patient boss who’d taken pity on her. And she would enjoy it until the potion that protected her from being found ran out, and she was forced to go home and face the music.

She did miss them. Her family. Even the irritating, overprotective Jenner. And Callie. There was so much she wanted to share with her best friend about all she’d experienced since she’d been here, so much she wanted to know about how Callie was adjusting to being joined with her Triune and realizing she’d never been human all in one fell swoop.

But going back meant they would find her. The Magian males whose power and passion had called to hers so strongly at the Triune. She hadn’t been able to see their faces clearly, but she’d felt them. And that feeling, that scene in the stairwell, had been in her dreams every night. Along with their words of scorn for a woman they hadn’t met. For her.

No, she wasn’t ready to go back yet. Not until she knew she was strong enough to reject her Magian instincts, to reject her matches rather than living her life as a third wheel with two men who’d been forced to seek out a union   against their will. Two men who loved each other, and wanted no part of her but her name and her magic.

She knew it could be done. Matches had been rejected before. She would just have to appeal to her parents. The Abbotts held sway in the community. And, especially after this last incident she was sure, with the Proxenos, whose judgment was mandatory for a true triad. As long as there’d been no actual consummation, it was possible to nullify the connection before it was too late. Mutual orgasms at a distance didn’t count.

“Jane, honey. Earth to Jane. I’ll finish bussing. You have a table waiting, hon. May as well make money while you’re here.” Dee’s whispered words at her shoulder jerked her out of her musings. How long had she been wiping down the table?

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Dee.” Jane. Plain Jane Smith. That’s who she was now. Not very original, but she’d been in a hurry. She needed to enjoy it while it lasted.

She slipped the order pad out of her apron and headed toward the man sitting alone in the booth with a bright, welcoming smile. “Good evening, sir. Would you like to hear about our specials?”

“I know what I want.”

That voice. Harrison’s fingers tightened on her pad, and her heart started to race. He looked up at her, his expression courteous and friendly. His brown eyes sparkled. Brown. Not black. Not piercing ebony. Just brown. The man was handsome, no doubt, but he wasn’t the Magian from Triune. He wasn’t as big. As overwhelming. There was no way Jacob could find her anyway, not with her magic repressed, hidden. Her mind was simply playing tricks on her.