Imari didn’t know when she’d fallen asleep, just that she had and that she’d slept remarkably well. The luxurious bed had helped, but the biggest factor had been her peace of mind. Knowing the wish merchant couldn’t find her or her bottle while she was here had done wonders.
Lucien, for all his peculiarities, had done her a solid.
She got up, showered, and dressed in her spa uniform, a tranquil sea glass green tunic and pants. They were sort of like fancy scrubs, and the outfit was very comfortable, which was important, considering her job was one of the more physical ones at the spa.
She headed out to the kitchen, happy to see Hattie already there. The window video showed a bright, sunny day. “Good morning.”
Hattie turned from the stove, smiling. “Hello there. How did you sleep? Tea is made, so help yourself. Breakfast will be along shortly.”
“I slept very well, thank you. And you?” Imari made a face. “Sorry, I don’t know if you sleep or not.”
“I rest. I can get tired, but it’s not like what I used to feel. What wears me out now is being corporeal for too long. I mostly save that for when I go out. Getting groceries, seeing a movie, those sorts of things.”
Imari walked over to the kettle to get herself some tea. “Don’t feel like you have to be solid on my account. It doesn’t bother me if you’re see-through.”
“Are you sure? I know it can be a little off-putting.”
“Not an issue, I promise.” Imari poured herself a cup and added a sugar cube. “I have a version of see-through myself.”
Hattie remained corporeal, and Imari realized it must be easier to cook that way as the older woman added a big sprinkling of chopped herbs to the eggs in the pan. “Can you really? I didn’t realize genies could do that.”
“Sure. It’s how we get in and out of our bottles. Sort of a cross between steam and smoke.” Imari sipped her tea. It wasn’t the Assam this morning. Instead, it tasted like Chinese black tea. “Is this Keemun? It’s delicious.”
“It is!” Hattie grinned. “You know your tea.”
“I’m a thousand years old. I’ve had time to learn. Plus, the red color gives it away.”
Hattie’s mouth rounded. “A thousand? You don’t look a day over thirty.”
Imari laughed. “If I had any wishes to give, I’d give you one just for that. Do you need any help? I’m a fair hand in the kitchen.”
“No, I’m just about to plate things up. Actually, you can take the fruit to the table. It’s in the bowl by the sink.”
“Done.” Imari set her tea at a place at the table, then retrieved the fruit. A blue stoneware bowl held chunks of peaches and plums, halved strawberries, whole blueberries, and red grapes. “This looks great.”
“I hope so. And I hope you like eggs. Nothing too complicated this morning, just a scramble with some fresh herbs and goat cheese. Plus toast.” She slid the eggs into a serving dish, then took another plate from the oven. It was piled with thick slices of toasted, grainy bread shiny with butter.
“Sounds perfect and looks even better. I can’t tell you the last time anyone made me breakfast.”
Hattie brought both dishes to the table. “I make breakfast every morning for Lucy. I think if I didn’t, he wouldn’t eat.” She shook her head and frowned as she sat. “I don’t know what he’d do if I wasn’t here to take care of him sometimes.”
Imari lifted her brows. “Should we wait for him to join us, then?”
Hattie’s frown softened into something much more concerned, and she broke eye contact. “He’s, uh, sleeping in this morning.”
That seemed very unlike Lucien. It seemed more likely that he was avoiding her. “Are you sure I’m not the reason he’s not at breakfast?”
Hattie’s eyes widened a tiny bit as she looked up. “I…oh, I’m a terrible liar. Yes, you are the reason he’s not here, but it’s not a bad reason. He went to talk to the Ellinghams on your behalf this morning.”
“What? He did? Why?”
“Because the wish merchant was at your home last night.” Hattie’s hands fluttered like dizzy birds. “Oh, dear, I’m not supposed to be telling you all this.”
“Why not?”
“Because Lucien doesn’t want you to worry.”
“Wait. Why did Lucien go back to my place last night?”
Hattie rolled her lips in. “I shouldn’t say anything else.”
“No, you’re right. I don’t want you to get into trouble. I’ll talk to him when he gets home. I’m sure he’ll have plenty to tell me. Especially if he sees me dressed like this and thinks I’m going to work.”
“You’re not, are you?”
Imari sighed. “No. I’m wearing this because it’s all I packed outside of pajamas. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about my job. I can’t afford to lose it.”
“You won’t,” came a deep voice behind her.
Lucien.
She turned in her seat to face him. He looked different this morning. At least, she thought he did. More handsome in some unfortunate (for her) way. She ignored that to ask, “And you know that because?”
“Because I just came from discussing things with Hugh Ellingham. Due to your special circumstances, you don’t have to return to work until the wish merchant is no longer an issue, but you also don’t have to worry about losing your job. Hugh is going to speak to the owners and explain what’s going on.”
“That was very kind of you. Thank you.” Those words were harder for her to say than she’d expected. She wasn’t used to being beholden to anyone. It was a strange feeling. But it was also very sweet that Lucien, the man who never left his home, had now left it three times because of her.
She smiled at him and pushed out the chair beside her. “Why don’t you join us for breakfast? We were just about to eat.”
He looked startled by her offer. “I…could do that.”
Hattie jumped up and got a plate. “Good. Sit. The eggs are getting cold.”
Lucien didn’t move for a moment. When he finally did, he chose a different seat than the one Imari had pushed out. He settled into a chair that put him on the other side of the table from her and a little closer to his grandmother.
Imari helped herself to some fruit and tried not to overanalyze his seat selection. He was a grown man. He could sit where he wanted to. If that wasn’t by her, well, then, that was her issue to get over.
She looked at him from under her lashes, trying to watch him without him noticing. He definitely looked different this morning. More handsome, yes, but brighter in some way. It was a strange way to think of him, but the only thing that seemed to fit. She offered him the bowl of fruit. “Did you sleep well? Or don’t you sleep either?”
He took the bowl. “I sleep. Not much last night.”
“Lack of sleep looks good on you.” She speared a peach chunk with her fork. “Makes me look like a hag.”
He scooped a helping of fruit onto his plate. “I doubt that very much. You are easily the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
Imari stared at him. She hadn’t expected such a compliment from him. Or at all, really. “Thank you. I doubt that’s true, but it’s still a very kind thing to say.”
Hattie grinned and slathered her bread with butter. “He’s right. You are the loveliest thing that’s ever walked through these doors. Even Kora isn’t as pretty, and she is quite beautiful. Of course, she’s usually rotten on the in—”
Lucien’s sharp hiss interrupted her.
Hattie’s mouth closed as her nose wrinkled. A second later, she took a big bite of her toast, chewing robustly while she stared at her grandson.
Imari watched the tense exchange with interest. “Who’s Kora?”
Lucien grimaced. “No one important at the moment. I was at your apartment last night.”
That was an abrupt change of subject, but Imari let it be. She was more interested in hearing about Lucien’s second run-in with the wish merchant than one of his old girlfriends. “And?”
“The wish merchant and Adira were there again.”
Imari shrugged. “The doormen there are pretty strict. They aren’t going to just let people up. They always call first to announce a visitor.”
“Except the doorman let me up a second time without calling. I told him I’d left something and he just nodded as I went by.” Lucien let out a breath. “And the wish merchant made Adira use her magic on the doorman. Didn’t take long at all and he let them go up to your condo.”
Imari’s grip on her fork tightened. “What?”
“That’s terrible,” Hattie muttered.
“I watched them,” Lucien continued. “He ran the show, telling Adira what to do. She cast some kind of spell over the doorman that made him complacent. He gave them your condo number and off they went to the elevators.”
Imari’s heart thudded. “But they didn’t get into my condo, did they?”
He held her gaze. “They did. I was able to scare them off before they touched anything.”
“Thank you—how did you get in? Did you follow them up?”
“I can appear anywhere I need to. It’s one of my skills.”
“Oh. Right. I guess it would be.” Walls couldn’t keep an angel of death out. “Well, I’m glad you were there. I hate that they were in my condo. I feel violated. Even if they didn’t touch anything.”
He added eggs and toast to his plate. “You have every right to feel that way. It’s shown me something too. You won’t be free of this man until he gets what he wants.”
“That’s very reassuring.” She punctuated her sarcastic answer with a sigh. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that tone. I’m just so upset and I feel helpless.”
“I understand.” He glanced at her hand. Like he wanted to touch her. To comfort her. He didn’t, though. “I’d hoped to follow them when they left, to see where they were staying, but Adira poofed them away again.”
Imari sighed. “Of course she did. That’s the easiest way for him to travel.”
“I have an idea.”
A tiny spark of hope flamed to life inside Imari. “You do? What is it?”
“Let’s give him your bottle.”