Wrong Bed Baby (Crescent Cove 10)

“Tarot can sometimes help there. The suits can offer some insight for timing, but you could do something tomorrow that will change everything. That’s why Tarot isn’t the be all end all for divining. It was actually created to be a game for the bored rich.”

“Isn’t everything?” Bess asked from the head of the table. She was sitting back, relaxed, with a big goblet of an icy pink drink.

“Rather accurate, right? But when it comes to love, things can be ever in flux. One of my favorite Tarot teachers always says nothing is ever fixed in stone. The tarot cards tell a story, but you write the ending.”

I didn’t know why that in particular was hitting me hard tonight, as if the universe wanted me to keep that in mind going forward.

Not that I ever let myself forget it for long. But we all needed reminders now and then.

Even the one teaching others.

“That’s true.” Tabitha started scribbling in her notebook. “So, the more direct questions will get a direct answer.”

I grinned. “As direct as tarot can get. The cards like to call you out sometimes, and other times, they are vague. Let’s try something like, has Tabitha met the man she’s going to get involved with?”

I shuffled and closed my eyes. I hadn’t intended on doing a reading for anyone tonight. Normally, I had a few rituals I did to prepare, but this was just friends talking over drinks.

Speaking of that…

I opened one eye. “Tabitha, can you pour me some of that sangria?”

“Oh, sure.” She got up and went to the big pitcher.

With her studious energy redirected, I centered myself and focused on the question. She was a sweet girl with a bit of loneliness in her eyes.

I pulled the Ace of Pentacles and The Moon. The deck I was using had a dreamy feminine vibe focused on empowerment. Both images mirrored one another. Our fair Tabitha was just starting her journey. And it didn’t really include a man yet from what I could tell. She probably wouldn’t like that answer.

But half of my job was giving people answers they didn’t really want. It was up to her to work through it.

Tabitha set the goblet of golden sangria full of apples, pears, and raspberries. I smiled up at her and closed my fingers over her hand. “Love is sometimes blocked for a reason.”

She swallowed and looked down. “Maybe.”

I firmed my grip, watching her aura vibrate between a blue that told me she was feeling very sad and alone and a golden sweetness. I tapped the cards I’d set down on the table. “Maybe you’re just at the beginning of the journey to find your guy. This Ace is always a sign of good things to come. But you have to trust yourself.”

“I’m not really great at that.”

I smiled up at her. “We’ll teach you how to get started, okay?”

She nodded. “I’d like that.”

Impulsively, I stood and hugged her. I didn’t share my personal space with just anyone. She didn’t seem to know what to do at first, then her arms looped around my back.

“Oh, I need to get in on that.” Kylie jumped up and wrapped around Tabitha’s back until we were all giggling like lunatics.

“Okay, that got heavy.” I dabbed at my eyes. “The heat is probably getting to all of us.”

A loud bang from the front of the building had all of us moving to the half wall. I peered down and found Lucky and Caleb wrestling with a marble-topped table.

We were too far away to hear what they were saying, but I went on my tiptoes when Caleb stepped back and lifted the bottom of his T-shirt to wipe his face.

“Why is that so hot?” Tabitha was craning her neck too.

“I wish I could tell you.”

Bess came up beside me. “Because that boy has abs

for days, that’s why.”