Magical Midlife Dating (Leveling Up 2)

“Yes. Of course. I—”

He strode from the room, not looking back.

In his wake, I stood staring for a quiet moment. I wasn’t sure what exactly he thought I wasn’t ready for, his handsy approach to romancing a lady or his leadership style. Regardless, his delusions had made this conversation surprisingly painless.

One down, one to go.

“I doubt he’ll get another summons.” Mr. Tom stepped into the room. “He’s a bruised apple at this point. Best to be tossed in the compost heap.”

“Were you listening at the door?” I asked, sitting back down.

“Of course, miss. I wanted to know what he said.”

I sighed. “He took it well, though. That’s a relief.”

“Yes. You are only excusing the one gargoyle, right—you haven’t changed your mind?”

“Correct. I want to get to know the others. I want to see if, given the chance, they’ll be better team players, like Ulric and Cedric have turned out to be.”

“Right. And when will you call in Austin Steele?”

I looked out the window at the gloomy day, the dark gray clouds promising rain.

“As soon as Damarion leaves.”Fortunately, Damarion didn’t waste any time. He didn’t even say goodbye to anyone. He grabbed the few things to his name (not including the car, which he left behind as if it were disposable), changed into his other form, and stepped out of the third-floor trapdoor. His huge and magnificent wings snapped wide and away he went, an amazing specimen.

His strength and power in the air would be missed. I probably needed to summon another flier with his abilities. It would have to wait, though. First I needed to get a handle on my team.

As the afternoon waned, I once again found myself in the sitting room, this time even more anxious. Austin’s foot touched down on the property and the next followed slowly. His approach wasn’t hurried as he made his way to the front door.

“I shall escort him in, miss,” Mr. Tom said, pausing just outside the door.

Something thunked on the stairs, and he turned and looked at them as Austin opened the front door.

“Well, what in the world…” Mr. Tom stepped back.

The large doll head with eyes turned mostly white rolled by.

Austin swore and jumped back from the door.

“Kick it!” I shouted. “Set fire to it!”

“Now, miss, that is a little overdramatic, don’t you think?” Mr. Tom tsked at me. “I wonder how the head got loose, though. How strange.”

“What kind of a freak-show house is this?” I heard Austin say, and I remembered that he wasn’t big on those dolls either. Big, tough alpha who could make an enemy cower got jumpy around dolls.

Something about that made laughter bubble up. It wasn’t like I blamed the guy, but it was unexpected.

He stepped into the sitting room doorway. I could feel Mr. Tom jog out into the front yard, clearly intending to capture, and no doubt save, the doll head.

“Come in and close that door,” I said, standing. “I need to burn that whole doll room. I’m not kidding. Ivy House, this isn’t funny. No more decapitation jokes.”

The wooden carving morphed into a sea of heads rolling by.

“She has a very sick sense of humor,” I grumbled.

“You’re telling me,” Austin replied.

He stood in front of the newly closed door, watching me warily.

Remembering why he was here, I sat slowly. “Please…” I gestured for him to take the other seat. Breathing evenly, trying to keep my courage up, I waited for him to sit. “I want to thank you for saving my life—”

He shook his head. “You never have to thank me for that. It isn’t a job. It is a pleasure.”

My heart warmed, and I let a smile slip out. But I couldn’t let myself lose momentum—I had to push forward.

“You were able to do what no one else could, even those with Ivy House’s help,” I said. “You helped me fully own my new magic and everything that comes with it. A thank you isn’t enough for that. As you know, I’ve been having trouble controlling the house team. That’s made us ineffective, and it’s kept me from getting a good read on most of the new people. It is putting me and the town both in danger.”

I clasped my hands in my lap and wet my lips, pushing myself to go on. Here came the hard part.

“I need someone that can unite this team. Someone that can help me lead it. For this reason, I’ve let Damarion go. I wondered…” I shifted within that focused blue gaze, close to squirming again. “You told me once that you could help me get people in line. I know you’d rather not deal with Ivy House, but I wondered if you might change your mind if I offered the position to you as a job, where I paid you. Will you help me unite these people? Help me learn how to properly lead people into battle? I mean, I’ll still try to free you from the magic. This isn’t about that. I’ll definitely do that. I was just wondering if you could help me with the other stuff…”