Free Third Time's a Charm (Halloween LaVeau) by Rose Pressey

you’re doing crazy things like this.” I pointed at them.
    “I happen to think that the men should have stayed,” Barbara said.
    Annabelle nodded. “They were nice to look at. Easy on the eyes.”
    “You’re not helping.” I frowned.
    “Sorry,” she whispered.
    “You just don’t want us to have any fun,” Rebecca’s voice went up a level.
    “Have all the fun you want, just don’t do any magic,” I warned with a wave of my hand.
    “No magic!” they said in unison.
    “What do you expect us to do if we don’t do magic?” Rebecca glared at me.
    “There’s plenty to do.” I gestured around the room.
    “You can read a book, or watch TV, or go shopping,” Annabelle said enthusiastically.
    “They don’t have any money,” I whispered.
    “Oh, bad idea,” she said. “Don’t go shopping.”
    “Just whatever you do, don’t do any more magic. Okay?” I stared, waiting for an answer.
    They stared blankly at me, as if they couldn’t believe that I would dare ask such a thing.
    “This is where you agree with me.” I nodded so that they would mimic my movement.
    Finally, they nodded, and said, “Fine. We won’t do any more magic in here.”
    They were probably just telling me what I wanted to hear, but there wasn’t much I could do about it at the moment. “Thank you very much,” I said, turning around and walking out of the kitchen.
    The women looked a little disappointed when I’d left them . Their spell casting was out of control. Annabelle was still laughing as we made our way out to the parlor.
    We’d just settled onto the sofa when Jon and Nicolas emerged through the door. Nicolas looked as handsome as ever. Jon ran his hand through his blond hair. He looked out of sorts, as if his mind was on something else. I couldn’t help but suspect that it had something to do with the strange man.
    Annabelle pushed to her feet. “We’d better go. I’ll call you.”
    Jon looked at me on his way out. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but he followed Annabelle out the door without a word. I just knew there was more to the situation with the stranger. Who was that man?

Chapter Eleven
    After Annabelle and Jon left, Nicolas stepped back inside to the parlor. I looked into the kitchen to see if the women had noticed him returning. My fingers were crossed that I could keep them away from him. I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable, but it looked like there would be little way to avoid it as long as the women were hanging around.
    “Are they still here?” he whispered as he looked around the room.
    I motioned toward the kitchen. “Yes, they’re in the kitchen, probably doing another spell that they’re not supposed to.”
    He sat down beside me. “That bad, huh?” He squeezed my hand.
    “They’re kind of sweet in a weird way,” I said.
    “What kind of spell have they cast?” he asked.
    I shook my head. “I’m not sure you want to know.”
    “Try me,” he said, folding his arms in front of his chest.
    “Well, Rebecca thinks you’re easy on the eyes, so she created a bunch of guys who looked like you.”
    His eyes widened. “Where are they?”
    “Oh, I made them send the men back,” I said, pointing toward the kitchen.
    “That’s a relief,” he said, peeking over toward the kitchen.
    “Yeah, except then they cast a spell so that they were dressed just like me.”
    He laughed. “That is kind of sweet.”
    I nodded. “I know, right? But I’m still suspicious of them. I mean, I have to be on guard, you know?”
    “So what else is going on?” He flashed a sexy smile.
    “Well, Annabelle was just here with Jon. You know, that reminds me. He was talking to some guy outside. Annabelle said the man was here when they pulled up,” I said.
    Nicolas quirked a brow, but continued to listen.
    “Then when I went outside, the guy didn’t speak to me. He just got in his car and drove off. Isn’t that really weird?”
    “What did Jon say about it?” Nicolas asked.
    “He said