She put the calculator down. “No. In order for me to charge the magic and make it directly relatable to you, I need something very dear to you.”
“Which is?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. That’s up to you. It doesn’t need to have actual value, but it must be valuable to you. Giving it to me should feel like a sacrifice.”
“Will I get this thing back?”
“No, I’m sorry. The creation of the magic will use it up. Whatever you give me will be gone for good.”
An odd sensation trickled through him. A sense of inevitability. Stanhill had said there would be a cost beyond dollars, but it wasn’t just that. It was as if Hugh had lived his whole life knowing a moment like this would come one day.
“I understand.” Without hesitation, he knew what he would give her. “I’ll have a package delivered to you this afternoon. How long after you get that can you have the ring ready?”
“Two weeks, maybe three.”
“No. Too long. You said you could have the stones overnight.”
“I can, but I have other projects sitting on my bench—”
“I’ll pay you an extra ten thousand to ignore them. How long then?”
She thought for a moment. “If I put all my other projects aside, a week.”
“Still too long.”
She made a face. “I can work while I’m here, but I still have to wait on customers and run the shop. I only have two other employees besides myself.”
“I’ll find you a third. I’ll even pay their wages if that’s what it takes.”
She stared at him hard. “You’re desperate to turn her, huh?”
“Not at all.” He’d rather ignore that part altogether. “What I am desperate for is to give her that ring. To make this engagement official. To show her how serious I am.”
Willa smiled. “For love, I can have the ring in three, maybe four days.”
He nodded. “Done. I assume you accept cash?”
“I do. Prefer it, actually.”
“Then I’ll send the money along with the item you requested.”
“Half is fine upfront.”
“I’ll send it all. I don’t want that to be an issue.”
“All righty then.” She grinned as she stood. “My very next task will be ordering the stones.”
“Call if you have any issues. I’ll arrange for the temporary help to start tomorrow then.”
She held out her hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Ellingham.”
“Call me Hugh, please.” He shook her hand.
“I’ll be in touch, Hugh.”
“Very good.” He left the shop and walked back to where he’d parked. He tipped his face into the sun, enjoying the warmth one last time. Stanhill had been right about the cost, but an eternity with Delaney was priceless.
His fingers went to the amulet around his neck.
She was all the sun he needed.
Delaney had to knock only once before Alice Bishop came to answer the door.
The woman shifted her gaze from Delaney to Stanhill. “I’m sorry, Elenora didn’t tell me you were coming.”
“That’s because it’s a surprise visit,” Delaney answered.
“Is everything all right?”
“No. That’s why I need to talk to her. Can you let us in please?”
“Yes, of course.” Alice moved out of the way. “She’s in the drawing room. I’ll just go get her and—”
Delaney looked at Stanhill. “Do you know where that is?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Lead the way.”
Alice sputtered. “You can’t just barge in—”
But Stanhill was already moving, his eyes sparkling with mischievous joy. Delaney followed, leaving Alice to scamper after them.
The witch wasn’t up on her cardio, judging by the panting. “You…can’t…”
“Already there, Alice.” Stanhill turned a corner, yanked a set of double doors open and bowed to Delaney. “After you, miss.”
A small wave of self-doubt struck Delaney as she walked into the gorgeous room. She shoved it away. This wasn’t about her, it was about Hugh. About their life together.
Elenora sat near a window, reading. She put her book down and peered at Delaney. “Good afternoon.”
“Hi. Sorry about the short notice, but I saw an opportunity and took it.”
Alice charged in after Delaney. “They got away from me.” She shot Delaney a glare. “Very impolite.”
Elenora waved a hand at Alice. “It’s all right.” Her attention shifted to Delaney, and for a moment, the same luminescence Delaney often glimpsed in Hugh’s eyes shone in his grandmother’s. “I imagine you must have something very important to discuss with me to arrive unannounced.”
“I do.”
“Thank you, Alice. That will be all.” Elenora tapered her gaze at Stanhill. “You may leave us also.”
“He stays.” Delaney lifted her chin a little, finding courage in her love for Hugh. “Alice can stay too. She should, actually, since this concerns her in a roundabout way.”
Elenora frowned. “Whatever are you talking about?”
“It’s about the deal you offered me if I got Hugh to ask me to marry him. He asked. I said yes.”
Elenora’s mouth came open in a very unbecoming gape. She closed it and smiled. “Nicely done. But our deal was for him to ask and for a date to be set.”