Read Online Sympathetic Magic (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 4) by Christine Pope - Free Book Online

warlock’s “luck” in action.
    The place was elegant, but in a low-key way, with its muted blue-gray walls and subdued lighting. She waited while the maitre d’ pulled out her chair, then sat down and set her purse and shawl on the empty seat next to her. Lucas took his place directly opposite her, for which she was glad. She’d always preferred having a dinner companion across the table rather than beside her, as at least that way she wouldn’t get a crick in her neck while trying to hold a conversation.
    After giving both of them menus and Lucas the wine list, the man told them their server would be along shortly. Margot opened her menu at once, glad of the opportunity to look at something else beside her companion’s expectant expression. Yes, the place was expensive, but she wouldn’t allow herself to worry about that. Lucas had chosen the restaurant, so certainly he didn’t mind what he’d be paying for dinner.
    “Any wine preferences?” he asked.
    “Not really,” she replied. “I’m afraid I’m not much of an expert. I do prefer reds, though.”
    “So do I,” he said. His gaze seemed to linger on her mouth, and she wondered if she would’ve done better to have chosen a lighter shade of lipstick, rather than the warm brick color she wore. Then he returned his attention to the wine list. “Well, it’s hard to go wrong with a Bordeaux…unless you’re ordering fish.”
    She shook her head. “I don’t really care for fish all that much. I was thinking of the antelope, just because I’ve never had it.”
    “It’s excellent. And the Bordeaux will work well with that.”
    The waiter appeared then, and Lucas requested the wine, then waited while she placed her order. He went with steak, and they both asked for salad, and the waiter headed off to the kitchen, leaving them alone together.
    Why she should feel so intimidated now, when they’d already spent the greater part of two hours together, Margot wasn’t sure. Maybe it was simply that they were facing one another in a more formal setting. The gallery walk was one thing, but no one could call having dinner in this restaurant anything other than a date.
    Even as she began casting about in her mind for something innocuous they could talk about, Lucas said, “You know, I’m really curious how you came to be an elder.”
    Oh, Goddess. That was the last thing she wanted to discuss. Maybe she could deflect him somehow. “What, don’t you think I’m a strong enough witch to be an elder?”
    “That’s not it at all,” he began, then stopped abruptly when the waiter approached their table with the wine. A brief interval while the cork was removed, and Lucas did the ritual tasting of the small amount the waiter poured into his glass. Custom satisfied, the man tipped a more substantial amount into both their glasses before saying their salads would be out soon and then departing.
    Any hopes she’d had of Lucas abandoning the topic disappeared when he sipped some wine, and said, “It just seems a little strange to an outsider, is all. Angela mentioned once that you’d been an elder for almost ten years. What, were you still in college when they asked you?”
    She allowed herself a small, if albeit bitter, smile. “Hardly. I was twenty-seven.”
    His eyebrows went up at that. “So you weren’t really an elder in any sense of the word.”
    “That’s not how it works, Lucas.” Really, she shouldn’t be discussing her clan’s inner workings with a Wilcox, no matter what Angela might say about putting the past aside and working together for a better future for both families. But he kept gazing at her, clearly expecting her to answer, and she found herself saying, “It’s not about age. Not really. True, most of the time an elder is asked to serve when he or she is older, in the prime of his or her power, but I’d always been very strong.” She told him this simply, as it wasn’t boasting. Her power was part of her, like the color of her