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a kiss on her pink nose before padding upstairs to search through
the closet for the perfect come hither outfit. She always dressed
carefully before taking her once weekly trip into the main part of
town, but today she wanted something a little spicy instead of her
usual sedate outfit meant to deflect attention. Few townspeople
acknowledged her outside of her house and it hurt, so she dressed
down to blend in. But not today. Today she was going for maxi-
mum impact because she wanted to turn Grant s head. Also, the
owner of the bookstore in town had expressed an interest in carry-
ing her lotions and dressing in normal clothing might help her
chances there.
Her black handkerchief skirt fell to right below her knees
and her stack-heeled shoes gave her an extra couple of inches in
height. The short-sleeved plum top accentuated her curves while
skimming her upper arms.
A swipe of blush and a dab of her specially blended perfume
later, she was ready to walk out the door. Throwing her knapsack
into the passenger seat of the Range Rover, she climbed behind
the wheel and cranked the engine. This moment seemed to call for
a little something out of the ordinary so she popped in a Blondie
CD and sang along about her heart of glass on the two-mile drive
into town.
An hour later, the bell jangled as she opened the door to Bread
and Basket. People stood five deep at the counter, so Morlana sat
at a round table in the corner to wait for some of the commo-
tion to die down. She inhaled the tantalizing aroma of fresh baked
breads, drooling a little. Maybe she would break down and order
something.
She had the whole day free now that the business at the book-
store was complete. Harry, the owner of The Book Nook, had de-
86 Misty Simon
cided not to carry her lotions, and although she was disappointed,
it was not enough to ruin her interest in what she d find at the
bakery. It was time she found out if the spell had time to work on
Grant yet.
Crossing her ankles under the table, she sensed someone s
gaze and not just any gaze. Looking up toward the counter, her
eyes met Grant s and it was as if fire burned along the invisible
connection. According to her books on magic, this was a good
sign the chanting and swirling had worked. Now she had to get
him to keep her little package of herbs in a place where he would
be near them often, then the spell would be unbreakable by all
but her. Not that she would ever wish to break the spell, but if it
became necessary...well, she didn t even want to think about that.
I ll be right back, Uncle Ernest, she heard Grant say. She
watched him pull the apron over his head like he was in a trance
before slowly walking in her direction. His mumbled apologies
were barely audible as he took the shortest path to her, bumping
patrons waiting in line. At one point he even tried to walk through
a table.
Morlana worked hard to suppress a giggle. It wasn t necessar-
ily funny that her spell had worked so well, but it was gratifying
to watch a grown man stumble into furniture in his haste to be
near her.
Hello, again, he said, stopping right in front of her table.
He rested a broad hand on the back of the chair opposite her and
stared. Stared like he was waiting for any or every word that might
come from her mouth.
Hello, Grant. Business seems good today.
Yes, business. Uh, business is good. He shook his head and
maybe it shook a little sense into him because he appeared to come
out of his trance. He smiled a smile that shifted the planes of his
face from handsome to devastating.
A little twitch went through her stomach. I hope this isn t go-
ing to backfire on me. Well, there was no going back now. Would
you like to sit down?
Grant fell into the sunshine yellow chair with all the grace of
a lion. Muscles bunched and contracted in very interesting ways
under his plain black t-shirt, setting her heart to beating like a
WHEN THE MOON IS NEW 87
caged bird behind her breastbone.
She struggled to keep her eyes on his face when the way he
sat sprawled in the wood chair made his assets evident and
available for her viewing. Her mouth went dry while her panties
became wet. Find a topic to keep him here, she thought, franti-
cally searching through, and discarding, things to say. She finally
settled on, So, how s your first day going?
Idiot! She was so mad at herself she missed the first part of his
answer and tuned back in after she heard the word lust .
I m sorry, what did you say? she asked.
Just that I m looking forward to seeing all these people every
day and hope their lust for bread doesn t abate when the baker
changes for this month. The smile flashed again making her toes
curl.
Ernest glanced their way over the heads of the crowd. Betty
and Ernest Hern always had a kind word for her and she didn t
want things to change because they fell behind today from her
visit.
I brought you a little something, she said softening her
voice, as a welcome to the area present. It s a scented sachet. I
hope you ll keep it near you to make your days pleasant.
Thank you. He took the packet and the line of fire from
their gazes meeting earlier was nothing compared to the shock of
lightning running up her spine when their hands brushed. She was
almost positive he felt it, too, and gratified when he jolted in his
chair, nearly tipping it over.
Her smile rivaled the cat with a feather sticking out of its
mouth when she sauntered out of the shop, her generous hips
swaying. His gaze was a tangible thing on her rear end, making
her tingle all over again.
Not bad for the first official meeting after casting the spell.
A little extra zing popped into her step when she heard him ask a
customer for her name.
Morlana, Grant whispered later in the afternoon. Packag-
ing all the day-old bread and bakery items that hadn t sold, he
discounted them for the next day. One of the nice things about the
88 Misty Simon
shop, they closed at two in the afternoon leaving him free to have
a life after hours to pursue other interests. And he knew exactly
what& who& he wanted to pursue.
Even with the full moon the other night, midnight had still
been dark, making it hard to see anything. So this time, during
the full light of day, he was able to enjoy the sights and smells of
spring in rural Pennsylvania as his motorcycle roared down the
road.
Maple trees held gentle shoots and flowers waved from the
roadside, moved by the breeze created by his bike s passing. He
found the gravel road again without trouble and pulled his bike to
the side under an enormous oak that provided leafy shade.
Uncle Ernest had told him how peaceful and quiet it was
around here. Grant believed him, but still knew how tempting
a powerful motorcycle parked alone could be to some joy rider.
He d have to figure out a way to get the beast down the drive
without dinging it.
Five minutes later he approached the overflowing flowerbeds
again and, with the sun shining overhead, could see the colors
the moon bled to gray. On either side of the bright green door, a
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