Healed with a Kiss by Sharon Buchbinder - Book Tour + Giveaway
Tessa Crinos sat on the ledge of the
fountain in Calico Court at sunrise and ran her fingers through the water. She
asked the Potomoi, the gods of rivers and streams, to help her keep the waters
of the fountain pure and to safeguard all the waters of Cat’s Paw Cove. When she
finished her prayers and blessings, she rose and headed to Feline Fine
Retirement Home, or FFRH. Today was a big delivery day, and as beverage
manager, it was her job to make sure everything was in order. Goddess forbid
that Agnes find something missing or that the wrong bottled waters had been
delivered. The diminutive FFRH administrator would have Tessa’s head if
anything was wrong. Who knew brownies could be so bossy? The Potomoi Assembly
could have at least warned her before they assigned her to Cat’s Paw Cove and
FFRH. She entered the spacious kitchen, said good morning to Malik, the
executive chef, donned a jacket bearing her name—and stopped.
“Malik, where is that loud music coming
from? It’s five in the morning.”
“I think it’s coming from the dining room.
I arrived a few seconds before you.”
Tessa grimaced. “Wait until Agnes hears
it!”
As if conjured by her name, a tiny woman
dressed in a matching brown skirt and top with her name—Agnes—sewn on the
blouse pocket, flung the dining room door open. Her bun was quivering; never a
good sign. With a British accent that could either soothe or slice, she pointed
at Tessa and said, “I need to speak with the two of you immediately.”
Turning, the diminutive administrator
motioned for Tessa and Malik to follow her.
Later, the dining room would be filled
with Supernaturals clustered at their preferred tables and talking and
laughing. Right at the moment, rock and roll music drowned out any chance of a
normal conversation.
Agnes led Tessa to a long table beneath a large
window. The table bore an assortment of Valentine’s Day decorations in
miniature, along with a doll’s house. The house, a made to scale model of the
Victorian style retirement home, had been decked out for a party—complete with
tiny heart-shaped balloons, red and pink lights that blinked on and off, and a
tiny jukebox.
Tessa yelled to be heard over the
foot-tapping song. “How do we turn this thing off?”
Agnes shook her head. “We can’t until we
agree to hold a Valentine’s Day party. The Decorators insist. Normally, we have
special food and a festive dinner, but this year they want to go big with a
rock and roll party from the fifties.”
“That only gives us two weeks to prepare,”
Malik yelled. “I may be a jinni, but even some things are beyond my abilities.”
Tessa recalled an Under the Sea Ball she’d
worked on with her cousins, the Oceanids. “Unless—”
“Go on,” Agnes exclaimed. “We’re waiting.”
“Years ago, I planned a huge party for
Oceanus, but I didn’t do it alone. We had a small group that organized the event
and energized everyone to participate. I bet if we ask Madame Jinniyah and
Tatesta Redbird to co-chair a committee, they’d be happy to do it.”
Malik nodded. “Ever since Ynez moved to
Orlando with Dexter, Madame Jinniyah has been at loose ends. She’d love a new
project.”
Agnes frowned. “Tatesta would want to
invite her grandchildren.”
Tessa clapped her hands and shouted, “The
bigger the better!”
Malik stroked his chin. “That’s all well
and good for the Supernaturals and their families, but what about the cats?
They have lots of opinions—on everything.”
“No one should be left out. We’ll ask them
to serve on the committee.”
“This is going to be huge.” Agnes rubbed
her hands and smiled. “Harold and I will have such fun cleaning up after, we’ll
be up all night.”
Tessa laughed. “It’s a win-win. How do we
let the Decorators know we’ve agreed to hold the biggest Valentine’s Day bash
FFRH has ever seen?”
The music stopped.
“Blessed silence,” Agnes breathed. “Their
house heard us.”
Tessa leaned down near the jukebox. “My
favorite artists from that era are Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. I’d love it
if you could play their songs.”
The tiny jukebox flashed its lights and
played the first few notes of Johnny B. Goode.
Tessa smiled. “This is going to be so much
fun. I can’t wait to get started.”
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