Westerham Witches and an Aussie Misadventure—Paranormal Investigation Bureau Book 20

I stepped out of the bright sunshine and into coffee-scented heaven. Holding Will’s hand, I strode up to the counter of Surfer’s Brew, grinning.

It was so good to be back.

“Oh my God, Lily, is that really you?!” Ah, how I’d missed Australian accents. Something I never thought I’d say. Frances hurried from behind the counter and pounced on me. Her hug was unexpected but nice. When I’d lived in Cronulla, I’d been a regular customer, but we hadn’t been best friends. Even so, we sometimes ran into each other out and about and hung out at the pub, and to be fair, I’d been gone for almost two years. It was nice that she’d obviously missed me.

I stepped back. “Yep. We flew in from London last night.” I shook my head. “Look at you. You haven’t changed a bit.” She was still slim and gorgeous with silky blonde hair, which was up in her usual ponytail. At least some things never changed. I inhaled the sweet coffee-bean fragrance. “I’ve missed you and this place. You guys make some of the best coffee ever.”

Will smirked. “Don’t let anyone from Costa hear you say that. Traitor.”

Frances looked at Will, her appreciative gaze travelling from his face to his feet and back. She turned to me. “So, who’s this hottie with the sexy accent?”

I chuckled. She wasn’t going for subtle this morning. I held up my hand and wiggled my ring finger. “My fiancé. But don’t tell him he’s hot because I’ll never hear the end of it. He’s going to have even more tickets on himself now.”

Beren laughed from behind us. “It’s too late, Lily. But it’s not too late for you to back away slowly and run. You still have ten days to come to your senses.”

Liv smacked his arm. “Don’t even joke about it. You might’ve cursed the wedding now.”

Will grabbed my hand and looked at Liv. “Nothing is stopping us from getting married before we leave Australia, Liv. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make it happen.” His blue-grey eyes locked on mine, and yes, I swooned. I was only human.

Frances grinned. “You two make a gorgeous couple. So, you’re tying the knot in ten days. Where are you having the wedding?”

“One of Mum’s old friends has a place at Mosman, overlooking the harbour. The grounds are gorgeous. We were lucky she was okay with it because it’s fairly last minute.” Frances peered at my belly. I laughed. “Ha, no way. I’m not pregnant. Work was just frantic before we left, and the trip was a spur-of-the-moment thing.” I was still recovering from the surprise they’d unleashed on the plane when I was supposedly investigating a bomb threat. After they’d informed me we were coming to Australia, we’d all taken our seats, and here we were.

She nodded slowly. “So, have you got the catering organised? I might know someone.” She winked.

I looked at Will, and he gave a subtle nod. I turned back to Frances. “As a matter of fact, no. We were all going to pitch in and do it, but if you’re offering your services….”

“Since you left, I bought the café, and I’ve started a weekend catering business. I work here Monday to Friday, and my partner, Cory, works here with a couple of my staff on the weekends. I happen to have no bookings for the next two weeks, so I’m available.”

“Ooh, partner as in business or partner as in boyfriend?” Life moved on, even when you weren’t around to see it, and I was kind of sad that I’d missed so much. I was catching up with my two Sydney besties, Simone and Michelle, at the local pub, Northies, tonight for dinner. They’d both said yes to coming to the wedding, which was great since I hadn’t given them much notice.

She cocked her head to the side and gave me a sweet smile. “Both.”

“You can bring him too. I mean, I’ll pay for the food of course, but you can both come as guests. My mum’s hired someone to clean up afterwards, so you won’t have to worry about that.” Okay, so we were going to use magic to clean up, but I couldn’t tell Frances that.

“Really? That would be awesome. Thank you! And you’ve picked a wonderful spot. I’ve always loved Sydney Harbour. My grandfather used to take me sailing around there when I was young. Watching the sunset from his yacht and then the city lights come alive one by one is one of my favourite memories. What a gorgeous place to get married.”

One of her staff, a young guy with surfie-blond hair in waves to his shoulders, called out while frothing some milk. “Frances, I hate to break up the reunion, but….”

A line had formed, and we hadn’t even ordered our coffees yet either. She bit her bottom lip. “Oops, gotta get back to it. Leave me your email address, and I’ll send you our menu and prices this arvo. Just let me know what you want and how many people.”

“Will do.”

She grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. “It’s so good to have you back in Sydney, Lily.”

I grinned. “It’s good to be back.” I hadn’t let myself think of home much in England because it made me sad—it was hard to be torn between two places you loved. But now we were here, I was totally going to make the most of it, and that would start with a cup of my favourite coffee, and if everything went to plan, my trip would end after I married the most amazing man in the universe. I didn’t think I’d ever been happier. This was going to be the best holiday ever.