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reminded Jill of March’s birthstone, pale blue with just a hint of green. She leaned her head against the back of the tub and stared at the ceiling as she thought about Shawn’s butt in those tight-fitting running pants and how perfect it was. And her thighs. The fabric clung to them and showed off the definition of muscle. Shawn was a magnificent blend of femininity and strength, and sadly, Jill wondered why someone like that would be interested in her.
    *******
    “I am a confident woman,” Shawn said repeatedly as she gazed at herself in the mirror. “Even when my hair is standing on end.”
    She’d washed her hair with dishwashing liquid, and it had taken some of the stiffness out, but part of it still rose off her head on either side, making her look like she had a pair of dog ears. She wondered if this was the true cost for Theo’s spell. To gain something, one must give up something else, in addition to fifty bucks.
    She’d called Theo and asked what was in the powder that she’d poured on her head, but Theo replied, “Fool, I don’t give out the ingredients to my most potent potions.” But she’d suggested that Shawn use dishwashing liquid on her hair, then olive oil. Shawn sighed, picked up the bottle of oil, and began working it into her scalp. Once her mane was slick, she wrapped it in a towel and plodded into the kitchen with an undeniable craving for salad.
    “Tomorrow, I will call Jill and ask her out. If she says no…I will die confidently.”
    Shawn shook her head as she opened the fridge and gathered the makings for a salad. No, she would not wallow in the rejection, she would come up with another plan, and another after that until Jill was hers. She was a confident woman after all. Then, she began to question her sanity.
    Shawn had turned down a request for a date from a determined woman once, well, a half-dozen women, but one refused to give up. The persistent wannabe paramour sent flowers to Shawn’s office and her home. She left notes on the windshield of Shawn’s car and that of her work truck. She called so much that Shawn blocked her number. Shawn became paranoid and felt like she was being watched everywhere she went, and all the attention did nothing but grate her nerves. She didn’t want to make Jill feel that way, and she didn’t want to stoop to stalker behavior. Suddenly, Shawn didn’t feel so confident anymore.
    Vera’s admonition had been haunting her, too. Shawn had constructed the perfect woman in her head, and Jill just happened to favor the imaginary lover that she spent so much of her time with. In reality, Jill was probably not Ms. Perfection, and Shawn knew on some level she was setting herself up for disappointment holding on to the hope that Jill really was all the things she wanted in a mate. Still, she was driven to find out.

Chapter 4

    After another sleepless night, Jill went down to the shop and worked on a few new designs. She started to sketch what she saw in her head—a fleur de lis pendant wrapped in a ribbon with musical notes on it. But as she tried to put her imagination on paper, it came out looking more like Theo’s chicken foot. Jill growled, scribbled through the first draft, and began again, but with each try, foot, foot, foot.
    “Damn it, Theo!”
    Jill drew a heart, and it looked like a foot. She drew a riverboat, the stack was a foot. She was frantically working on a tiny version of the cathedral when Rene walked in.
    “Good morning, it’s Christmas Eve’s Eve,” Rene announced joyfully and started to hum Jingle Bells .
    “Stop that!” Jill snapped.
    “You need coffee,” Rene said with a nod.
    “I need sleep, and I need…” Jill shook her head and ran both hands through her hair as Rene moved in close and gazed at her sketches.
    “Oh! You’re making a chicken foot, how cute.”
    Jill’s face twisted in an ugly scowl. “It is not cute.”
    “No, it is,” Rene said with a reassuring pat on Jill’s shoulder. “You’re always