Hi, friends! Today I'm sharing a scene that I cut out of Grimoire Girls: Cupid's Curse Mysteries (Book #2).
For those who have not read this series yet, here’s a little background. These stories feature a witch, Lexi Wilder, who has a pet bat named Diva. Lexi and Diva can communicate with each other thanks to magic.
Diva’s name fits her perfectly: she is a wanna-be star and loves pop music. She likes to dress up in glitter and lipstick.
I liked this scene but ended up cutting it because it wasn’t necessary to the story. You won’t find any spoilers here. The other character that I mention, Tomlin, is another witch’s familiar, a mouse. Hope you enjoy this peek into some time Lexi and Diva spent together.
"Finally..." Diva said, as she lounged across the soap dish on my nightstand. We'd fitted a soft white facecloth into it so that it could serve as her spa bed. She had coated the top of her head and her belly in smashed avocado, which was apparently nourishing for her fur. It made her look like a big dollop of guacamole, ready to be served up along with a bowl of tortilla chips. "Some time to relax and rejuvenate. I must get ready for my big performance."
"What big performance?" I pulled a pair of jeans from the cardboard box. Two days had passed since the big showdown in Natural Junction, and I'd finally found a few minutes to unpack all that I'd brought back from Boston.
"I promised Tomlin that I'd give a concert this coming Saturday night. I'm planning to do mostly Dolly Parton songs with a few Celene Dion covers thrown in for good measure. Tomlin has front row seats."
"And he agreed to this?"
"Mm..." she murmured, while patting down the goop on her stomach.
"I hope you didn't make him buy a ticket, like you did last time."
"Hm.." Another non-committal answer.
"Di-va..." I said warningly. I finished arranging my jeans in the dresser drawer and now started in on a stack of my shorts. I'd saved half the drawer for them. "You know how I felt about that. I don't want you to bully him into doing things."
"He can do whatever he pleases."
"Yes, but you intimidate him and you know it."
"I didn't make him pay this time."
"Good."
"He's lucky to have front row seats. I've been practicing dance moves all day, and if you're lucky, I can give you front row seats for Friday night's dress rehearsal. If this organic gloss treatment does the trick, I'm going to look stunning."
"Friday night?" I placed a pair of navy blue running shorts onto the top of the stack. "I can't. Madame Suquet's due to visit Friday night."
"She is? I didn't know that." Diva rolled on her bed, and propped her chin in her claws. She blinked her little black eyes. "Why didn't you mention it?"
"Maybe because you were practicing your dance moves all day."
"Ah. I was." She rolled to her back again and gazed idly at the ceiling. "What are we going to do about the donation money? You still haven't asked Myles for it yet."
"I know..." I sighed. "It just hasn't been the right time."
"You couldn't find five minutes to bring up the subject? How about this morning over coffee? We lounged around the pool for hours and all you two did was act all lovey-dovey, kissing and cuddling." She huffed and I sensed her jealousy. She usually wanted all of Myles' attention for herself, which was another matter I'd have to address when the moment was right.
"I just... I don't know, Diva. I can't bring myself to do it."
I abandoned my work at the dresser and flopped down on the bed. "I know I should, but I don't want Myles to ever think I'm taking advantage of his money. Things are good right now.... I don't want to mess it up."
"But Madame Suquet told us how important it is to keep the school open."
"I know." Stress tightened my shoulders. I laid on my back, staring up at the ceiling and worrying, for the next ten minutes. The only sound was the wet pat-pat-pat of Diva arranging her "organic fur gloss treatment" (also known as mashed avocado goop) so that it completely covered her torso.
The ringing of my cell interrupted my fretting.
Hope you enjoyed this deleted scene! Want more fun with Lexi and Diva? Grab Grimoire Girls on Amazon today.
Amorette Anderson writes warm-hearted cozy mysteries that star witchy characters. She lives in Colorado with her husband and furbabies, pups Marley and Teddy. When she’s not writing or reading she’s dreaming up ways to make life a little more magical.
