Tony didn’t want to admit it. He actually hated himself for having to admit to having emotions. Especially sappy emotions, but here he was staring at the photo of Kendis on his phone.
His finger was hovering over her beautiful face, and once again, Tony was reduced to being a fifteen-year-old with his first devastating crush.
Tony was married to Kendis. He had even done as Beyoncé urged him to do and put a ring on it. It had been a few days since he had seen her, and Tony missed her.
It wasn’t as if they didn’t talk on the phone every night or that he wasn’t busy revolutionizing the weapon industry.
But after a while, he started to crave her presence. The way she smiled, the way she would crinkle her cute nose when she was annoyed with him, and the way she felt in his arms.
Tony also realized that he had way too many t-shirts and hoodies lying around. It just didn’t feel right anymore if he didn’t have Kendis stealing his clothing.
And Kendis had been gone for only a few days, but he could swear that her scent on his clothes was beginning to fade.
It should be fine; they were both busy people with their own successful businesses to manage. Kendis was in hot demand, and he knew that she was a damn good mechanic. The way Kendis intuitively knew her way around engines was both impressive and frustrating.
But Tony, in the end, let his phone fade to a dark screen and shook his head. His eyes roved over the hologram of the schematics for a new drone system that floated in the air.
Tony grabbed his keys and slipped inside his Audi.
“Sir, Mr. Stane is calling֫֫—”
“Tell Obie, I’ll call him back,” Tony muttered, and with the rev of his engine, Tony was speeding out of the workshop.
Tony pulled up in front of the gate and pushed in the security code. Kendis had given him a key to his house as a way to bypass the wards.
And Tony had given Kendis blanket access to his mansion and keyed her into the lab’s security. He knew that if he told Pepper or Obadiah this, they would call him ten types of crazy. They would probably tell him that he was moving too fast.
Tony trusted his instincts, and he knew with a deep certainty that Kendis would never betray him. It didn’t make any sense, but Tony had never been the example for making good life choices.
Hell, Tony got drunk and eloped in Vegas four times. He just finally lucked out with his fourth spouse.
The gates parted, and Tony drove past the main garage and parked in the driveway next to Kendis’s Kawasaki ZX-6R.
Tony heard loud laughter as he hurried up the steps. He opened the door and walked inside to see Kendis sitting between a pretty Black woman’s thighs. She dressed in a tank top and a pair of shorts, her long bubble gum pink hair contrasting with her dark mahogany skin.
This stranger had to be a witch, going by the wand in her hands.
Most of Kendis’s thick curly hair was already braided. The thin box braids started as bold teal green at the top, then faded into a light sea blue at the tips.
Tony watched in amazement as the stranger moved her wand in intricate movements as the hair braided itself.
Sitting in the love seat, perpendicular to them, was Hortense, who was sipping a lurid blue cocktail. Tony’s eye twitched when he spotted an ancient-looking wooden radio sitting on top of the coffee table that looked like a relic from WWII.
“Hi, Tony!” Kendis waved as she spotted him in the doorway.
The unfamiliar witch turned to look at him, but to his surprise, there was no hint of recognition in her eyes. And then he remembered that most Wixens didn’t know about non-magical celebrities.
“This is your new boo, right?” The witch lifted an eyebrow.
“Deja, this is Tony,” Kendis gestured to him. “Tony, this is my braider, Deja.”
Deja slowly looked him up and down, then snorted. “He’s cute for a white boy.”
“Ssh,” Hortense hushed them as she leaned forward. “It’s about to get good!”
Deja shoved Kendis’s head back into its original position as another bundle from a pegged rack that had strands of hair hanging from it floated over to hover above Kendis’s head.
The two friends listened intently to the drama played over the radio. Who the hell still listened to the radio? Podcasts, sure, but an actual radio?
“You lied to me, Thaddeus. Swore the potion was for healing—yet I found phoenix ash in the cauldron. Phoenix ash! That’s no cure… that’s binding magic.”
“And what if it is? What if the only way to keep you from vanishing into the shadows was to bind you to me?”
“What a prat!” Hortense gasped. “I can’t believe Thaddeus would do that to Cressida! And after all she did for him.”
Deja shook her head. “I told you Thaddeus wasn’t up to no good. He was just too much of a smooth talker.”
“Yep! Thaddeus was a walking red flag from the jump.” Kendis snorted. “She should have run for the hills when he was being shady about his past.”
“Radio soap operas?” Tony said, shaking his head. “Really? Is this 1945?”
“Wixens only have three forms of entertainment: reading, the radio, and Quidditch.” Kendis rolled her eyes.
“Doesn’t this mess with your auditory thing?” Tony frowned, confused.
“Surprisingly, it doesn’t.” Kendis shrugged, and Deja slapped her shoulders.
“Don’t move, I’m almost done.” Deja huffed as she finished Kendis’s braids.
“Listening to the radio doesn’t bother me as much. Movies and loud noises bother me more. I can’t explain it,” Kendis sighed as another piece of hair braided itself.
“Why are you even doing here, Stark?” Hortense narrowed her eyes.
“Uh…well….” Tony replied as he tried to think of a reason that wouldn’t make him embarrass himself. Usually, Tony could come up with a quick white lie, but who could blame him for being intimatidated for being intimdated by three powerful magical users.
“Did you miss me?” Kendis asked, with a soft smile. And leave it to her to see right through his bullshit.
Tony spluttered as he felt his cheeks flush hot. He wondered if he should ask Hortense or Deja to conjure a hole in the floor so he could die of embarrassment.
“Ah, Tony,” Kendis’s smile grew. “That is so sweet.”
Tony groaned and slapped his hands over his face. What the hell is his life?
Deja sniggered as she finished the last braid. “That is so adorable.
“You two are disgustingly cute together.”
“Payback,” Kendis sing-songed. “How many years have I been subjected to you and Isiah?” And don’t you even start, Deja, because we can bring up the many times you would get soppy with Keshawn.”
Deja did something with her wand that yanked at Kendis’s head.
“Oy, you cow!” Kendis shot her glare.
“You deserved that,” Deja sniffed. “Besides, there is nothing wrong with being a romantic. Now stay still so I can finish. I only have one row left.”
Tony watched in avid fascination as Deja quickly braided the rest of Kendis’s hair. He didn’t know much about Black hair, but he knew that braiding that much hair usually took longer than 10 minutes.
Deja sighed as she examined Kendis’s head. “Let me dab some potion on the braids and steam the ends, and we should be done.”
“Potion?” Tony asked, intrigued.
“It helps keep my braids longer than normal,” Kendis shrugged. “Without it, I would have to change them every six weeks or so. My last braids lasted six months.”
Deja grabbed the vial that had a lurid yellow liquid in it, uncorked it, and poured some out on her hand, and ran her hand through Kendis’s braids.
Then, after she wiped her hands, Deja grabbed her wand and muttered a Latin word, and steam started wafting up from the ends of Kendis’s braids.
“Done!” Hortense said as she conjured a mirror with another flick of her wand. Kendis twisted side to side, her braids moving with her movement. “I like it!”
Kendis turned to Tony. “What do you think?”
Tony thought Kendis was so beautiful that she could rock any hairstyle she chose. Hell, his spouse could shave off all of her hair and still look amazing.
Even though he had loved Kendis’s corn rolls, he could admit that Kendis looked stunning with her long green braids framing her face.
“You look amazing,” Tony said, gazing at her with. It made her look a bit more androgynous, but these long box braids gave them a more feminine air.
“Really?” Kendis grinned at him. “I wanted to try something new.”
Tony walked over to her and kissed her softly on the lips. “You are perfect.”
