Must Be Magic (Spellbound) Read Online Free

talking to Bree and Finn.
    His father followed his gaze. “Your sister has always been rebellious.”
    “Don’t turn her marrying Finn—”
    “A Calder,” his father put in.
    “—into some kind of act to get back at you.”
    “She’s never forgiven me for not accepting her first marriage.”
    Bryce set his glass down with enough force to catch his father’s attention. He knew he should walk away. Nothing would come from taking his own frustrations out on his father because the man only saw things in stark black and white.
    “That wasn’t about you either. Her best friend was dying and she made him happy until the end.”
    “And then she ran off to Europe for months.”
    “Your feud with the Calders has nothing to do with Bree falling in love with Finn.” As much as Bryce worried about whether their marriage could survive the tension between their families, he knew how crazy in love his sister was.
    “ My feud?” His father’s voice sharpened.
    Bryce opened his mouth to point out that this really wasn’t the place for one of his the-Calders-are-trouble speeches, but he recognized the stubborn set of his father’s jaw and knew there would be no stopping him.
    His father at least knew to lower his voice. “I don’t need to list the grievances over the years to prove the Calders cannot be trusted. You know as well as I do that sooner or later one of them will use their magic at the wrong moment and it will be up to us to clean up the mess.”
    “The Hastings use magic far more often and yet I’ve never heard you worry they’ll expose us.”
    “Danny Calder and his kids have chosen to work in a field that can be heavily scrutinized. How many times has your own office used their private investigation firm over the years?”
    “Dad, you made it.” Ignoring the tension, Bree squeezed between the two men and gave her father a quick hug.
    Bryce had expected her relationship with Finn to further strain the one with their father. Instead, she’d grown more tolerant of him—as long as he wasn’t criticizing Finn and the rest of the Calders while she was around.
    “Mom was looking for you. I think she’s with Adele at the bar.”
    That was all it took for their father to excuse himself. He probably intended to save his wife from Bree’s future mother-in-law.
    Bree waited until their father walked away before speaking. “He looked like he was gearing up for one of his magic-doesn’t-make-the-man speeches.”
    Bryce laughed. “You could tell that from inside?”
    “It’s the only topic that really makes the vein on his forehead pop out.”
    Their laughter was drowned out by a hearty burst of it from inside. Darby stood just inside the doorway, leaning against her brother and laughing hard at something he’d said or done. It probably involved tripping someone.
    “It’s not too late to cancel,” he teased.
    Bree punched him in the arm. “Finn makes me happy.”
    Bryce didn’t argue, a little too distracted by the smile on Darby’s face. Smiling wasn’t something Darby did a lot of when their paths crossed. He’d forgotten how captivating it was.
    “You’re never going to tell me what happened between the two of you, are you?”
    Taking the glass from his sister, he drained the contents.
    “You once told me that it was a mistake to lie to Finn about who I really was. Is that what happened with you and Darby? Did you lie to her?”
    He gestured inside. “I think Finn is looking for you.”
    “Maybe it’s not too late,” Bree began.
    Bryce pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head. “Darby and I called a truce. A forty-eight-hour truce. Day after tomorrow we’ll be right back to hating each other.”
    As if she knew her name had been mentioned, Darby glanced in their direction. Her gaze landed on him, lingering a little longer than he expected before she looked away.
    “You sure about that?” Bree asked, then joined some of her friends who’d flown down for the wedding.
    Turning away