Graham surveyed us with wide eyes. “What happened?”
“I accidentally knocked a bunch of books over, and Lizzy’s friend protected me.” I took another step away from Riley. Even though I could still sense the gentle warmth of my fae power at work, being around Riley left me unsettled, like the time I’d brewed my first potion and wasn’t sure if I was more scared of succeeding or failing. “Thanks for your help,” I told Riley.
“Well, maybe I’ll see you around again, Kitty.” He said my name like it was an unexpected treasure, something small but worth lingering over. With one more long look, he sauntered off, still glancing around the store.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and turned to Graham, carefully cradling the napkin with the veritas potion-laced cookie. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He glanced down at his bag, then back up at me. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
I tightened my grip on the napkin. “I was in the area and thought I’d see if you were working.”
“So who was that?” Graham tilted his head toward the direction Riley had gone.
“Oh, no one.” I fought to keep the blush from my cheeks.
Graham’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It didn’t look like no one.”
“We just ran into each other. It’s my sister’s friend from work.”
Wait a second, was Graham jealous? If he was, it was too little too late. I didn’t need feelings from him, just the truth.
I thrust the cookie toward him. “I wanted to give this to you.” The words came out too blunt, and I winced. Running into Riley had stolen whatever smoothness or hint of a plan I might’ve had.
Graham blinked and stared at the cookie for one long, horrible moment, as if he could sense the veritas potion hidden inside. My heart pounded a painful staccato in my chest, refusing to be comforted by the smell of vanilla, butter, and sugar. Was he not going to take it? I should’ve known it would be too weird to bring him something like this so suddenly considering he knew I worked at a bakery that sold magical treats.
Maybe that was for the best. My nerves were twisted tighter than a potion bottle with a jammed cork.
“Nevermind.” I pulled the cookie back.
“Wait, I want it.” He snatched it off the napkin. “I’ll eat it when I have a moment. I’m running a bit late today, but that was nice of you.”
“Oh, yeah. Right.” I took a step back. “I’ll get out of your hair then. I don’t want to be in the way while you’re working.”
“You’re leaving already?”
“Yeah, I should get back. I have a shift today too, plus some homework I need to do.”
Graham took a step closer. “You were always so studious.”
I chewed on the inside of my lip. It was hard to tell if it was a compliment with Graham since half the time he’d bragged about dating a smart girl, and the other half he complained I didn’t make enough time for him.
But either way, it didn’t matter. It was time to wrap things up with Graham and move on with my life.
So why did it feel like things were just getting started?
Chapter 2
Luckily,Cupid’sConfectionswasn’ttoo far from Mansfield Book Haven, so I made it to the bakery in time for my shift at half-past 2:00. A bell played part of the tune ofThis is Halloweenas I walked through the front door, and some of the tension in my shoulders slipped away. Nothing could stay bad for too long when the smell of cinnamon hung in the air.
I pulled my hair into a bun, which was a little trickier since I’d cut it after my last breakup with Graham, and waved at Mom, Lydia, and Jane, who all wore black witch hats as part of the decorations Mom insisted on for the month of October. Mary was nowhere in sight, probablyat her internship or with Frank again. Those two were as thick as witches in a coven these days.
The grandfather clock against the far wall told me I’d made it with a few minutes to spare. After noting what treats we were low on, I slipped behind the glass display cases along the front and into the break room to clock in and put my purse away.
My phone buzzed with an incoming message. Had Graham already eaten the cookie and was texting me about it?
Instead, the message was from Elaine.
How did it go?
