Charles reached us and stopped in front of Jane, smiling at her. Darcy trailed behind in a blue quilted vest, white T-shirt, and probably overpriced shoes. It looked like he was trying to fit in with what he thought people wore in small towns, but the shoes ruined it. He stared at me, probably thinking Jane and I had been laughing too loudly or something—as if the festival wasn’t full of noise already.
“Hi.” Jane’s cheeks were rosy, and it wasn’t from the chill.
“Hey.” Charles still hadn’t stopped grinning, unlike Darcy, whose brooding expression darkened his green eyes.
“Thanks for inviting us.” I forced a sunny smile for Darcy.
Jane gave me a nod of approval, but Darcy’s eyes widened, then narrowed again.
This might be harder than I thought.
“Do you two want any food or would you like to ride something?” Charles asked.
“I’m not hung—”
“I’d love a drink,” I cut Jane off with an apologetic smile. I didn’t have to fake a shiver as a cold breeze snaked through the area. “I think they’re selling pumpkin brew over there.”
The four of us made our way over, and Charles paid for our drinks, which sparkled with pixie dust as the vendor set them on the counter. Steam rose from their surface, along with the mouthwatering scents of pumpkin and vanilla.
My hand hidden in the pocket of my pea coat shook slightly. I needed to get the potion into Darcy’s cup without getting caught.
Before Charles passed out any of the drinks, someone jostled into me from behind.
I stumbled forward, tumbling against Darcy’s hard chest. His warmth washed over me, completely at odds with the way he stiffened. Cheeks hot, I retreated until I couldn’t feel Darcy’s breath on my face.
Darcy glowered at the teenager now rubbing his forehead and shooting sheepish glances at a group of boys laughing nearby.
“Guys.” The boy glared at his friends, who stood near a table where a few townspeople were preparing for the annual pie-eating contest.
“Are you okay, Lizzy?” Jane shot me a worried glance.
“I’m fine.” As soon as their attention returned to the boy, I yanked the vial from my pocket and poured half of it into the cup nearest Darcy. Too much would make the taste too noticeable, but only pouring some limited how long the potion would work. If I’d done my estimatescorrectly, it should affect him in the next few minutes and give me a quarter of an hour to ask my questions.
I shoved the vial back into my pocket and picked up two of the untainted cups. I pasted on what was hopefully a normal-looking smile and handed one to Jane, claiming the other for myself. My pulse thrummed in my ears, and I tried not to stare too hard at Darcy.
“You should apologize.” Darcy’s tone was as frosty as the ice I’d scraped off my windshield that morning.
The boy’s eyes widened, matching my own stunned gaze. He ducked his head with a muttered, “Sorry,” in my direction.
“No harm, no foul,” I told him before he shuffled off with his friends. Why had Darcy made him apologize to me? No, wait. He hadn’t told him to apologize to me, just to apologize. He’d probably meant that the boy needed to apologize to Darcy for disrupting his outing.
Jane wrapped her hands around her cup and inhaled the steam. “Mmm. Smells great.”
Darcy reached for his cup, and I inhaled sharply, praying the scent of cinnamon and spices would cover the potion.
“Darcy, wait.” Charles took the cup instead.
My heart jumped into my throat. Did he know? He had to have seen me. Why else would he switch cups so suddenly?
Charles took a sip of Darcy’s cup, and I stood there, barely breathing. After a beat, Charles passed it with a smirk. “It isn’t too hot.”
Darcy rolled his eyes but accepted the cup.
Did Charles always test Darcy’s drinks for him? I seriously could not figure out their relationship.
“Do you guys want to ride the Ferris wheel?” Charles gave Jane another sunny smile. “We can drink while we wait in line.”
“I love the Ferris wheel.” Her face lit up. Each year, the festival organizers planned something to help the Ferris wheel stand out, and Jane always looked forward to seeing the new twist on it.
