Page 10 of Hexed & Hazy

It’s clear by the way he smiles at her, brighter than the rest. They’ve always been inseparable, and even now that she chose someone else, they still are.

Unrequited love is the actual curse. I would know.

“Are you all right?” Juniper asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. She’s holding a tray of bruschetta—freshly made, likely by Maple.

Of all my sisters, Juniper is the worst in the kitchen.

The others are hard at work making dinner. Aspen and Mac fix a salad as Maple bends over the oven. The kitchen is filled with the wonderful aroma of fresh parsley and sage. Dried herbs hang from the ceiling, and flowers that were once fresh rest dried in a pot at the center of the table. Even from here, I can hear the fire crackling and the older women laughing.

“I’m fine.” I hold my head higher. “What can I help with?”

“Nothing at all.” Maple stands up and fixes me with her sweet-as-honey smile. She runs her hands over her round belly, which is now covered by a pink apron. “Actually… you know what? C’mere.”

I dutifully shuffle over, and Maple digs a tasting spoon into a bowl of stuffing.

“Will you try this?” she asks.

Since her now-husband turned her—consensually, of course—into a vampire, Maple has been asking for my opinion on flavors more frequently. I can’t quite understand the choice to change, but I’ve heard people do silly things for love. Vampires can still eat food, but there’s no denying their taste changes.

Maple enjoys the challenge rather than being upset about the loss.

I take the spoon from her and take a bite. “More salt. Definitely.”

“Told you,” Aspen says in a sing-song voice.

Aris, Maple’s husband, enters the kitchen with a drink in his hand.

“Relax,” he says to her, soft and sweet, as she takes the glass from him.

All around me, people are in love. Laurel’s partner may not be in attendance, but I can hear her gushing to Seth—poor, lonely Seth. If he had any magic of his own, I would almost believe he hexed himself out of whatever love he carries for Laurel.

I meet his gaze from across the room, and his smile slowly fades.

“Time to eat,” Maple says, loud enough to snap me out of the moment. “Come, come. Let’s set the table.”

Chapter 4

Seth

Laurel is in a great mood tonight. She twirls her green hair around her finger and won’t stop telling me about the latest date Nerissa took her on—some magical plane in the Underworld they sneaked into. It’s all very romantic.

The last thing I want is to ruin the mood with my stupid hex. Laurel will probably laugh at me for pissing someone off to the point that they put a spell on me, and she should. That’s the kind of friendship we’ve always had. Best friends since we were in diapers. Party friends. Workout buddies.

And she’s happy. I want her to stay that way, so I smile when she chatters away. And I do throughout dinner, too.

After dinner, my mom asks me to walk her home, having grown tired before anyone else. Our house is only across the street, but visions of my mom slipping on ice with no one around live rent-free in my mind, so of course, I readily accept the request.

Laurel tags along.

I unlock the door, and Laurel steps inside, putting my mom’s leftovers in the fridge.

Our house is just as warm as the Hawthorne home, but it’s smaller. No need for all those bedrooms when it’s always been just my two sisters, my mom, and me. Mom and I work together to keep the place tidy, and I saved up to get a new couch for her last Christmas—a chocolate-brown sectional, just like she requested.

She ambles toward the couch as soon as we get inside.

“Do you need help getting ready for bed?” I ask my mom.

“No, no. I’m going to watch my show for a bit. You go back to the party.”