Page 82 of Hexed & Hazy

Perhaps it’s a normal thing to say, but everything feels different now that Seth and I are together. As much as I try to hide that we’re an item, to keep it as a gift just for us, it’s only a matter of time before the others find out.

My face heats, uncomfortably hot despite the chill outside. “I will… certainly do that.”

Stella squeezes my arm, looking at me so earnestly that it breaks my heart. “We’re rooting for you.”

I’ve said goodbye to the twins before, but it’s never felt as heartfelt as when I wave them away now. They’re rooting for Seth and me, and while I’ve always felt like my feelings for him were invisible to everyone but me…

Maybe they weren’t. Maybe I wasn’t so alone after all.

With that on my mind, I begin the short walk to the Moonlit Tavern.

I step inside and quickly stop short.

Seth. On a barstool with a drink. I know him just by the back of his head.

He’s already here? I was going to text him to ask him to meet up, but it appears there’s no need.

He’s already at the bar. Next to someone I don’t recognize.

Must be from out of town.

I’ve spent so much of my life watching Seth talk to other beautiful people. Now, we’re together, and I need to trust him—I want to trust him. Familiar feelings return to the surface as I stand there, frozen.

Jealousy.

He’s taking this relationship seriously enough that his sisters seem to already know we’re together, but those doubts are still swimming in my stomach. Seth was always looking at someone else. Now, he sees me, but is it enough?

It takes several moments and three deep breaths for me to approach them, my expression even.

Seth smiles, and it’s the only thing that tells me nothing is wrong—but something still feels off about it. The person he’s with looks upset, and when she looks at me, she’s… glaring.

“See you around,” she mutters, scurrying off.

I turn my narrowed eyes onto Seth. “What is going on here?”

He scratches the back of his head. “I wasn’t trying to hide it, I swear.”

He jumps right to conclusions, and I suppose I have as well, but it does nothing to make me feel better. Seth claiming he isn’t trying to hide something—whatever he’s doing—only clarifies that he is.

But why? I already know everything about him. His past. His weaknesses. There’s no way he has a wandering eye already. I have to trust him better than that.

Good luck telling my mind what my heart already knows.

“Then what is it?” I grit out. “Surely a polite chat with a fellow patron.”

His expression becomes somber, and he steps closer, touching my elbow. I allow the moment of tenderness—for now.

I don’t want to be like Scarlet, bickering with Seth over minuscule things, but I won’t be like the others who let him trample over their hearts, nor do I think that’s what he needs.

“I’ve been talking to other people,” he says.

Never mind. Apparently, there was no reason to trust him.

I lift my eyebrows and step back. “I beg your pardon?”

“No!” he blurts out. “Not talking talking to other people. Not romantically. God, who even came up with that saying? We all talk to other people, don’t we?”

I pull away from him and rub my forehead. “Seth…”