Page 42 of Rewitched

Rune faltered. “Oh. Well, I was going for suave and mysterious.”

Belle rolled her eyes, gathering up her paperwork and placing it in the drawer for tomorrow’s shift. “You skipped both of those and went straight to terrifying.”

His mischievous look quickly changed to abashed. “Sorry, I didn’t—”

“Fine. It’s fine. I only thought you were going to kill me. And if you hadn’t heard the news, I’m on high alert when it comes to murderers this evening. Next time, please just knock rather than transferring unannounced into my workplace behind a locked door when I’m alone in the darkness.”

“Well, when you say it like that, I feel like an idiot.”

“Good.”

They stood in charged silence, staring at one another.

“Well? Now that you’ve revealed yourself to be a total weirdo and I’m traumatised for life, what can I do for you?”

“I told you, I’m book shopping. The plot that’ll drive me crazy?”

Belle rolled her eyes again. “Take a look in that Romance section right there, and every one of those books will include a handsome man saying lines just as corny as yours.”

“Well, you sure know how to make a guy feel special.” Rune smiled. “I’ll take the handsome thing, though.”

Belle scowled at him as she felt her face flush.

“I’ve been waiting for you to leave,” he went on. “I was starting to think you might have bottled it, decided this wasn’t worth all of the hassle.”

“No, I’ve been at work.” Belle gestured around her. “You can’t rush people when they’re choosing books…Sorry, did I miss something? I didn’t realise I was supposed to be meeting anyone tonight other than Artorius.”

“And I didn’t realise I’d been roped in until this morning.”

“Roped in?”

He stepped a little closer to her. “Watchman duties. Looks like today is full of lovely surprises for us both,” he replied coolly. He was trying and failing to keep a grin under wraps.

Belle attempted to rearrange herself in a nonchalant way to match his own posture. She was suddenly overly aware of her arms hanging at her sides and her feet standing at weird angles. She pressed both palms against the cool marble countertop, just to give them somewhere to be. “Lovely surprises,” she replied doubtfully. “So, you’re the muscle at Selcouth, hey? Come to meet with Artorius to make him an offer he can’t refuse?”

This time, Rune laughed openly. White teeth flashed, and he shook his head. Rune approached the counter and mirrored her posture, placing his hands on the counter outside of hers and leaning forwards. She cleared her throat awkwardly, shuffling the loyalty cards as an excuse to break the eye contact.

“Why are you here, Rune?” It came out more abruptly than she’d intended. “Not that I don’t appreciate you coming down to…Be my cheerleader? My bodyguard? Whatever this is,” she said, leaning under the counter to pick up her backpack and hoist it onto her shoulder. “But I need to get a move on. I have a mysterious, hopefully reformed, warlock to go and hang out with.”

That smirk again. “Don’t worry, I’m not sticking around. But thank you for such a warm reception as always. I’m only here to reassure you that the coven is…aware of your whereabouts.”

Belle’s brows knotted together sceptically. “Are you always this ominous?”

“I try to be.” He grinned again. “For reasons unbeknownst to both of us, the Gowden sisters—mostly Bronwyn,” he corrected himself, “decided that I should be the one to make sure you showed up for your mentorship. To be honest,” Rune said, taking a sweet from the bowl by the till and popping it into his mouth, pulling her attention to exactly where she didn’t want it to be, “I think she was a little concerned that you might have done a runner.”

Belle instantly bristled. If Selcouth had already decided she couldn’t even be trusted to successfully meet with Artorius, what was the likelihood of them giving her a fair assessment on her return?

“That’s thoughtful of you. Them. Her,” she stuttered. “But as you can see”—she came around the counter, tugging her backpack farther onto her shoulder—“I’m fine. I’m getting this show on the road.”

“And I for one look forward to seeing how the show turns out. Quite the drama already. Plot twists, ancient lore loopholes, a hung jury, banished murderers…” Rune said teasingly as he followed her through the shop, reeling the points off on his fingers.

She gestured to the door to encourage him out as she unlocked it.

“All right, I can take a hint.” He laughed softly. “This wasn’t what I had planned for the next few weeks, either, but whether we like it or not, Bronwyn’s decreed that I’m yours. For twenty-eight moons.”

Belle gave him a blank You have to be kidding look.

“And I can see why they chose to match us together,” he added. “The chemistry here is…truly palpable.”