Page 29 of Hex Appeal

“Come on.” I give him a nudge with my hip. “There’s a little magic inside of you. I can tell.”

SIX

WELLES

I look down at the collection of supplies Serena has spread across the stainless steel table.

“I think you’re going to be disappointed,” I say.

“I doubt it.”

“I’m serious. There’s nothing magical about me.”

“Everyone has a little.”

“Not me.”

She gives me that smile.

I’m beginning to recognize it.

It means Serena has decided she knows something I don’t, and there’s absolutely no point arguing with her.

“Okay, Chief Hawthorne.” She pushes an empty glass vessel toward me. “First things first. Pick your vessel.”

“They’re all the same.”

Her mouth falls open.

“What?”

“You really know how to wound a woman. Look again.”

So I do. And she’s right. They’re not all the same.

Some are amber. Some are clear. A few are matte black. There are different shapes and sizes.

I point to an amber one. “That.”

“Excellent choice.”

“You probably say that to everyone?”

“No. Some people have terrible taste.”

She reaches for the jar. Our hands brush. Again.

It’s becoming a problem. A problem I’m increasingly uninterested in solving.

“All right.” She places a wick in front of me. “Now we need to secure this in the center.”

She tells me what to do, and I do it. “Very good.”

“I can follow directions.”

“We’ll see.”

I glance at her. She’s grinning.