Page 55 of Hex Appeal

“Chief Hawthorne, I am actively trying to seduce you.”

“Exactly.”

He blows out the candle. The flame disappears. But the sweet and spicy scent lingers I the air.

I have to laugh.

“What?” he asks.

“You.”

He returns to bed. “What about me?”

“I love you.”

His expression softens instantly. “I love you, too.”

He climbs over me. “And for the record?”

“What?”

“You're very good at seducing me.”

He kisses me again.

I wrap my arms around him and let myself sink into everything I've somehow built over the past year.

A business I love. A sister downstairs who believed in me before I completely believed in myself. A cat who was supposed to be mine.

A man reaching for me in the dark.

And maybe someday, if we're lucky, someone else to love, too.

Maybe it happens. Maybe it doesn't. For once, I don't need to know.

A year ago, I told Welles there was a little magic inside him. Turns out, I was right.

It's here.