Page 19 of The Soulmate Bakery

‘He will be going now,’ Orion said, pointedly. Part of me was relieved to hear his usual gruff tone, with no hidden undercurrents. ‘That’s enough spellcasting for the day. I’m going to head over to the Treasure Trove, let Melodie know about our …’ He cast a look around the library. In a town this small, someone could always be listening. ‘You know.’

‘We know,’ Raven and I chorused.

Orion packed up his things – whiteboard, pens – and slid the cookbook back into place. Before leaving, he hesitated by the table. I watched as his mind sorted through the things he wanted to say before he settled on, ‘I’ll let you know when you should come to the Treasure Trove.’

I raised an eyebrow. ‘I await your summons, blackmailer.’

He smiled then, that half-tug of his mouth, and my heart twisted a little. I watched him as he left, eyes tracking his movements. And it wasn’t until he was gone that Raven turned to me.

‘So, are we going to talk about it?’ Raven asked, and my body was hit with a sudden shot of adrenaline. Had she somehow heard our conversation?

‘You know, Silas Moon and how you’re going to win him over? Because, like I said when this all started, if you just show up one day and say he’s your soulmate because of a spell, I can assure you, he will freak out.’ She steamrolled onwards, not really needing me to agree. ‘But, maybe if you two had some sort of established relationship before you cast the spell, it would be better.’

‘I take it you have a plan?’ I asked, almost dreading to hear it.

Raven’s smile mirrored her brother’s, but just a little sharper. ‘Yeah, I have a plan. One that involves Silas Moon properly noticing you. Come on, I’ll walk you to your shift and tell you all about it.’

CHAPTER SEVEN

Raven’s plan for me to speak to Silas hinged on one thing:

Pie.

Not exactly a pie, mind you. A cherry rose pie bar.

The bars are made with enchanted cherries and rose water that can turn your entire outlook on the world, well, rosy for lack of a better word. They shape your focus so that you’re looking on the brighter side of things.

The plan was simple, according to Raven – who gave me an in-depth run through before dropping me off to work – I’d muster the courage to approach Silas during his closing shift at the Maple Mart today, and I’d offer him a bar, saying it was left over from today’s stock. He’d eat it, and then he would look at me from behind those rose-coloured lenses. And maybe it would make all the other times I stumbled in front of him look endearing. Maybe it would make speaking to him easier.

Was I sure it would work? No. But I had no better ideas of my own.

Armed with a plan, I went straight to the Wishing Well kitchens – with Ivy’s approval on the bake – and got to work. Time slipped past me as I worked on the enchanted bars, and once I’d popped them in the oven I went to go help Ivy out at the front. But as I approached the kitchen door, I heard the low murmuring of voices.

I recognized my mum’s voice. Not a total oddity. She and Ivy had gone to school together and have always been pretty close.

‘Frost, Inspector Vale, Diya Jaan, Louise Mellow, Luna Star and Serene Pearl,’ Mum recited, sounding exhausted. ‘They careen between writing sonnets, crying and calling out for their supposed beloveds.’

Ivy winced. ‘Yeah, I’ve been getting a lot of text poetry from Vale. Some of it’s not awful, if that’s any consolation.’

Mum groaned, pressing her face into her palms. ‘I’m up to my ears in phone calls and complaints. People are demanding that the curse be broken faster. I have to keep giving everyone the same line: “I’ve got a curse breaker working on it.” How much more can I give?’

My heart ached in my chest, the guilt gnawing in my stomach; I didn’t really think about how much stress Mum must be under with six people in the town cursed by a love spell. And I can’t even imagine how the cursed must be feeling themselves; how exhausting it would be to be yearning for someone who might not love you back.

‘You’re doing your best,’ Ivy soothed, and I watched as she wrapped up a date-and-peanut-butter energy ball for Mum in a paper bag. ‘That’s all anyone can ask of you. Nothing more.’

Mum smiled at Ivy, still tired but a little softened. ‘Thanks, Ivy. But aside from talking your ear off, I did come here for a reason.’

‘I’m assuming it’s about Maya?’ Ivy asked, and I felt myself still against the door.

‘It is,’ Mum agreed, and then sighed. ‘I just want to check what her chances of getting the apprenticeship actually are. I know she’s good at culinary magic, but her spellcasting otherwise is pretty weak.’

I felt warmth build in my cheeks.

Pretty weak.

‘Maya’s great,’ Ivy said, gently. ‘Yes, her spellcasting out of the kitchen isn’t as strong, but she’s a stellar kitchen witch. I trust her with my kitchen and spellcasting in there. As long as she doesn’t betray that trust, she’s the best candidate I’m observing for my apprenticeship.’ Then she added, with a little laugh, ‘And if she makes sure she doesn’t suggest any more wild bakes. Did I tell you about the moonlit blueberry muffins she pitched me?’

My cheeks warmed at the memory of when I told Ivy about my idea: a batch of wild-blueberry muffins, mixed in with charmed moon-silver flower petals. The idea had been unfurling in my mind, ever since I saw Silas walk into potions class looking haggard from his last shifting under the full moon. I overheard him talking with friends, saying that he loved the wild, free sensation of his werewolf side, but he always awoke feeling like his entire body had been rung out. The moonlit blueberry muffins would be enchanted to cleanse the body of aches, pains and a clouded head that came from being under the lunar moon. The spell came from one of the grimoires of the library, a testy little book that almost snapped my finger off.