Page 20 of The Soulmate Bakery

Ivy had gently brushed the idea off, saying it was too risky to try in her little bakery of joy. I tried not to feel hurt by the dismissal, reminding myself that I wasn’t even Ivy’s apprentice – yet.

‘Thanks, Ivy,’ Mum said, gratefully. ‘I just want her to be safe and happy. She doesn’t need to worry herself with the kinds of complex spells Rani does, or even the ones I have to do.’

Her words should have warmed me, but all I could hear was my mother wanting me to be a witch who only did basic spells, or kitchen magic – spells that only existed in the confines of a dessert – always under the supervision of Ivy. I wanted, desperately, to prove her wrong. If she ever found out that I was the cause of the rogue love spell, everything she believed about me would be confirmed.

I stopped listening and stepped back from the door, mind racing.

I needed to end this curse, but I also needed my apprenticeship at the end of the academic year. Ivy said I had the apprenticeship as long as she still trusted me; what would she do if she found out I took a sabbatical from my part-time position to go work for another bakery – no matter how badly it was doing?

I wanted to break down at the thought of trying to juggle it all, but I couldn’t. I’d break the curse, help Orion’s friend, never let Ivy or my mother find out, get the apprenticeship and find my soulmate, aka Silas.

I had to, because the alternative was too scary to even consider.

With renewed determination, I stepped on to the shop floor. I found Ivy dealing with a couple of customers, before the shop emptied out; the lull of the afternoon shift coming to a close.

‘Hey, Ivy?’ I asked, as I approached her. ‘Do you have a minute?’

She gave me a bright smile that made the guilt in my stomach intensify. ‘Sure, what’s up?’

‘I was wondering if we could talk about my shifts.’

The Maple Mart is usually busy in the evenings – either with parents who have picked up their kids from school or people off work who are doing their grocery shop. But, like Raven said, it was likely the only moment I would get to speak to Silas without one of his friends around him. At school, it would be near impossible; Silas was always surrounded by his rugby teammates or his pack. Nine werewolves made up the Moon pack, but Silas was the youngest – and the sweetest.

Even now, as I watched him from across the Maple Mart floor, he was helping an elderly witch carry all her groceries to her cart. He was just so nice. It made my heart clench with wanting – to be with someone who was that kind.

‘Is that a bar of pie in your basket, dear?’

I jumped, turning to find Granny Fable standing behind me. She had a basket on one arm, her cane in the other, and her white wings were wide open today. She wore a smile on her face, one that slyly said she’d seen me staring at Silas, and I felt my face go crimson.

‘Y-Yes, Granny Fable. This is a pie bar,’ I stuttered.

The old woman assessed me, eyes shrewd. ‘I didn’t know the Maple Mart sold pie bars.’

‘It was left over from the Wishing Well,’ I said simply.

Granny Fable nodded, understandingly. ‘And are you here to buy something?’

‘Yes,’ I looked wildly around the aisle we were standing in, slapping my hand against the dog food. ‘We needed this.’

‘Don’t you have a cat, dear?’ Granny Fable asked, a twinkle entering her gaze.

‘Right.’ I nodded, desperately searching for anything that would end this interaction. ‘But Jinx acts like a dog, so we just … indulge.’

Stupid. That was so, incredibly stupid. Granny Fable’s mouth twitched at the corner, and I quickly tried to change the subject before she pressed any further.

‘Sofia!’ I exclaimed, suddenly relieved. ‘Sofia, how – how is she? Is she settling in well?’

Granny Fable’s expression changed, softening into a smile that was a little more fond and less mischievous. ‘She is. Tomorrow is her first day of school.’

‘Oh, how nice! If I see her in class, I’ll save her a seat.’

Granny Fable reached out to pinch my cheek. ‘You’ve always been sweeter than sugar, Maya.’

I felt my cheeks go warm with the praise. ‘Guess I must’ve learned it from you.’

Granny Fable smiled, and she bumped her basket on mine along the way, giving me that sly smile again. ‘Well, as much as I love swapping compliments in the dog-food aisle, I should get going. Wouldn’t want to disturb you from your shopping any longer, dear.’

I tried to stop my cheeks from flushing again, waiting for Granny Fable to turn a corner before I began looking at Silas’s till. His line was shorter now, only five people.