Page 68 of The Soulmate Bakery

‘I was thinking maybe you’d finally stop looking at me like I was your little sister’s best friend,’ I shot at him. My words were little spears dipped in all the anguish I’d felt in that moment. ‘I wanted you to look at me, OK?’

‘Reverie, I’m always looking at you,’ Orion said, his jaw tight.

My heart seemed to stop for a whole beat at his words; we faced off at one another, breathing heavily. So much had been said, and my mind still felt fuzzy. I wanted to sort through all my memories of last summer with this new information, but I couldn’t. I felt myself sway slightly, the numbness from the spiked faerie punch sweeping through me, leaving tiredness in its wake.

Orion clearly saw my exhaustion, because he sighed and handed me the drink. ‘Now, drink this. It’ll get the potion out of your system.’

The liquid smelled disgusting and looked disgusting too.

‘Do I have to?’ I whined.

He tipped the glass upwards with his index finger. ‘Yes, you have to. Now, drink.’

‘You’re so bossy,’ I mumbled as the rim of the glass touched my lips and the liquid went down my throat. ‘Oh, I think I’m going to be sick.’

‘Keep drinking,’ Orion commanded, folding his arms over his chest. I hated that even my fuzzy mind found that attractive.

I brought the cup back to my mouth, had another disgusting swig and took a minute to swallow. Looking for a distraction from the taste, I asked Orion, ‘Did Melodie give you the key to this place or did you really pick the lock?’ I leaned forward to really assess him.

One side of Orion’s mouth lifted, and half a smile graced his face. He looked handsome, I realized. He was always handsome, sure. Even when he was angry. But right now, in that moment, I struggled to drag my gaze away.

‘I picked the lock,’ Orion said, simply.

‘That’s reckless. What if this place was warded?’ I asked. My head was starting to feel heavy all of a sudden.

Orion shrugged, looking oddly bashful. ‘I don’t make a habit of it. Just, you know, for emergencies.’

‘You’ve changed,’ I slurred. My eyes were beginning to feel heavy now too. Before, I felt alive with energy, but now I felt drained. Exhausted. I let my head tip back, like I was falling into a bed, not realizing that behind there was nothing. But Orion’s hands were there to hold me upright.

I still didn’t open my eyes. Not even as he helped me off the counter and leaned me against his arm again.

But I did speak, words stumbling drunkenly out of my mouth. ‘I really liked you, you know.’

‘What’s that?’ Orion asked, as he led me out of the shop, putting things away as we went.

That fragrance of a campfire filled my senses, calmed me, lulled me deeper into the darkness that was slipping over me. ‘I really, really liked you. And I wanted you to like me. I wanted to be your first choice. Like Rani’s Mum’s first choice,’ I mumbled, pressing my face to his arm again.

I know he said something back, because I felt the vibrations of his voice against where my cheek was planted on his bicep. But I didn’t hear it because by then, I’d fully sunk into the ever-welcoming darkness.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Before you judge me, please understand that I’d never drunk spiked faerie punch before. But I did know that the side effects of the antidote weren’t great. Specifically, the vomiting. And here’s the thing: vomiting in itself is not the issue. It’s the crying. I always cry when I’m vomiting; have since I was a kid. Which is probably too much information, but I just wanted it to be clear that I was sitting by my toilet bowl, crying, because my throat was aching from the vomiting, not because of the video of me that was circulating among my peers.

The video of me standing on the table, twirling around like a ballerina with two left feet, before promptly falling directly into Orion’s arms. All in front of Silas. And the rest of the school.

I mean, what’s there to cry about really? So, I’d humiliated myself. What’s new?

‘Maya?’ Mum’s concerned voice came from outside the door. ‘Are you OK?’

I sucked in a breath, trying hard to make sure my voice didn’t shake. ‘Yeah, I’m good. I just ate something bad yesterday and my stomach isn’t doing so good.’

Mum clucked loudly. ‘All right, sweetheart, I’m going to make you some mint tea before I go to soothe your stomach. In the meantime, maybe you shouldn’t do that extra studying shift with Silas today?’

Silas.

I slapped my hand against my forehead loudly. I had forgotten about our Sunday study session. How was I ever going to face him?

‘I’ll be fine, Mum,’ I said, scrambling to stand up again. My tears were drying against my cheeks, and my head still felt a bit woozy, but one glance at my watch told me I was going to be almost late if I didn’t leave soon. ‘You go, have a good day doing, you know, town stuff.’