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Afterward, I head upstairs for a shower in an old clawfoot tub. After I towel off and blow-dry my long hair, I put on black jeggings and an off-the-shoulder sage green T-shirt depicting a vintage camera. Ankle boots are the final touch before I head downstairs to meet Ven.
Getting in the rental car, I follow her in her old black VW down the long gravel driveway and up the highway into town. We park along the main drag a short ways from a shop named The Witch’s Brews. I snort at how on-the-nose this place is.
“There’s not much to show,” Ven says. “But the important stuff first: yoga studio across the street—” She points. “—Wine bar down that way. Witchery around the corner that way.”
“Witchery?”
“It’s where we get all our supplies for spells and stuff,” she says nonchalantly, like she’s talking about Whole Foods.
“Ahh. Of course.”
“Library on the next street over, as well as the salon and nail parlor. And grocery store across from that. Though, the farmer’s market is much better. You probably saw it on the highway into town.”
I nod.
“Want to grab a coffee before you meet with Maria? Oh, and her office is just around this corner.” She motions around the side of the building.
“A woman that appreciates two coffees before nine AM.” I smile, and Ven beams back at me.
We head into the shop and she whips me up an Americano. “On the house,” she says with a wink.
“Thanks, Ven. I’m so glad you’re here.” And I mean it. Even if the fact that the witch is helping keep me sane is a new level of weird.
“Of course.” She smiles and waves goodbye.
I step outside the coffee shop and head around the corner as she’d directed. And promptly run directly into someone else. My coffee cup flies into the air and I wince, watching as it goes flying everywhere.
Except it doesn’t.
My heart comes to an abrupt halt as I stare up into a pair of hauntingly familiar golden eyes. The man from the forest. After a moment’s pause, he hands me my coffee. How had he caught it so quickly? His reflexes are insane.
“Oh, um, thanks.” I reach out and take it from him, and the barest graze of his fingers against mine sends a rush of heat over my skin. “I—uh—ran into you in the woods earlier. On my jog.”
The expression on his face tells me he absolutely has not missed this detail. His brows furrow slightly. He’s wearing a tight black T-shirt over dark jeans and leather boots. Not as nice as his previous attire, but he still looks stunning.
“I’m Rowan,” I continue. “I’m new here.”
For a moment, I don’t think he’s going to respond. He has conflict written all over his face. “I know who you are, Rowan,” he says.
His voice is smooth and dark like melted chocolate with a touch of smoke. The way he says my name makes me shiver in a delicate place.
“You know me?” I blink several times. “I just got here last night. My aunt…” I trail off.
“We don’t get many visitors here,” he says. “That’s all I meant.” But he looks away, and I have a feeling he’s not being honest.
“I see.” I pause. “So, we may be neighbors, then? Since we ran into each other in the woods?”
“Just a coincidence,” he says, and his voice has taken on a low rumble that reminds me of the growl that escaped his lips at the waterfall. A growl like an animal. “Listen, Rowan, you probably shouldn’t be running in the woods alone. Especially right now.”
I stiffen. What the hell? “You heard how my aunt died? If you know something…”
“I don’t know anything,” he says hastily.
He’s not getting off the hook that easily. “But you think the forest is dangerous?”
He shoots me such an intense gaze that I’m not sure if I should step back or step closer. My mind says one thing, and my body another.
I step closer. I can’t help myself. “I didn’t catch your name earlier.” I say it pointedly, because I know he’d omitted it on purpose, and, well, a man should have manners.
“Xander,” he says, with a flash of those golden eyes. He steps around me to leave.
“I guess I’ll see you around, then.”
He stops and turns to look over his shoulder. “Not likely. I don’t associate with witches.”
And, just like that, he’s gone again.
