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After the customer ahead of us got their coffee and left, Gretchen leaned her arms on the counter. “Anything new, Audrey?”
I stared up at the menu board like I didn’t have it memorized or know exactly what I wanted before I walked in the door. “Not since I was in here two days ago.”
“Everyone is saying you iced Leo’s while Wes carried you out of the bar.”
The rumor mill actually got something right for once. It didn’t surprise me that Gretchen had heard about it, she heard everything, but unlike most residents, she confirmed news before passing it along. I appreciated that about her. “Something like that might’ve happened.”
“So, it’s true? Magic is back on the island?”
I exhaled, relieved that she was more interested in magic—a subject I was much more comfortable with—than whatever was going on with me and Wes. “It’s true.”
Worry clouded her expression. “And the curse?”
“That’s loose too.” When her face paled, I reached over the counter and squeezed her hand. “We’re handling it. It’s not going to beat us.”
I hoped. Yesterday morning had been worrisome, though. I hadn’t even realized how heavily I’d come to depend on Wes until I couldn’t feel his energy in the dark.
She bit her lip. “You’ll be able to bind it to the cave again?”
“That’s the plan, and I’m not alone. There are twelve of us.”
I didn’t want to share names, since that wasn’t mine to divulge. We didn’t even have all the descendants pinned down. We had me, Wes, Donovan, Violet, Brooke, Finn, his brother Galen, and Jocelyn Everett, based on who had felt the earthquake. And we strongly suspected Cole, Rafe Wilder, and Thora Chase, based on timing for Thora and familial connections with Cole and Rafe, though we still didn’t have confirmation. And we had no clue on the Leo.
Violet glanced at me, but didn’t volunteer herself, so I kept quiet. She hated being at the center of gossip and couldn’t stand public scrutiny of any kind. Brooke was lost in her own world and probably hadn’t heard the interaction at all.
Thankfully, Gretchen didn’t ask who else had magic, likely understanding it could be a sensitive subject. At least she accepted it easily enough. It was one thing to blow off an earthquake no one else had felt, but quite another to deny a path of ice laid down by the golden light that spewed from my hands.
Wes had been right. Those who continued to scoff at the existence of magic would have to get used to it eventually. Because, soon enough, they wouldn’t have a choice. It would be everywhere.
I paid for everyone’s drinks, then Violet, Brooke, and I walked in the direction of the beach, once again passing by the park where Donovan played checkers with the old men, though he wasn’t out there today. He was probably at the office, still giving Wes a hard time about his suit. Violet glanced at the park and sighed.
“Have you talked to him at all?” I asked.
“He called yesterday and canceled this Saturday, too.” Her face pinched like she’d just sucked on a lemon. “He said it was because he’d be too tired after the town hall meeting. Yeah, right. I wish he’d just be honest with me. He doesn’t find me attractive and can’t handle that I now give him a massive hard-on.”
I rubbed her arm. “I don’t think it’s because he finds you unattractive, sweetie.”
In fact, I’d long suspected the opposite. He was too careful with Violet. Careful with his compliments, careful not to look at her for too long, careful not to let his touches linger. More often than not, the things people didn’t say or do revealed how they truly felt.
Brooke held her finger out to let a butterfly land, its orange and black wings fluttering in and out like tiny breaths of air. “I agree with Audrey. He hides a lot under that beard.”
“I love both of you liars, but he’s ruining this friendship because he’d rather avoid me than risk being turned on by me, and that says it all right there.” Violet waved a hand. “I don’t want to waste what little time we have talking about Donovan. Tell us about Wes. Is he a total beast in the sack?”
“I bet he is,” Brooke said. “He totally gives off those born-to-fuck vibes.”
I took a sip of my latte and averted my gaze. “What makes you think we slept together?”
“He literally carried you out of the bar,” Violet said.
“And you didn’t come back. At all. We waited for, like, two hours,” Brooke said.
“I’m sorry.” If I’d known they were waiting for me, I would’ve…well, I liked to think I would’ve texted them to let them know I was okay, but I’d been deeply preoccupied, so scratch that. “I spent the night with him.”
“We knew it,” Brooke squealed. “Was it amazing? Is he huge?”
“Oh my God.” Violet smacked her arm. “You can’t just come right out and ask if he’s got a huge dick.” She turned to me with a hopeful expression. “Does he, though?”
I laughed. “I probably shouldn’t answer that, but yes. And he knows what to do with it.”
Brooke pumped her fist in the air. “Called it again.”
We took the sand-covered steps that had been cut from stone and wedged into a hillside down to the beach. With sun umbrellas and polka-dotted bikinis, tourists peppered the landscape like splashes of bright paint on a blank canvas. Waves rolled against the shore, washing up seaweed and broken pieces of shells as they darkened the sand. We took off our shoes and let the water tickle our toes. Despite the unusually warm June, the ocean water was still freezing. There weren’t many swimmers willing to brave the icy waters this early in the season, but come July, the town would double the number of lifeguards on duty.
As we walked along the shoreline, laughing and trading stories like it was just another summer on the island, I tried to ignore the feeling that I was still missing an essential piece of information. Something that would make all the difference in how we dealt with the curse going forward. It had been nagging at me ever since Wes had been pulled into the same memory as me, one that didn’t seem harmful on the surface.
In the distance, darkness gathered over the cliffs, blotting out the sun. A few people pointed in that direction and commented on an incoming storm.
But to me, those black clouds looked a lot like smoke.
