"So is making potions so people can see the faces of their loved ones again," she responded.
"I just want to help people. It's how I got into making sleep potions in the first place. One of my flatmates at university had night terrors, especially around exams, and I wanted to make it easier for him. So I took a potion-making class and figured out how to do it."
"That's very thoughtful of you," Hel said.
I shrugged. "That was my skillset as a witch. I wanted it to be useful. I know some people don't want to be defined by what they are, and I don't either, but I do want to use the talent I have in order to make things better for people."
"That's a wonderful sentiment to have."
The bell rang again, and I stood up so quickly that it made my head spin.
Hel gave me a hesitant smile, showing a slight crack in her normal confidence. "I mean it about being the person to watch over you if you want to test the potion. Just message me, and I'll be there. Though I might need to bring Garmr if it's short notice."
"Thank you."
She waved and disappeared in time for my customer to approach the counter and ask for a potion. I was only going through the motions. Internally, I was wondering what I was going to do about Hel's proposition.
Except that I wasn't. I could pretend that I needed to decide, but I could feel the answer in my gut. I was going to invite her over so she could be there when I tested the potion, even if there was a small part of me that whispered that it was a bad idea, especially if we were still going to be trying to keep things casual. But all that led to was one thought.
What if this could be more?
Chapter 14
CLARA
I straightened out my dress and fussed with the cushions on one of the sofas. Maybe I should be suggesting that Hel watched me sleep in the bedroom, but that felt oddly intimate, even if we had already had sex.
The doorbell rang before I could think of anything else and I headed over to my flat's front door, pulling it open to reveal the woman who had been an almost constant in my thoughts for a while now, and a bouncing puppy.
"I'm sorry I had to bring him," she said.
"It's fine. I like dogs. Why don't you come in?" I waved her into the flat, a little worried about what she was going to think about my small flat with lots of clutter and things on the walls, when I'd seen how pristine her home was.
"This is lovely," she said. "I didn't know what to bring to a potion-watching evening."
"I can see that," I said, trying to reconcile the elegant woman with the two large tote bags she had slung over her arms. One of them seemed to be full of things for Garmr, but I had no idea what was in the other. "Let me take one of those."
She let out a sigh of relief as I took the bag full of puppy stuff, and rearranged the other so that she could control Garmr more. "I brought some pee mats in case it's a situation where I can't leave you at all once you've taken the potion," she said.
"You should be okay to take him out," I promised. "Or go to the bathroom yourself."
"Oh, good. I also brought a book and a yoga mat."
I raised an eyebrow. "You want to do yoga while I sleep?"
"Is that weird?"
"It's not what I expected you to do."
Her lips quirked up into a smile. "How do you think I stay so flexible?"
My cheeks heated in response to her statement as I was reminded of that being true. And how I knew that. "Well, erm, if you want to do yoga, then you can."
"Thanks. But I also might just read my book and eat a big bar of chocolate."
"Those are two different extremes."
"That's how you get the best of life. Wait, Garmr, no." She tugged to stop him from disappearing under the sofa. "So, how do you want to do this?"
