My witch had reclaimed her magic.
What had changed her mind?
Whatever it was, maybe there was a chance she’d be open to reclaimingus…
Chapter10
Oakley
The next morning was a blur of motherhood and preparations for the relaunch, and before I knew it, Aspen had gone down for his long midday nap.
Lynx said Saros would be by in the morning. He’d even reminded me of that fact before he left.
Now it was 1:00 p.m. and Saros had never come by.
Picking up my phone, I swiped through for any missed messages, but there were none. Then I looked out the window, spotting a dark shadow moving within Luna’s lit truck.
Anger flared through me. I still had a trace of Lynx’s Empathy. If I wanted to know how Saros felt, there wasn’t much more time until the effects ran out. The longest I’d ever had access to someone’s gift was twelve hours, and I doubted I’d somehow now have more than that.
Hazel’s bedroom door creaked open, and she slipped her phone into her back pocket.
“Do you have any showings this afternoon?” I asked, still fixated on the truck and the faux-brewista within.
“Nope. Just some contracts to draw up, but I can do that later.” Her attention shifted to where I was looking. “Need me to keep an ear out for my bestie?”
“Do you mind?” I needed to see Saros, to understand what the hell was going on between us—or not going on, at this point. He kept his emotions so tucked into his chest, I couldn’t miss this opportunity to peel back what truly lay beneath that gruff exterior. “I hate to put you out.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Hazel said, pointing at the door. “Go see him. Just don’t forget we are visiting Mystic Square in a few hours with Atlas so you can walk through the space and make a decision.”
Ugh.“Don’t remind me.”
I was just grateful she’d be there. The pumpkin patch family outing was hard enough.
“Thanks, Haze,” I said, darting into my room. Looking into the mirror, I lifted my T-shirt, making sure I had on one of my new bras, the nursing pads discreetly slipped into the added pockets. When I dropped the hem back down, I noticed a few splattered food stains, so I quickly changed and put on a plain black dress with plunging neckline and a long slit up one of the legs.
Yes, it was completely impractical mom attire, but I needed every confidence weapon in my arsenal to do this.
I threw on my booties, then waved quickly at Hazel before I stomped out the door. No one was out in the cul-de-sac, the morning rush far over. Rarely anyone went by Luna’s in the afternoon. It was usually when the guys prepped things for the coming day and got ready to close up. In fact, it should be closing within the hour, so I didn’t feel bad catching Saros there before he had a chance to duck out and hide at home.
Pale-blue rippled from him when he noticed me. That was, until I skipped the window and walked right around to the door, twisting the knob and pulling it open. I stepped up one stair, poking my head in. “You have a minute?”
“I have more than a minute for you, Midnight.” He finished drying off the coffeepot with the towel half hanging from his shoulder before returning it to the machine. Despite his calm exterior, a popping sensation fizzled out from him. It felt…anxious. I was still trying to figure out how the emotions appeared to me; I’m sure it would take some practice.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Be brave, Oakley.
“Is there a reason you didn’t come by yesterday?” I took a deep breath to get out the bigger question that had hung over me like a thick storm cloud. “Are you ghosting me?”
“Why would you even think that?” His brows furrowed, evergreen eyes glaring at me and making me feel naked. Vulnerable.
“I don’t know. I just thought that before you left—while you were gone—I thought there was something growing between us. Then you come into town andnothing,” I muttered, quickly averting my eyes from his. “Plus, Lynx said you’d be by this morning, and you never showed or texted.”
“It was a busy morning, and I was trying to catch up on things since we just got back.” He cocked his head to the side, crossing his arms. “Lynx not satisfactory enough on his own last night?”
The previous heaviness that’d settled around him seemed to lift into something brighter, like amusement.
He thought this was funny.
