Page 41 of Hexed & Hazy

My next breath comes out ragged. I tuck a piece of auburn hair behind her ear, my rough fingers lingering on her soft cheek. “Ro… I don’t want to hurt you.”

It has nothing to do with the hex. I’ve clearly hurt so many other people, and no one deserves it, but Rowan… she should have the world. Rowan is more than an experiment to me, no matter how much she may be interested in gathering information.

Maybe I’ve been playing pretend all along, acting like I don’t know there’s something here—with Rowan and me—but I want to keep doing that. I want to dig my head into the sand and live there.

She and Dave deserve each other; they should have good things. They could both do a hell of a lot better than me, and it sounds like they want each other. I don’t want to get in the way of that.

But I can’t turn her down. My heart won’t let me.

“I’m not that fragile,” she whispers, killing me with each word. “I can take it.”

Before I can ask her how we’ll test her theory, another pair comes into view over her shoulder, lit up by a magical light all their own—Ozan and Juniper. The heat from our touch fires up as Rowan looks back, but I won’t be the one to end it.

And I don’t have to. The magic fades. Rowan pulls her hand away, even though I want her closer. Want more. My heart drops. There’s space between us suddenly, and I’m not the one who created it.

What the hell is happening to us?

“What are you doing out here this late?” Juniper asks, narrowing her eyes.

“Moon water,” Rowan says swiftly. “Donnie was kind enough to let me borrow the greenhouse, so the bottles don’t freeze.”

“Smart.” Ozan nods, looking impressed. “I’ll have to see if he lets me use it sometime.”

I smile tightly. “I’m sure he would.”

And even though Rowan’s excuse is true, even though she isn’t doing anything wrong, it feels like something is off. On the way home, we’re silent, but my thoughts are anything but. I keep replaying how quickly she pulled away from me.

Chapter 15

Rowan

My face is scalding long after Seth goes home, and far after I follow Juniper and Ozan inside.

Normally, at this time of night, they would go up to their room. I would sit by the fire, knit for a few hours, and go to bed when my eyes wouldn’t stay open. When I beeline toward the couch, the sound of Juniper clearing her throat stops me.

I watch her from the corner of my eye. “Do you need a cup of chamomile? I can put the kettle on.”

“No.” She lifts an eyebrow. “But I’m curious about what you and Seth were really up to. You looked cozy.”

I turn to face her and cross my arms. “Of all my sisters, I thought you would be the one most likely to mind your business.”

“And I thought you were helping Seth with a love hex.”

“Well… yes. That’s because I am.”

“Holding hands isn’t the way to help him.”

“I know that, thank you,” I say, my voice firmer than I’ve known it to be.

Gods. She’s right to question me. Why on Gaia’s green earth did I nearly kiss someone who is notoriously hexed, unlucky in love? It wasn’t right for him. It wasn’t right for me, either. I know better.

Ozan presses his lips together and glances at the stairs, doubtless planning his escape.

Her expression softens. “I’m only trying to make sure you’re not the next one to fall for his… charms.”

What Juniper doesn’t know is that I’ve already fallen for his charms, and it happened far before the hex. I can’t say it’s his charm that did it, actually. The flirtatious act he puts on with others has never amused me—it’s everything else. The moments in between, when the mask falls, and he’s the Seth I’ve always known. Seeing how much he cares for his mother and sisters. The effort he put into planning tonight. The genuine smiles he hands out at work.

That’s the Seth that’s always lived in my heart, even if it seems to disappear around people like Victoria and David.