Page 51 of Hexed & Hazy

To my relief, his injuries seem to be fully healed.

“Thank you.”

My fingers brush against his as I take the cup. It’s something that wouldn’t usually happen with another barista, but with him…

Is it purposeful?

He meets my gaze with his, so warm and inviting, and I long to stare at him all day. I equally want to run away.

I look around, dropping my voice and leaning closer. “I wanted to apologize for freaking out last night. You’re right. I haven’t been sleeping well, and I think it’s affecting my moods—and my work now, too. I missed a client call this morning.”

I’m saying too much. I know I am, but I can’t stop rambling, and Seth doesn’t stop me.

“You?” His eyes widen. “Missing a call?”

“I know.” I hold my coffee closer to my chest. “It’s embarrassing. I’ve never felt so out of sorts.”

His lips tug into a firm frown. “You don’t have to apologize to me. Not for this. I know how hard you work, and I don’t want you to wear yourself out with your magic for me.”

“I should be fine now, if you want to try the spell again⁠—”

“No.” The answer comes too quickly, and he lets out a slow breath. “We can talk to Scarlet, and if that doesn’t work… maybe we should take a pause on the hex breaking. Let this thing work itself out. It’s temporary, right?”

He doesn’t trust me anymore. Doesn’t trust my magic. He’s right to, but my heart sinks anyway.

“All right.” I grip my wallet tightly, my knuckles turning white. “You’re right. Um… thank you. For the coffee.”

“Anytime.”

I drop some bills into his tip jar.

All is forgiven, but it doesn’t feel as though anything is all right. Not one bit.

I look out the window late into the night, so late that my sisters are all working at the tavern or in bed…

And someone is in my car. The light is on, and a tall figure is opening the door.

This is exactly what I need during my night of relaxation. Someone is stealing my car.

I all but fly downstairs to face the intruder head-on, but…

The moment I notice it’s Seth, my heart stops racing.

“What are you doing?”

My question lingers in the air.

He looks up, his face illuminated in the soft yellow light beaming down from the roof of my vehicle.

It’s not a nice car by any means, but I worked hard to afford it—and neglected it every day since. It’s no wonder that Seth has a little trash bag and appears to be rummaging through my little compartments.

“Um… surprising you,” he says, rolling down the window. “Just cleaning up a little. Laurel gave me the keys. I guess I should have warned you, huh?”

My organizational skills lie mainly in computers and spreadsheets, and they don’t apply to little things like this. Still, I didn’t think it was so bad that he would have to devise such a plan.

“Yes.” I pull my sweater tighter around myself and stop outside the window.

There’s no saying what’s going on with Seth and me. At the café this morning, I could have sworn he was done with me—and perhaps that was my anxiety speaking, but I don’t realize it until he smiles at me and the knots in my stomach finally untangle.