Page 79 of Hexed & Hazy

I nod.

“I was… maybe trying to impress you with that.” He winces. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m not a dinner date kind of guy.”

I roll my eyes. “You don’t have to impress me. You already have me.”

“But I want to.” He peers at me earnestly. “I want to be better for you. I want to do this right.”

My expression softens and, still holding the drink in one hand, I lean in and kiss him softly. “You are the best.”

And I believe it. My affection for Seth has never been about changing or fixing him. My love for him was unconditional, even when he was at his wildest, even when I told myself he was nothing like my usual type. It still is. Perhaps that’s why I’ve always loved him so much, and I fight the urge to tell him the truth dangling from the tip of my tongue.

We sit down on a bench and sip our drinks with stars floating around us.

“The only thing that would have been better is stargazing, but it’s too cold. Soon, though. This spring.”

It comes with a heavy assumption—that we’ll still be together in that time, even though this is our first date. My face flushes, but Seth doesn’t seem to think of it.

“Hopefully you’ll have more time to hang out then?” he says. “Be working a little less.”

I grimace. “I doubt it. That’s tax season.”

“Damn.” He takes a drink. “You know you’re overworking yourself, though, right?”

I let out a surprised laugh. “I’ve never known you to be so blunt.”

He’s certainly made hints, the same as Juniper, and he’s done small things to take work off my plate. Hearing him state it so factually is amusing—and infuriating. It’s not as if I can do anything about it.

“What?” he says. “It’s true! It’s always been true.”

“Well… yes, I know, but I’ve been doing it for years. I was the one making the most money of my sisters then, and I suppose I still am. It’s a sense of responsibility. Necessity.”

Though Seth only nods, quieter than I’ve ever known him to be, I know he’s listening. He can see me, and he understands the responsibilities I’m carrying. My sisters are all doing better now, but I still want to be the one they can depend on, even if they rarely seem to realize how much weight I’m carrying.

“We’ll both have to slow down soon,” he says. “For our next date, I’m taking you on a relaxing weekend… spa… thing.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Do you think that’s possible with our schedules?”

“I’ll make it happen.”

“And what about your work? I know you’re managing the coffee shop now, but…”

“I’m happy to focus on that for now,” he says. “It gave me enough of a raise that I could quit the odd jobs, and Donnie said I can start helping with his side of things—the florist side. I think that’s what I want.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He scratches the back of his neck. “I was thinking of starting up Mom’s garden again.”

His mother’s garden: beautiful vegetables, flowers, and herbs. She used to sell them to our mother, other local witches, and at the farmer’s market. The vegetation began drying up when she lost the energy to be out there in the sun, and the thought of Seth bringing the garden back makes my heart soar.

This will be good. For him. For us. For everyone.

“I think that’s a splendid idea,” I say earnestly.

We stay on the bench for some time, chatting as though we haven’t seen each other in ages, and have a few more cocktails—until an idea comes to me.

“Come,” I say. “I have one more thing to show you.”

“I’m supposed to be the one taking you on a date,” he says. “Are you telling me you’ve been here before?”