Page 43 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

Jayce nods, and I take pity on the alpha.

“It was very thoughtful and I appreciated it. The muffins were delicious.” I follow my instinct to reach out and squeeze his forearm where it rests on the table. He startles, looks down at my hand, and when his hazel eyes rise to meet mine again, they’re brighter than they were before. “But I don’t need gifts, truly.”

I fall into his gaze, and he searches mine. My hand squeezes his arm, and distantly, I sense Siobhan’s attention pinging between us again. It’s like everything has slowed around us though, like the entire café has fallen away and we’re the only ones who are in the present moment. Jayce swallows hard, and I lick my lips as I watch his throat bob. His eyes drop to my mouth, and both of us lean the slightest bit towards each other.

I wish this table weren’t between us, but then someone drops a plate in the back kitchen and the clap of sound shatters the moment.

I snatch my hand back, and Jayce drops his arm below the table into his lap, his other hand now gripping where mine was.

“What would you like?” Hayden asks, and I wonder how long that moment truly lasted. Was it as endless as it seemed, or was it a split second that passed in the blink of an eye?

“Hm?” I tear my gaze from Jayce to focus on Hayden.

“If you don’t want gifts, what would you like instead?”

“Oh.” I pause to consider it, although I don’t really need to. It’s an excuse to get my brain working properly again after whatever Jayce did to me. “I just like spending time with the people important to me.”

Hayden nods, a small smile playing around their lips.

Siobhan raises her hand now, like Jayce did earlier, and we all look at her with varying levels of amusement.

“Yes, little witch?” Hayden says.

“I like gifts,” she says, once again trying to hold in a smirk. “Just saying.”

We all laugh, and the tension that had been building between us breaks like the sun coming out from behind a cloud.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Siobhan

I need to fan myself from the heated tension between Jayce and Aury. We all seem reluctant to let the date come to an end, and to my surprise, it’s Jayce who suggests we order dessert and play a game.

Hayden quirks a secret sort of smile at him, then takes our dessert orders up to the counter.

“What game should we play?” I ask, but before I’m finished speaking, Jayce is laying a box of cards on the table.

“What’s this?” Aury picks the box up and opens it. He drops the colorful cards into his palm, and I snag the folded instruction sheet. We both look up at the same time to see Jayce’s face aiming for tomato red again.

“Jayce?” I say.

“It’s stupid,” he mumbles and reaches for the cards.

“Oh look!” Aury gleefully holds a card out to me. “A cute little witch!”

“And here’s a sweet treat for the cute little witch,” Hayden says, returning with our desserts and placing a slice of carrot cake in front of me.

“Oooh, thank you,” I say. “That looks delicious.”

“Did you explain the game yet?” Hayden asks Jayce while they pass out the remaining desserts. Jayce shakes his head, his fist now clenched on the table instead of reaching for the cards.

“How do we play?” Aury says, while I’m busy salivating at how good this carrot cake is. No raisins. Cold cream cheese frosting. Perfect.

“It’s basically ‘Go, Fish, but it’s called ‘You Wish’ instead,” Jayce says.

“Aww, that’s cute,” I say. “Is it the same, seven cards each?”

Aury deals out the cards when he nods, his embarrassment slowly easing as we play. I think it’s an adorable game. I mean, it’s clearly meant for children, but the cards are so fun. Mermaids and witches, gnomes and dragons, fairies and sea serpents.