Page 114 of De-Witched

The look he shot her questioned her sanity. “How do you like your surprise?”

“I mean,” Leah said, glancing down, once again reaching for enthusiasm. “It’s great. I like cooking.”

“We’re not cooking.” He scoffed at the idea. “Although I can toast with the best of them now.”

“Then what...?”

He waved a hand over a bare section of the counter. Air shimmered, forming to a dark green leather-bound book. In gold lettering, the title read: Potions for Beginners.

Leah shot out a hand, dug into his arm. “Potions?”

He nodded. “I’m going to teach you one.”

“A potion?” Excitement throttled her heartbeat up to a near-dazzling speed. She threw herself at him, wrapping both arms around his waist and squeezing python-hard.

He’d barely returned the gesture when she moved back. “Hang on, I thought you wanted to keep everything...you know. On the DL.”

Blank.

“The down-low,” she elaborated. “Hush-hush. Quiet.”

“A little late for that.” Irony ran through the words as he turned to the book. “I’m not suggesting you shout about it, but I thought you’d enjoy learning an easy one.”

“They never work.” She fought the urge to pout. “I’ve tried before with Emma and Tia.”

“Even when they added their magic to it?”

She frowned. “Added their...?” Her teeth clicked together as realization struck. Babied again, not trusted.

“I’m assuming they didn’t.” His hand slid onto her hip, supportive. “You’ll have no problem with this, not with me lending a spark of power. And...I want to give you a piece of my world.”

Ridiculously she felt like bawling. “This magic—it’s not going to hurt you, right? Because if it is, I don’t want to do it.” She cast a longing glance at the book, then away.

“I’ll be fine,” he assured her, convincing enough to make her reservations drop.

“Gabriel. This is...” She trailed off, blown away by the gesture. Swept up by emotion, she went up on tiptoe and snagged his shirt to bring him down for a short kiss. “Thank you.”

God, how was she going to let him go?

Because she had to. But for now, he was here and there was a potion.

Another woman might have played it cool. Leah danced in place and clapped her hands like an infant. “This. Is. Awesome. Where do we start? Is it safe? What is the potion for?”

Apparently it was for levitation. A dash of this powder, a dollop of purple gel, a few herbs and other assorted ingredients all went into a cast-iron pot he had out on the stove. He cracked a smile when she asked about cauldrons.

She listened to him as carefully as any student, insisting she measure and add and stir on her own.

Finally, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together and produced an iridescent green spark that floated in the air until he batted it to the pot below. “It has to simmer now. When it turns midnight blue, it’s ready.”

Leah peered in at the bubbling purple liquid. “Looks kind of like a Witch’s Heart. Cocktail,” she explained with a laugh at his expression. Turning her attention back to the pot, she jigged. “This is so fun. How long will it take?”

“Potion-making is an art as well as a science.” Gabriel glanced at the clock on the oven. “An hour or two.”

“That long?” She watched the bubbles pop. “I can’t believe Emma and Tia never explained they had to add magic.”

“Most likely they were trying to keep you safe.”

“I know. Still, they could trust me.”

---