Page 46 of Witch You Weren't Here

‘Alex and I genuinely get along,’ he said, when she looked away from him. ‘There’s no third- or fourth-wheel situation. I promise.’

She nodded quietly.

Hearing Harry talk about this grown-up relationship he’d had, and how they were all able to stay friends, which she could see with her own eyes was true – no magic gift necessary for that special insight – just threw into contrast how she’d been dealing with relationships in her adult life. Like a really depressing spot-the-difference. Avoiding serious relationships with witches and non-magical people alike because they were too complicated. Sure, she dated non-magical people, she’d even had a couple of boyfriends make it to the six-month mark, but she’d never considered committing enough to tell them about the witch stuff.

It was a little like that moment in films – the one Spielberg used in Jaws – where the camera went from doing this wide-focus shot, to narrowing right down on the man’s face. All the hubbub and chaos on the beach, fading into the background to highlight this pinprick of horror-filled awareness.

‘Are you OK?’ Harry leaned towards her across the table and she realised she’d been having her ‘Jaws’ moment right in front of him.

‘Oh, yeah, sure.’ She nodded again and sent him a smile. Just having an epiphany about how I’ve been making myself an emotional cul-de-sac since I was sixteen.

Leon appeared then with their food and her mouth automatically filled with saliva at the mind-blowing aroma wafting over to her.

‘Enjoy. I’ll leave you to eat, and then I have a favour to ask of you, H.’

‘Of course. Anything.’

‘Not a fan of your own advice, are you? You should know by now I will ask for unreasonable things.’ Leon laughed and slid two deep white and blue striped dishes before them. They were heaped with a vegetable mash, slivers of beef and doused in a glossy tan gravy. It smelt like cosy afternoons in winter, windows steamed up and fire roaring as you snuggled up under a fleece, reading.

And it tasted even better. The mash wasn’t completely smooth, so the textures of the onion and potato and carrot caught occasionally on her tongue before they melted away and the tender beef soaked in gravy added a rich umami flavour to it all.

There was silence as they ate, and Kay realised how much she’d needed the simple contentment of eating a lovingly prepared meal and being somewhere comfortable where she was welcomed. Conferences were such a rush, and it had all been buffet foods or working meals, with colleagues or clients, where you couldn’t exactly relax. Then there was the travelling. The last time she’d felt even a smidgen this relaxed was on her impromptu spa evening with Ilina and that had been missing the nourishing, tasty food.

Was that the magic Leon had infused it with? Both she and Harry could probably do with the comfort of being at home after all the travelling. She supposed she’d have to wait and see once her body started properly digesting; at the moment, all she had was a tingle of magic on her tongue where it was beginning to enter her bloodstream.

Harry was already scraping the bottom of his dish. He licked the spoon and let out a groan of satisfaction and Kay felt a dangerous leap in her tummy. He caught her eye and then checked out how she was progressing with her own meal.

‘He’s good, isn’t he?’

‘So good.’

‘To think, you wanted to wander the snowy streets and buy a random bagel somewhere.’ He gave a faux-despairing sigh and a little shake of his head.

‘I’m sure the bagel would have been adequate,’ she said.

‘You deserve better than adequate.’

Her hand trembled a little as she lowered her spoon. He was just bantering with her. To prove it to herself, she ignored the warmth his comment filled her with and continued the sallying instead. ‘So, did you worry it was a little bit Freudian, you shacking up with someone with the same gift as your mother?’

‘Kay, no,’ Harry clapped his hands over his ears and shook his head, but he was laughing.

‘Sorry,’ she said, laughing too.

‘You’re not sorry,’ he accused, dropping his hands.

‘Well, it must have crossed your mind,’ she protested. Why hadn’t she done this earlier? She should have known that the best way to pretend she wasn’t jealous of his history with Leon was – bizarrely – for her to tease him about it.

‘OK, yes, it did. But obviously it wasn’t what attracted me to him, because I’m not a character from a Greek tragedy. If anything—’ he broke off, pressing his lips together and rubbing his finger over them.

‘If anything …?’

‘If anything … it was like jumping in the deep end. I had to learn to trust him, despite it. Leon proved to me that not everyone with the same gifts or affinities will use them in the same way. It’s down to the person. Not the magic.’

Kay transferred her attention back to depositing the last of the delicious food into her mouth. As she chewed and swallowed slowly, she counted up the truths he was telling her. Even as an influencer himself, he’d had to learn to let his guard down around others of the same affinity. Maybe he hadn’t been teasing her earlier when he’d said they needed people like her to question the ethics of magic.

Did his own parents lead him to feel that way? She’d seen his dad use his gift on Harry when he was underage, and now Harry was implying he hadn’t been comfortable with the way his mother used her gift either.

‘Did she use it on you a lot? Your mum?’ she asked carefully.

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