Page 40 of The Neighborhood Witch

“Did you come over here just to make small talk?” Alice quickly replied before leaning back in the chair.

“Um, well…” Hugo mustered before taking another sip. “No, I thought—”

Alice grinned. “Wow. You’re out of practice, aren’t you?”

“In a lot of things,” Hugo replied. “I haven’t done much since Elizabeth died.”

“Grief can be hard to overcome.”

Hugo peered at the burning log in the fireplaceand then back at Alice. “We used to drink wine by firelight all the time and just talk,” Hugo explained before pausing. “It feels good to do it again.”

He finished his glass and poured more from the bottle.

“What was she like?” Alice asked.

“She loved life. She was a ray of sunshine. Elizabeth was my everything,” Hugo replied. “She would have loved your decorations. History was her passion. She would have examined every picture you have on the wall. Probably tell you about the era.”

“Sounds like she knew what her passion was and followed it,” Alice said before drinking the rest of her glass. “All historians have a favorite time period. What was hers?”

“She loved the renaissance the most,” replied Hugo. “She used to drag me to the Renaissance Festival every year. It wasn’t my thing, but I went anyway. For her. She always dressed up in costumes. She was in heaven. I enjoyed watching the jousting, though. This year, I didn’t go. I couldn’t bring myself to go.”

“You loved her. I can tell,” Alice said.

“She was my everything, and now she’s gone. The worst part was that all I could do was watch. Watch the love of my life fight for hers. She hid the pain, but I saw it in her eyes. She always felt guilty about her parent’s deaths. I never understood it. Not until I watched her die, and there wasn’t anything I could do. We were a team, a partnership, and she had to fight that battle alone.”

“She wasn’t alone. You were there for her. That’s all she could have asked for—you by her side.”

Hugo focused on the stillness of the reddish-purple liquid held in his hands. “I would’ve given anything to fix her, like a magic wand or something I could’ve waved to heal her… If only they were real.”

“What if they were?”

Hugo huffed. “If only.” After taking another sip, he set his glass down. He twisted his ring, gave it two turns, and stopped. Hugo wasn’t here to discuss his past with Alice. He wanted to discuss their future. Picking up the glass again, he took another sip. “So, what brings you to a small town like Newbury Grove?”

Alice sat upright in her chair. She refilled her glass and gulped down half of it. “Have you ever trusted someone… someone you were so certain supported you… only to have them betray you?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

“I did. Her name was Sam. I trusted her so much that I revealed a secret. A secret that only a few knew. Sam betrayed me. Turned on me.”

“Turned on you?”

“The relationship,” Alice paused, lowering her eyes to the floor. Hugo could sense she was holding back. “I had to get away. I had to leave. We argued. She was talking to the wrong people. I couldn’t trust Sam any longer. I was terrified. I searched for a place I could hide away. That’s when I found Newbury Grove. So far, this place has been welcoming—well, mostly. I hope it stays that way.” She glanced up.

“Don’t worry about Johanna. She’s grumpy to everybody.”

“She’s not the one I’m most worried about.” Alice locked eyes with Hugo.

He lost himself in her emerald greens. Hugo sensed a hint of fear behind her eyes. Their gazes lingered. He fought back feelings of jumping across and tearing at each other’s clothes. Burning desires swelled from deep within. He wanted her in that moment and was certain she wanted him. The unforeseen force of his past held him back.

Alice bit her lower lip. She held her breath for a long pause before exhaling. Hugo’s heart beat faster, and his head swirled. It felt like an eternity, yet it was only a few fleeting moments. He wanted it to last forever and hoped she did as well.

Hugo was the first to look away. He took a few more sips. Those few sips of wine mustered enough courage within Hugo to spit into his hand.

“I promise that I, Hugo Dodds, do solemnly spit swear, sealed with a kiss, will never turn on you, Alice Primrose, for being who you are,” he proclaimed as he extended his righthand. “On the condition that you accept me for all of my faults.”

Alice giggled before spitting and extending her right hand to proclaim, “I promise that I, Alice Primrose, do solemnly spit swear, sealed with a kiss, will never turn on you, Hugo Dodds, and accept you for who you are.”

They shook hands.

---