Page 10 of Hexes and Exes

Roman arches a brow at me. “Little chilly for a jog, isn’t it?”

Roman and I were often mistaken for twins when we were younger. We have the same gray eyes and dark hair. He’s six months older than me, but I don’t think either one of us took on the big brother role.

Roman is more relaxed than I’ve seen him in a long time. His features have softened and there’s a sense of happiness clinging to him. It borders on annoying.

“You’re looking disgustingly happy.” I grab a sports drink out of the fridge. The top cracks with a sharp sound. I chug half of it down before turning my attention back to Roman.

“Why does that sound like an insult?”

“Because you’re being delicate. Unless, are you coming back home? Domestic bliss not all it’s cracked up to be?” My brother is a good man. He wouldn’t claim the title if you asked him, but actions speak louder than words. I don’t want things between him and Josephine to fall apart. In fact, their bond has given me more hope than I will ever tell a living soul, but I can’t let him know that.

Roman is sitting in one of the high-back chairs pushed under the island. He lifts a bag off the chair beside him and slides it across the counter.

“Morty mentioned you haven’t been to the shop for a while.” Mortimor Woodroot owns the local apothecary. He’s nosy and outspoken. He generally hates the same people that I find intolerable, which makes him okay in my book. Except for the fact that he has been blabbing to my brother. Eyeing the brown bag with distaste, I finally pick it up with a sigh, only to shove it on the counter behind me.

“I’ve been busy.”

“So busy that you can’t take ten minutes to go get a potion that’s going to help with your curse.”

Morty concocted a potion that helps keep the worst of my curse at bay. It has its own side effects, but it’s better than the rage.

I unzip my coat and throw it on the back of another chair. Now that I’m warming up, sweat drips down my temple, my body finally catching up to how hard I just ran.

“Guess who came in to see me today?” I deflect, not wanting to discuss my curse.

Roman shakes his head. “Who?”

“Dear ol’ Dad has offered up the resort for the brand-new coven’s Lupercalia celebration. And he’s putting me in charge of planning it.” I don’t know why I hesitate to tell him the other part. The fact that Ava Vandenberg has also been given this task.

“No offense, but why would he have you planning a massive party?”

I place my hand over my heart. “I’m wounded. You don’t think I’m capable of ordering some food, throwing up some decorations, and hiring a DJ?”

“I didn’t really need you to prove my point, but no.”

I take another drink, leaving the cap off the bottle. I flip it between my fingers. “They’ve also assigned Ava to help.”

“Jo’s Ava?”

“She doesn’t belong to Josephine,” I snap, then pause to take a deep breath. My curse is really fucking with me. Those words are enough to have the darkness surging through my body like a storm cloud rolling into every corner. I take a deep breath. For fuck’s sake, it was a simple question. “But yes. She’s already a giant pain in my ass and we’ve barely started planning.”

Roman cocks his head as he looks at me. “I think it will be good for you.”

“Please. Don’t start.”

“You work, you barely socialize.” Roman glances at the bag containing the potion from Morty. “We all have darkness inside of us, but it’s how you choose to live your life despite it all that really matters. While the whole masquerade is a farce the covens are putting on, I think spending time with Ava will be good for you.”

I wince. “Don’t tell me you’re match making? Just because you’re all sappy and in love doesn’t mean everyone else in the world is looking for the same thing.”

Roman stares at me for so long that I turn and take my finished drink to the sink. I rinse out the bottle before tossing it in the recycling bin.

“You need to face your demons, brother.”

“Says the man whose curse has disappeared. It’s easy to be superior when you’re looking down from your castle. Just be confident it isn’t made of glass.” I swipe at the sweat trickling down my forehead.

“I know it may seem that way, but I was cutting myself off from everyone because of my curse. Josephine made me realize how much I was missing out on. At the end of the day, even if I still had my curse, I couldn’t walk away from her.”

Roman pontificating on his blessings from the Maiden, Mother, and Crone is not what I need right now.

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