Page 21 of Best Hex Ever
“Tea’s ready,” Dina’s mum called out just before she stepped into the room, carrying a tray of tea and a plate piled high with all manner of biscuits. Dina rolled her eyes at Scott.
“Oh, you’re already looking much better!” Dina’s mum said. “But you should still have some of this.” She poured out three cups of tea—chamomile and honey, Scott reckoned.
Scott took a biscuit from the plate that Dina’s mother was holding out to him.
“I’ve never seen one like this before.”
“You’ve never seen a biscuit before?” Dina grinned. “It’s a gazelle horn biscuit. Mostly almond and sesame seeds.”
Scott took a bite. “You’re selling it short, this tastes heavenly,” he said, eating the whole horn in two bites.
“They’re Dina’s favorite,” her mum said, her eyes roving over him appraisingly. “So, how do you know my daughter, Scott?”
Dina and Scott spoke at the exact same time.
“We met on the train.”
“I went to her café.”
“Is that so?” Dina’s mum said, quirking an eyebrow.
“What Scott meant to say is that he had the audacity to topple my evil eye amulet from the wall at the café yesterday,” Dina said.
Nour mocked being horrified at this.
“And then we bumped into each other again on the train here,” Dina continued.
“So that’s why you were all in a huff when you got home,” Nour remarked.
“I wasnotin a huff,” Dina said icily.
“And then you bump into each other again. Three times in such a short span, what a coincidence,” she said, as if it wasn’t a coincidence at all. “Well, Scott, I was about to head off to bed before you brought Dina home, so I’ll say goodnight. We need our beauty sleep for the weekend we’re about to have.”
“Goodnight,” Scott said. Dina’s mum smiled at them both with a knowing expression and left them toit.
Now that they were alone again, Scott felt a sense of tension return to the air. Christ, the way Dina was looking at him from below those thick eyelashes of hers was not helping.
“So, what’s happening this weekend?” he said, his voice sounding rougher and lower than he’d intended. Something about the way that Dina was sitting, holding her teacup in both hands, her legs criss-crossed, made his hands ache to hold her again.
“A wedding,” she almost whispered.
“You don’t say.” He laughed. What were the chances?
“Why are you pulling that face?”
“Well, it just so happens that I too have a wedding this weekend.” He saw the realization dawn, her eyes widening.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You’re Eric’s best man, aren’t you?”
“And I’m guessing your Immy’s maid of honor?”
Dina slammed her teacup down on the table.
“Fuck.”
