Page 23 of Bewitched By the Wicked Witch
"I don't want it." Even as my finger flexed to take it and keep it.
He pressed it into my hand, hurt flashing in his green eyes for all of a moment before he masked it. "All the same, I want you to have it."
The elevator opened, and we stepped into my cozy dwelling. Cosmo stalked off to his place on the far side of the room, climbing a perch I had made for him, giving him the perfect angle to pounce if he needed to.
"Nice, it's you. I love it." Callum turned around, inspecting the space and taking in the living area, a small dinette, and a slightly larger office area with my multiple screens.
"No one asked you to like it. I don't need anyone's approval." Sarcasm dripped from my words. I turned away from Callum, taking a deep breath and slowly, silently letting it out, hiding my face because I knew he was the one person in this world that knew me. Really knew me and he'd read it all on my face if I didn't school my features.
As I stepped back, I tripped over something, my own frustration, apparently. The magazine I'd flung earlier now lay open to Callum's two-page spread.
Before I could grab it, he beat me to it, grinning as he closed it and handed it over. "Interesting reading material," he murmured, barely holding back a chuckle.
I turned around, throwing the magazine that landed once again to the open two-page spread of Callum as ifsomeone had bent the pages to admire that spread for many hours, leaving the magazine opening right at that part.
"It's not mine. Cosmo stole it from the flower shop."
Callum said nothing, but as I turned back to him, I could see the merriment and twinkle in his emerald eyes as he tried desperately not to laugh. He didn't believe me.
I fought the threat of a grin, the corners of my lips twitching before I pressed them into a firm line and let out a long, steady breath. "Fine. I'll help with the investigation. But let's get one thing straight, this doesn't change anything between us. We're not friends, and we're definitely not picking up where we left off. Got it?"
He nodded solemnly. "Understood. I'm here strictly in a professional capacity." His gaze snapped to mine, seeing the cool indifference of the mask I clung to and a flicker of disappointment crossed his features.
"Good. Keep it that way." I gestured toward my office area. "Now, come on. We've got work to do. And Callum?"
"Yes?" He paused, turning toward me.
I let a dark smirk play across my face. "Try not to pass out if you get too excited. Wouldn't want that elephant-sized anatomy causing any trouble, now would we?"
"Which happens, you know, every time I wake up in the morning or anytime I think about the way you look when I'm?—"
"No!" I cut him off. "We are not going there," I exclaimed, even as I felt heat pull at my center, pleasure already coursing through me. A vicious sense of perverse satisfaction grew knowing my hex, meant to break shortlyafter we'd fallen out of love, still continued. It concerned me that it meant he'd never truly stopped loving me. And perhaps, even more concerning, neither had I.
I shook my head as I blew out a long breath. It didn't matter, I was not going down that road again.
His eyes widened before he let out a surprised laugh. "I'll give you a minute to process that," he said, settling into a chair near my desk setup. "Take all the time you need."
I turned away, my heart racing. What in the name of magic had I just agreed to? Working side by side with Callum Renshaw.
I turned to look at Cosmo, who blinked at me from his perch. "I do miss the sticky buns," he admitted.
I nodded. "Me too, Cos. Me too."
What I didn't say was deep down, I had missed Callum too, and it was then the first crack in my carefully built black concrete wall started to fissure.
I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and moved toward my computer setup. Time to focus on those missing girls and not on the man who had broken my heart.
But as I sat down across from him, our knees almost touching in the small space, I knew this was going to be harder than I thought.
Ten
Sage
Iwalked into the coffee shop the next morning and immediately groaned internally. Cate was behind the register again instead of Cindee. Why was the one place I went to escape my tormentors now the place I couldn't escape the worst of them? I wanted to demand Cindee fire her, but it wasn't my place, no matter how close we were. I had to swallow this and just be an adult.
I could do that. Maybe. Probably not.
Cosmo had come with me this time, and as we approached the counter, he hopped up onto it to stare at Cate with obvious disdain.
