Page 17 of Magic & Mochas
Yes, that was the only reason.I didn’t have any ulterior motives, like wanting to feel her hand in mine or inhale the scent of coffee and magic that seemed to waft from her soft skin.
I turned off the hot water and welcomed the bracing downpour of cold water.After a few minutes of that, I turned it off completely and quickly toweled dry before dressing for the day.
As soon as I opened the apartment’s front door, the aroma of coffee hit me full-force.I smiled to myself as I jogged down the stairs.Sure enough, Clove was standing in front of her espresso machine, and fiddling with the milk frothing wand.
On silent feet, I padded up behind her until I could look over her shoulder.I watched as she artfully poured the steaming milk into two mugs of coffee.But instead of just dumping the milk in like I would have done, she moved the milk jug back and forth.The trail of milk started forming a pattern against the dark brown of the coffee.
It took me a minute to figure out what the design was.By the time she finished making the latte art for the second mug and set it down on the counter, I was grinning.
“Is that a witch hat?”I asked, my voice lower and more gravelly than usual thanks to the early hour.
Clove jumped, but I steadied her with a hand at her waist.She turned to me with wide eyes and put a hand over her heart.
“Thorne!I told you not to pop out of nowhere like that, didn’t I?”she chided, her breathy voice sending warmth straight to my core.
“Sorry.Old habits.”I reluctantly removed my hand from her waist and ran it through my hair.Wait, had I combed it after I got out of the shower?For the life of me, I couldn’t remember.
Clove’s fingers twitched as she stared at my probably messy hair.She cleared her throat and turned to grab one of the mugs, which she then held out to me.“Here.”
“Thank you.”My fingers brushed hers as I took the mug.Its warmth instantly seeped into my hand, and I held it up for a closer look at the design.“Thisisone of those pointy witch hats, right?”
“That’s right.”Clove smiled as she took a sip from her own mug, and sighed contentedly.“They may be out of style now, but my mom still likes to wear hers on special occasions.”
“You’re very artistic.”I took a sip while trying not to mess up the design.
“Thank you.”Her eyes dropped to her mug, but I saw the way the tips of her ears turned pink.
“You could definitely add this to the menu—it could be The Broom & Bean’s signature drink,” I suggested.“I bet people will love it.”
“You think so?”Clover perked up.“Maybe I will!Though I think I’ll have to add in a dash of magic.Maybe something that will allow the drinker to create a shower of sparkles from their fingertips?”
“That is a brilliant idea!As long as the sparkles have no sparks in them; you wouldn’t want teenagers running around causing fires everywhere they went.”I smirked at the mental image.
“Good point,” Clove said with a chuckle.
We leaned against the counter, side by side, as we sipped our drinks.I felt more relaxed than I had in a long time.The silence was a comfortable one.I could imagine myself spending many more mornings just like this.
“Would you like some fruit?Kana will be bringing over pastries later, but I thought you might be hungry…” Clove trailed off as she glanced at the bowl of fruit on the counter just in time to watch the last banana transform into a fish and float straight towards Silas, who was perched on top of one of the armchairs instead of his cat tree.
“Silas!What are you doing?!”Clove gasped, setting down her mug with a sharpclack.
Clove paused for a beat, then frowned and retorted, “What do you mean, you were hungry!I just fed you breakfast an hour ago!”
I chuckled, and took one last sip of my latte before setting it aside.Even though I could only hear one side of their conversation, I could guess how the feline was responding.Clove glared at her familiar, but I wasn’t entirely sure if they were still conversing mentally.
After a minute, I cleared my throat.“Clove, how about I go and pick up a few groceries while you add those sparkles to the recipe?”
“Thanks, Thorne.That would be a big help.We could use some more milk and fruit, sincesomeoneate them all—and some of the magical herbs and ingredients on the list by the fridge.”
“You got it,” I said, grabbing the paper list and quickly scanning it.“I’ll be back before the shadows shift.”
Chapter eight
Whispers & Warnings
Clove
“Whydidn’tyoutellme you were back in town?!”Kana squealed, tackling me in a hug.“I shouldn’t have had to find out my bestie was here from the old ladies gossiping about the scene you made in the cider line yesterday!”
