Page 3 of Of Poison & Pumpkins
“Suspenders?”
“He’s a bearded wizard sent from the Goddesses. And if you aren’t interested, then I get dibs.”
“I’m definitely not interested.”
“He bet you’d say that.”
“What? … Never mind, I’ll take care of it. Thanks again, Tinz. You saved me today.”
I head towards the front. This guy sounds like a tool. Maybe he has a complaint about a purchase. I roll my sleeves up to my elbows, revealing a dozen connected tattoos of various blended flowers.
As I step into the main shop, magical purple roses bloom in a blink, guiding my way to the register. A man, with his back to me, leans against the counter. He really is wearing suspenders over a tight white Henley. How ridiculously quaint.
Maybe he’s here for one of my ‘custom orders.’ If so, why did he show up before midnight? I can’t deal with my under-the-table clientele breaking the rules. If he whispers the secret password, here in public, I’m going to be pissed. I brace myself to hear one of the code phrases, either ‘Purple Princess’ or ‘The Red King.’ Hopefully, this Fuzer heard that my revenge curses are only meant for mild transgressions.
I mentally list out options he might ask for: the Nerg’s socks to never match, get fined a parking ticket every day, or have food stuck in their teeth after each meal. Oh, the possibilities!
“You’re early,” I whisper, realigning books on the purple shelf.
“Or I’m ten years late.” He swivels around. I gasp at the familiar face as he plants both palms on the counter, leaning over. “Hello, Rynnlee.”
My jaw drops, like in those damned romcom movies.
Elias fuckin’ Thoren.
He stands in my shop, in my town, ten years older. Elias is here. In Oakmar. Now. Right in front of me.
My heart rate doubles and I crack my knuckles behind the counter. The word nervous doesn’t begin to explain the feeling assaulting my body. Looking at his face gives me whiplash, like I’m zipped back in time. Suddenly I feel like a tongue-tied kid again.
The grown-ass man before me is no longer seventeen. Skies Above he has aged spectacularly.
His broad frame has widened, filling him out like a sturdy tree trunk. I’m glad his Venezuelan traits are as sharp as before—large, dark brown eyes with ridiculously long lashes that match his mop of rich brown unkempt hair.
But the suspenders? Those are new, as well as the bulkier muscles. His white shirt opens in a V, highlighting the swirls and curves of tattoos on his solid pecs. The art is also new. And I can’t complain.
I spent junior and senior year secretly obsessed with Elias, the sweetest guy in high school. While he was the epitome of a golden boy, I was a spider crawling in the shadows. But once I matured into my magic, other students started paying attention to me, asking for favors, and even resorting to bribes so I’d use my spells for their gain. After graduation, exhausted and defeated from dealing with Nergs, I moved to Oakmar for a fresh start, never expecting to see my high school crush again.
“Do you need help finding anything?” I swallow, and can’t seem to look anywhere other than his piercing eyes. “The lumberjack equipment is by the teacups.”
“Nah, I’ve finally found what I’ve been searching for.” Elias’s wicked smirk sends delicious shivers up my spine.
“Why have you been hiding from me, Rynnlee?” Elias asks.
Elias Thoren flirting with me is definitely not what I expected when I woke up this morning. I’m shocked—flabbergasted. How does he even remember me?
I cross my arms. “Have we met?”
“Oh, you’re breaking my heart,” Elias says, clutching his chest dramatically. “How about this … I can help you close shop. It’ll cut your tasks in half, then we can go across the street to Broomsticks to catch up.”
“I’m not allowed in there,” I mumble.
“Oh yeah? Says who?” He rolls up his sleeves. “Gimme a name.”
An unexpected laugh erupts from deep in my belly. I’d bet my entire shop Elias has never swung a punch or experienced a single problem in his entire life. Even his current half-frown is whimsical. Elias is too sweet, too accommodating, simply too damned happy to start a fight. Holy Cauldron, he’d be the guy that intervenes in someone else’s brawl, then leave with both men as his new bros.
It doesn’t hurt that Elias had the entire world handed to him on a silver platter with a loving family full of Fuzers. It’s not like my Nerg siblings and parents had shunned me. They just didn’t know what to do with me or how to talk to me.
My future depends on Palooza thriving so I can stay here with Tinsley. Not to mention, I adore every little detail of Blake Street, from the ravens that claim the rooftops every autumn, to the hidden moths painted in each mural.
