Page 1 of A Touch Enchanted

Chapter one

Violet

Justtwomorebeads.Then I could take a much-needed break.

I set down my X-Acto knife and wiped away the sheen of sweat that dotted my forehead with the back of my arm. Even with my small air unit blowing at full blast, the heat in my apartment became unbearable when I had the oven on. With my tongue tucked into my cheek, I laid out the last two Fimo beads on the cookie sheet and set the timer for thirty minutes.

My back cracked as I pushed my hands into my tailbone. I had another four hours of jewelry making ahead of me, but I could give myself a few minutes to cool off before starting the next round. Twisting the top off a local amber ale Kenna had brought over for me to sample, I took a long pull and headed out to my tiny deck. One day I’d have a place big enough for a porch swing, but this suited me for now.

It was after ten and I still hadn’t eaten dinner, but screw it. No one was around to judge me. I probably should’ve gone out with Lucas Igo, the owner of Vino by Virgo, when he asked. Even if he was a leg-humping fuckboy with the personality of a used car salesman. It would’ve been a nice distraction.

But like a fool, I kept my Saturday nights free for someone who wasn’t worth my time.

It had been more than five weeks since my last dinner date with Donovan, also known as my former best friend. Before I helped my parents get their shop up and running for the season. Before magic had been released on the island. Before he touched me that day at the park and lost his shit over the sexual side effects of our opposing energies.

Even though we had a curse that was literally trying to kill us running amok on the island, and we were one of only a handful of pairs who could stop it, he’d rather risk death than get a boner from touching me. It was hard not to take that personally.

Good thing I was over him. Completely, totally, for sure over him.

A cool breeze drifted off the ocean. Moonlight bathed the sand in a silvery light, catching bits of sea glass in the delicate glow. I tilted my face toward the sky and breathed it in. The sea centered me in a way that nothing else could, and I was eternally grateful to Rafe Wilder for renting me the one-bedroom above the credit union for a steal so I could be close to the water.

I’d just put my feet up on the railing, curling my toes into the sunbaked wood, when a knock sounded on my door. If that was Lucas, he was about to get an earful about learning how to take no for an answer. With a frown, I set my beer on the skinny iron table that barely fit on my deck and headed inside.

I unclicked my locks and found Donovan standing at my threshold with a sheepish grin and my favorite lavender honey ice cream from the Big Dipper Malt Shoppe. Startled by his unexpected appearance, I slammed the door in his face and pressed my back to it.

What was he doing here?

A thump sounded from the other side. “Come on, Cricket. Open up.”

My heart raced as I stared around my apartment, looking for a place to hide. Admittedly, I had very few options. My living room only had enough space for a loveseat, a small end table that held a portable fountain, and a skinny bookshelf I’d found next to the big dumpster behind my building. I’d painted it and used it to store most of the supplies I needed to make jewelry. The dining nook became my work space-slash-office. The kitchen was just a single counter that ran along the back wall, with a fridge in the corner, and my bedroom barely had enough space for a nightstand and a walk-through to the bathroom, with my queen-sized bed in it.

But it was all mine, and I loved it.

“I know I’ve been a shitty friend lately, but I brought apology ice cream.” Donovan rapped on the door again. “You know as well as I do that we have to talk eventually.”

Oh, hell no. He did not just show up at my door with ice cream—like that would erase the last few weeks of him avoiding me—and givemea lecture about what we needed to do.

I wasn’t the one who freaked out over the side effects of our magic. I wasn’t the one who canceled all of our plans and ran every time we bumped into each other in town. And I sure as shit wasn’t going to be the one who rolled over and let him think it was okay to treat me like that.

“Go home. I don’t want you here.” I was proud of how forceful I sounded. People thought I was a pushover just because I had a soft, breathy voice. But I’d learned how to harden myself a long time ago. “You don’t get to ignore me, then show up out of the blue being all cute, like you didn’t seriously screw up.”

“You think I’m cute?” The humor in his voice pissed me off even more. I wasn’t interested in playing games with him. “Your ice cream is melting, by the way.”

He was such a jackass. But there was no point in letting perfectly good lavender honey ice cream go to waste.

I opened the door a crack and reached an arm out. Snatching the cup out of his hand, I pulled it into my apartment and shut the door again. My fingers accidentally brushed his, and just that tiny bit of contact had my nipples tightening through my gauzy tank top. His deep chuckle vibrated against the wood, and tremors raced up my thighs. Damn magic.

“I got your ice cream. You can leave now.” I raised the plastic spoon to my lips and let out a moan as the sweet floral taste tingled on my tongue.

“Jesus Christ.” Another loud thunk sounded outside. “If you’re trying to punish me for how I’ve been acting, mission fucking accomplished. Now open the door.”

“Someone sounds mad,” I sing-songed.

“Please, Vi.” He jiggled my doorknob. “I’m trying here.”

My heart squeezed painfully at the pleading in his voice. Donovan had been my best friend my entire life. This was the longest we’d gone without talking since we were eighteen, in those first awkward weeks after I’d told him I was in love with him. As much as I wanted to make him suffer, I missed him. The way I’d miss an arm if I suddenly woke up one day without it. He was as much a part of me as my actual limbs.

Slowly, I creaked open the door. When he grinned, I slammed it shut again.

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