Page 59 of Witch Please

Leanne winked at him, swirling some wine in his general direction. “Why not stick around? Every night is ladies’ night.”

Oh damn.

“You’re not encouraging him to drink and drive?” Danica cut in sternly.

The redhead smirked. “Not at all. He can drink as much as he wants and then sleep it off in your bed. Problem solved.”

“Tempting as that sounds, I have to be up at an ungodly hour. I wouldn’t subject Danica to that this early in our relationship.” But one day? Maybe he’d have to worry about how to sneak out of their shared bed without waking her.

I’d love to have that problem.

“Understood,” Margie answered, offering him a genuinely kind smile. “It was such a pleasure to meet you.”

A chorus of “Take care” and “Bye, CinnaMan” followed as Danica walked him to the door. “Whew. That wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been,” she said.

Smiling, he bent and kissed her cheek. “They seem like a fun group. I love that you don’t discriminate by age either.”

To his surprise, Danica responded quite seriously. “Never. We all learnsomuch from Ethel. She’s a treasure.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

It was hard to make himself go, but he was doing so much better this time around. Not letting himself become obsessive or needy or clingy. If he kept it up, there was a good chance that this could work out.The curse is all in my head. There’s no earthly reason I can’t have a normal relationship, date like everyone else.

Proving the universe could be merciful, Maya didn’t tease him when he got home. She was in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn, and she waved as he went past and up the stairs. He needed a shower in the worst way. Afterward, he played with Doris in the backyard, and just before ten, he went to bed early, as he always did.

The morning breezed by as usual, and Maya took her lunch break at noon, like normal. As she stepped out of the bakery, a pretty young Black woman greeted her with a kiss on the mouth, and they walked off holding hands. Finally he had confirmation that Maya was seeing someone; she was squirrelly about sharing private details these days, and he had his suspicions as to why. Titus hoped Maya would introduce her girlfriend soon.

Just then the bell tinkled as someone came into the shop.The rush must be starting already.He pinned on a smile that faded as soon as he recognized the asshole who’d wrecked the place before. Only this time, he seemed…different, somehow.

“I came to apologize,” the man said politely. “And to recompense you for the property damage. Will five hundred dollars suffice?”

Titus stared. This jerk had a thick wad in his wallet when he didn’t look like he had two nickels to scrape together. What the hell? He must be involved in shady shit to carry that much cash.I want him gone.Really, everything about this dude rubbed him the wrong way, but he couldn’t call the sheriff on someone trying to make amends.

Shaking his head, he pushed three of the bills back across the counter. “Two hundred covers the cost of the repairs, but I’d rather have an apology.”

“I’m truly sorry. That day, I was exhausted and, frankly, not right in the head. I ought to have gone to bed instead of… Well, you know what I did.”

“Yeah, well, everyone has an off day now and then.” None of his had ever made him run into a store yelling about witches, though.

“Fantastic! You’re the forgiving sort. If you’re really over it and we’re good, maybe you’d be willing to have a beer later?”

Is he asking me out? Or is this an “olive branch” sort of beer?

Titus hesitated. Either way, he wasn’t super into it, but in the end, Midwestern politeness won out.Maybe I’ll call Trevor in case this dude thinks he can roofie me and steal a kidney and half my liver.“Sounds fine. Mind if I bring a friend?”

“The more the merrier. I’ll be drinking at O’Reilly’s tonight.” The big guy’s easy acceptance reassured him.

Maybe it truly was just a shit day when he snapped.It doesn’t seem like he has an agenda.More like he was offering a free beer in addition to the cash as an afterthought.

Titus made a sudden decision, extending his hand in a friendly gesture. “I’m Titus Winnaker. I don’t think it was my fault that we got off on the wrong foot, but I’m willing to start over if you are.”

“Gavin Rhys.” A firm handshake, given by a man who’d done plenty of manual labor. “And I admit it was all my doing. Glad you aren’t holding it against me, as I might be staying in St. Claire for a while.”

“Oh yeah?”

Before Gavin could answer, the bell chimed again, announcing Mrs. Carminian. She sashayed in wearing a fuchsia velour tracksuit. “Good day, boys!” She took a long look at Gavin and then fanned herself. “This bakery is the hottest place in town, I swear.”

“I’ll check the air conditioning. What can I get for you?” Titus asked.

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