Page 72 of Witch Please

I guess there’s no need to think about what to say.

There was an argument in their future, and she owed it to Titus to let him express whatever he needed to in order to get closure. She’d take whatever he dished out because when he stopped yelling at her, they’d be done. And her heart ached over that, more than it should, surely, because they hadn’t been together long.

An inner voice that sounded irritatingly like her mother whispered,When it’s right, it’s right. When you know, you know.

“That was random,” Richard said, returning to his seat like he couldn’t wait to resume their scintillating conversation. “Anyway, I was telling you about my rare pottery collection, I think?” He droned on, utterly unconcerned with her lack of engagement.

Their “date” stretched for nearly another hour before Danica unplugged it from life support with the desperate excuse that Clem was covering for her at Fix-It Witches. Richard seemed momentarily surprised that she had free will and could choose to wrap things up, but he recovered swiftly and grabbed her to press a wet kiss to her cheek.

“This has been fantastic. I had my doubts initially, but then I saw your pedigree, worth driving an hour to meet you. It’scrucialto mingle with the right people, if you know what I mean.” His casual elitism rendered her breathless, not in the good way.

He’s just like Gram.

“Right,” she said, her tone dead as a tree that had been hit by lightning.

Richard didn’t hear that or see her flat expression. “I’ll call soon. Look forward to it.”

She was a womb to him, a potential boost to his bloodline. He leaned in to kiss her cheek again, but she dodged.I would rather scoop my own eyes out with a spoon.

They left together and went their separate ways, Richard to his flashy red convertible that made zero sense in the Midwest, since he couldn’t drive it with the top down year-round like people did in balmier climates, and Danica toward the shop. Only she diverted course at the last minute. With tears trembling in her throat and grief fresh like salt on her tongue, she couldn’t bear to see Clem. Not yet. Instead, she veered toward the courthouse—the memorial bench beneath the elms.

And Titus was there. Of course he was.

She’d sensed it through a knowing deeper than magic, though she didn’t want to use the word when it was too late. He sat forward, studying the ground between his knees with hunched shoulders.I put that sorrow there.She could practically see it, pressing between his shoulder blades.We never had a chance. Not really. I’m not brave enough. And he… He deserves better.

Sudden heat stung beneath her eyelids. Somehow Danica blinked away the tears. If he saw them, he’d know something was wrong. She had to be cold now, icier than she’d ever been in her life.

For his sake.

***

Titus had no idea how long he’d been grieving.

He sat there, deep in mourning for a relationship that maybe he’d imagined. It was possible that Danica had never been the person he thought she was, the one he wanted her to be. Maybe it had always been a bit of fun for her, a rebound to make her feel wanted after her ex screwed her over. And that sucked profoundly for him, but it didn’t make her a bad person. Those pitiful hopes just made him…desperate, lonely in a way he’d never even tried to articulate. Because he’d given himself over to good deeds and community service, like he couldearnlove from someone if he put enough good back into the universe.

His head snapped up as every nerve prickled to life. When he turned, she was there. Still as midnight and just as beautiful. But no smile, no life in her pretty eyes. Whatever this had been, it was certainly over. He saw that now. Possibly he’d known before, judging from his unease over her terse replies to his texts. Yes, he was dense and hadn’t gotten the message, and she was too kind to ghost him. Unlike a few others.

“We should talk,” she said.

“I’m listening.” Childish, perhaps, but he wouldn’t make it easy for her.

“Actually, I thought that you might have something to say.”

“About what? The fact that you’ve fallen in love with Leech at first sight and you’re eloping to Peru to raise alpacas together?” He couldn’t keep the angry bite out of his tone. The sad bit was that wouldn’t even be the weirdest reason someone had dumped him.

A startled laugh escaped her. “What? No.”

His phone vibrated, not the first time. Maya must be wondering where the hell he was, as he rarely took long lunches and he always texted when he got held up. Titus couldn’t bring himself to answer. What would he even say?

“But you’re seeing him. Just like you were seeing me.” Past tense, no reason to pretend he didn’t understand that they’d had an expiration date in her eyes and she was done with him, chucking him like a carton of bad yogurt.

“It was just a blind date,” she said dismissively.

That made things worse, not better. If she’d accepted a setup from mutual friends or started using a dating site, she couldn’t be remotely as into him as he was her.God, I’m glad I never told her she was my first.Now, it was just an embarrassing secret to keep, and nobody ever needed to know he’d had sex for the first time at thirty-two in an office chair.

“Ah.” He had no idea how he was supposed to react because she wasn’t giving the usual speech.It’s not you, it’s me. I’m not ready to commitor maybewe’re just not a good fit.

Instead, she radiated chilly calm like a field of snow nobody had walked through. But he remembered too well how she looked on top of him, her head thrown back while they both lost their minds. If he was different, she might not be giving up right now on something he’d thought was special. He hated that he had no words for this. Was it even a breakup if they hadn’t been official?

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