Page 25 of Witch Please

“You’ll never let that go, will you?”

“Not likely. Fun date?”

He wouldn’t fearlessly use the word “perfect” in front of his sister or the teasing would never end. “Yeah, we went to Burma Kitchen and Star Lanes after.”

“I’m glad. Things have been rough…” She hesitated, and he could tell she was thinking about their mom, how Dad had moved on with Susan, and maybe the new baby as well. She might be thinking about Titus’s many exes too. “For a while now. You deserve to be happy.”

“It was one date,” he protested.

“Still, I’m glad that things seem to be working out for one of us.”

Titus wished he could find the right words to comfort her. But likely Maya wouldn’t believe him if he said that they didn’t do anything wrong. That it was Dad’s weakness—the man couldn’t stand to be alone even for a little while, and he lacked the fortitude to process grief on his own, so he immediately filled that void with someone else. Or hell, maybe the old man just had the emotional depth of a puddle. Two months after Mom passed, he’d said, “Life is for the living,” just before he’d started dating Susan.

Those reflections blighted Titus’s good mood. The best way for him to be happy was to pretend his dad was gone too.

And how fucking sad is that?

“Yeah, yeah. I should get to sleep. Doris, bedtime!”

The dog sprang up and raced Titus to his room, where she sprawled and took up way more than her share of space as he brushed his teeth. Once he settled under the covers with Doris draped over the other pillow, he plugged in his phone and checked. Minor disappointment when he saw that Danica hadn’t texted him, but maybe she was waiting for him to do it first.I said I would.

Before he could think better of it, he fired up the messenger app.Thanks again for tonight. Sweet dreams.After way too much reflection, he added a heart emoji before hitting send. Maya was right about one thing: relationships had always been a struggle for him, and the idea of failing scared the shit out of him.

In the morning, there was no reply to his message—unsurprising, as his day started so early. He rushed through his morning routine and hurried to the bakery. To his surprise, Stan didn’t say a word about their meeting the night before. Since the man wasn’t a morning person, it seemed like he couldn’t muster the energy to joke around either.

Working in the kitchen always took Titus’s mind off everything else, so the hours flew in a flurry of delicious aromas. There was undeniably a manual labor component to running a bakery, but when he beheld the finished products, all lined up on trays to be sold, happiness sparkled through him. He loved inventing new recipes, developing products to surprise and delight his customers. Currently, he was working on a healthy version of a gingersnap, as his grandmother’s recipe called for almost a cup of lard and way too much sugar and molasses.

“Do people evenwantgingersnaps these days? Let alone healthy ones,” Maya asked when he popped out of the kitchen to relieve her for break.

Mrs. Carminian happened to be browsing the pastry case, and she glanced up with sudden interest. “Ido. My husband loves them, but he’s diabetic, and he needs to watch his sugar and his carbs. If you pair old-school taste with improved nutrition, I’d buy two dozen a week, and I’m not the only one. My Sunday school group was just talking about the gingersnaps and snickerdoodles we used to get at the weekly church potluck.” She sighed. “People don’t bake like they used to.”

“That’s better for me,” Titus pointed out with a warm smile.

He was naturally friendly and courteous to older folks, but it paid major dividends with women like Mrs. Carminian. She beamed at him as she bought out his entire stock of low-carb, sugar-free treats. Silently Maya bagged up the pastries as Mrs. Carminian chattered to Titus.

“Still working as a volunteer firefighter? Maybe I’ll have some trouble with my barbecue this weekend.” The old lady winked at him.

He flattered her by flirting back politely. “I’ll be there with bells on.”

“Bring your big hose instead!”

Oh Lord.It never failed to astonish him what elderly women would say.

From somewhere to the side, Maya choked on a laugh, and when Mrs. Carminian left, his sister smirked. “You’re so smooth with the grandma set. If only that carried over to the younger ones.”

“Eat your lunch,” he snapped.

As usual, his sister’s break proved to be ridiculously busy, and he got out fifteen minutes late. He’d been in a hurry this morning, so he hadn’t packed anything. He could get a sandwich to go from the café down the road, but really, he was more tired than hungry.Maybe I’ll just go sit in the park for an hour.Early mornings had trained him to nap anywhere, including a bench in the sun.

Since Danica hadn’t responded to his text, he fought irrational fear that he’d never hear from her again.Maybe I should break something. Then I’d have a reason to call her to the bakery.But she was sitting on his bench when he got there—with lunch already set up.

She smiled at him, apparently unaware of his racing thoughts. “You’re late. Lucky I’m feeling patient. I didn’t start without you.”

“That’s… You...” Honest to God, Titus had no idea what to say.

He recalled that they’d discussed meeting here for lunch and she’d offered to make various healthy concoctions, but they hadn’t made concrete plans for today, right? Yet here she was with two lunches and two bottles of juice and so pretty that he had to tuck his hands in his pockets to keep from hugging her. Each time, she warmed him like a summer day, leaving him hot and breathless. Actually, itwasa summer day, so it could be that too.

“Cat got your tongue?” she teased. “If so, I can look for Goliath. In fact, I’m a little startled that he’s not here already.”

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