Page 29 of Witch Please

“I’d better not,” Gram said. “It’s so unbecoming when women let themselves go.”

Yikes.Mom wasn’t as slim as Gram, but so what? Danica opened her mouth to counter, but before she spoke up, Clem did. “Go where? Body-shaming is wrong, Gram. How would you feel if someone said you’re annoying and out of touch because you’re old?”

“I can’t control the aging process,” Gram snapped, obviously stung.

Danica tried to mediate, as she always did. “Hey, she saidif. Hypothetical. No need to get upset. Just remember that judgmental comments are hurtful. Coffee?”

“I’d love some.” Mom rose and touched her shoulder. “I’ll help you make it.”

The night didn’t improve from there, but they did manage to prevent the elders from fighting. Gram left first after multiple cheek kisses, and Mom refused an offer to spend the night with a soft smile. “Your father’s waiting for me. He says he can’t sleep without me.”

“Give him my love,” Danica said.

“Mine too,” Clem added.

In the morning, Danica felt like shit.

It seemed likewaylonger than a few days since she’d seen Titus. Now she was reliving that kiss, ending up so flushed that even a cold shower wouldn’t work. Not that she could take one at Fix-It Witches. To make matters worse, her abilities were fritzing when she tried to repair gadgets at the shop.

Her phone buzzed on and off all day. After the awkward meal last night, Gram was sending Bindr profiles again, along with messages making it clear that she wanted their bloodline carried on and that she’d never be satisfied until Danica chose a proper witch family. Sighing, she turned off her phone.I don’t need this.

Time crawled by.

Around three in the afternoon on day seven of Danica’s self-imposed exile from the land of delicious men and sweet pastries, Clem pointed at the door. “Go see him. I’ve never heard of sexual frustration causing this, but there’s a first time for everything.”

“Are you sure? I only worked half a day—”

“You made that microwave radioactive!”

“Oops?” She made a cartoonish expression of regret, all puppy eyes and hunched shoulders, and Clem never could resist.

Her cousin laughed, shaking her head. “You’re a mess. It won’t kill me to close the shop. I don’t have any plans tonight anyhow.”

“Thanks!” Quickly she hugged Clem and gathered her bag before the other woman could change her mind.

Not that Danica thought sheshouldbe working with her power going haywire. It couldn’t be what Gram had warned about already, right? It made no sense logically that desiring a mundane and going on one date could completely disrupt her magic. Lack of concentration, frustration, anxiety—all those emotions must be scrambling her focus.

It will be better once I see him.

***

For Titus, it had been a long, lonely week.

Saturday looked to be no better, though there were plenty of customers judging from the noise out front. He was supposed to play poker tonight with Trevor, Dante, Miguel, and Calvin, but he had no taste for it. Impossible not to fear that his curse was kicking in. After two lunches and a single nighttime date too—that was unusual. Apart from his junior prom date hooking up with someone else, he usually managed to hang out for a while before everything went sideways.

Maya popped her head into the kitchen, interrupting his grim reflections. “You have a visitor.”

“Who is it?”

“The reason for your moping.”

With a spike of desperate hope, he washed his hands and pulled off his apron, coming into the front of the shop to find Danica sipping a latte at one of the bistro tables. She also had an assortment of cookies arrayed before her, and she was perusing her choices like it was a life-or-death decision.Maybe I was worried for no reason?It wasn’t like she’d stopped responding to his texts, and it was possible the shop really had been busy. His past might be making him irrationally skittish about normal relationship ebbs. A regular guy probably wouldn’t get worked up because the woman he liked was wrapped up in work for a few days, right?

Be cool. It’s not a big deal.

“Hey, you.” A few customers watched openly as he joined Danica at her table. Gossip was as good as currency in a small town, and their interaction would be discussed and dissected in multiple chat groups.

“Cookie?” She offered him one of his own macaroons.

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