Page 43 of Witch Please

“That must be your bike outside. It’s awesome! I’ve only seen pictures of vintage Ducati like that. Must’ve cost a mint.”

“Hell if I know. I inherited it from my old man. Looks like you work here too, eh? Maybe you’ll be more reasonable. I just have a few questions for you, sweetheart, and I’ve bought my coffee right and proper. Can we have a little chat?”

If the jerk hadn’t been so gruff and angry five seconds ago, Titus wouldn’t have been so surprised at his sudden shift. Now he was trying to charm Maya, and just…none of it was normal. This dude had to be mental and suffering from rapid mood swings. Titus came around the counter and put himself between the two.

“We’re not helping you with your witch hunt,” he said deliberately.

Maya flashed him an “oh crap, one of those” look, and he inclined his head slightly. She pressed her lips together briefly, sighed, then added, “Have a nice day!”

It was practically illegal around here not to end a conversation on a friendly note. He smiled at his sister and stepped around the asshole to open the door. With a frustrated roar, the guy chucked his coffee—big surprise—dashing it against the floor, and then he lunged. Titus’s first instinct launched him at Maya to shield her, but the bastard gave the cash register a furious shove, flipping it upward. He stormed out as it slammed on the floor; it didn’t break into pieces, but it didn’t turn on when Titus righted it.

Maya stood in stunned silence, gaping at the widening pool of coffee on the floor. “What thehell?” she finally managed to say.

Titus shook his head, already going for the mop. Stan poked his head out of the kitchen. “Do I need to call the sheriff?”

“Maybe?” Probably it would be smart to get this on the books in case that whack job came back raving about witches again.

“The fun never ends,” Maya muttered.

“You’re telling me.”

His sister seemed shaken, and Titus wasn’t a lot better off. He did call the sheriff and filled out a report, showed footage of the strange encounter and the subsequent property damage. Sheriff Mulvihill frowned and shook his head when he finished up.

“I have no idea what to make of this. But I’ll keep an eye out. If I spot this perp, I’ll haul him in and teach him some manners.”

They ended up closing early, with baked goods left, which almost never happened. He bagged them up to donate to the St. Claire Food Bank. Hopefully his loss would be somebody else’s gain. Titus liked to imagine kids being surprised with unexpected treats.

“You’re stopping by the food pantry?” Maya guessed.

He nodded. “When life gives you lemons and all that.”

“Don’t you ever get tired of looking on the bright side? You’re always telling me things are fine, even if they aren’t. That they’ll get better, even if they’re terrible. What will it take to make you admit that our lives suck and things may always be crappy? That’s just how it is for us because even our own fucking dad wanted a do-over.”

Maya dashed out, leaving him with a powerful ache in his chest.Goddammit. I didn’t even see that coming, and I should have. I knew she was hurting.

The only bright spot in this shitty situation? Now he had an excuse to call Danica. The bakery couldn’t operate without a working cash register. Really, he just wanted to hear her voice, though.Bad, so bad.The black hole inside him might swallow up the last of his optimism if he didn’t talk to her. Without hesitation, he rang up the shop, knowing Danica would be working, not her cousin.

“Fix-It Witches, how can I help you?” Her voice was bright and professional, like a ray of sunshine shot directly into his bloodstream.

Some of the tension and stress scaled back. Desire filled in the cracks, leaving him aching for her from head to toe.

“I have an urgent need for service,” Titus said.

Chapter 13

That doesn’t make any sense.

Danica clutched the phone until the handset dug into her palm. Titus shouldn’t be calling, not after the spell yesterday. His interest in her ought to be fading, but the desire making his voice so husky and low came across the phone line so clearly that her toes curled. As her heart quickened in response, she attempted to scale back, but there was no leashing the excitement quivering through her.

Is he magic-resistant or something?There were rare cases of mundanes who shook off spell effects, but she’d never met anyone like that before.

Trying for a modicum of professionalism, she said, “What can I do for you?”

“Take a look at the cash register? We had an…altercation with a weirdo, and he knocked it off the counter. Now it won’t turn on.” It seemed like Titus was trying to collect himself too.

While his initial request had come out sounding like pure sex, his account became more matter-of-fact. It sounded like he did need repair service; this wasn’t a ruse to seduce her.Dammit.Impossible not to feel slightly disappointed about that, however ill-advised those feelings were.

“I’ll lock up early and bring my toolbox. It will be hard for you to open in the morning without it, right?”

---