Page 10 of Boss Witch

“What do you think? Should we do this again?”

“Visit goats? Or eat in a restaurant? Or—­”

“Funny,” she cut in. “Are you in or out?”

“In. If you’re willing. I can only imagine what other local attractions await.”

She gave him a look. “I can’t promise you a giant twine ball, that’s in Kansas.”

“A road trip is out of the question, I take it? Distances here are so prohibitive.”

Because she was ridiculous, Clem checked her map. “Yeah, that would be like ten hours in the car. I’m not driving that far for twine.”

“Ten hours,” Gavin repeated, shaking his head. “You can go from London to Edinburgh in less than half that time.”

“Keep bragging, English.”

“It’s a statement of fact,” he pointed out.

She waved a hand dismissively, finishing her cheeseburger. “How long did it take you to get here from Florida anyway? On the bike.”

“It should’ve been two days of travel, I suspect, but I did it all at once. Eighteen hours at a go, including periodic rest and breaks.”

“That’s wild,” Clem said. “Weren’t you sore?”

“Excruciatingly. I was also exhausted and half out of my mind, hopped up on those ridiculous 5-­hour Energy drinks they sell at all the truck stops. Almost gave me arrythmia!”

That would explain Gavin’s outburst at the bakery, the one Danica had reported at their coven meeting. From the time she’d spent with him, it did seem out of character. She smothered a smile over the idea of 5-­hour Energy being strong enough to make him act so twitchy and out of control. He narrowed his eyes, apparently reading some of that in her expression.

“What’s so funny?”

She couldn’t admit that she’d known who he was before they met, but she could cover with the truth. “It’s adorable that someone who dresses like a biker could be undone by something teenagers knock back during exams like it’s no big deal.”

“When you put it that way,” he mumbled.

Clem signaled the waitress and snagged the check before Gavin could. Winning little power plays like this always put in her a good mood; she liked living with her secret motto written in all caps—­BOSS WITCH IN CHARGE.

“Bathroom break?” she recommended, after she paid the bill.

“Are you asking or telling me?”

“I mean, it’s a suggestion, but do what you need to,” she said, smiling. “I’ll be back.”

“Confession, I’m slightly disappointed that you didn’t attempt the Arnold accent.”

“I’ll do my best not to let you down you again.” That shouldn’t sound either slightly flirtatious or vaguely ominous, but somehow her tone made it both.

Clem headed for the bathroom before he could decide she was weird.And I am. I totally am. There’sno wayI should be having this much fun when so much is riding on the outcome.

When she emerged, she didn’t see Gavin in the restaurant anywhere. Already, his name popped into her head instead of his title, and that…might become a problem. There was a small gift shop attached, so she headed that way to kill time and found him browsing a rack of souvenirs. He’d bought a tiny stuffed goat, and it looked absurd and adorable tucked beneath his right arm.

“This is for you,” he said, handing her the plush. “A memento.”

“That sounds like you’re planning to leave town.”

Please do. Before this gets more complicated and I do something we’ll both regret.

Yet while that would be the best and simplest conclusion, better for everyone involved, a small part of her wasn’t ready to let him go. In fact, she braced for his response.

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