Page 82 of Extra Witchy

“Yeah. You should have,” Dante said from the kitchen.

He’s not just Titus’s friend. Dante’s got my back.

Titus clutched the six-pack he’d brought, looking frankly miserable. “I’m sorry. I made the wrong call. Should I…go?”

Since Trev was already raw from how easily Leanne had cut him loose, he shook his head. “It’s ancient history. Thanks for the apology. I’ll get over it now that I finally said something. Let’s just…chill, like we planned.”

This was a prime occasion to get baked if ever there had been one, but he wouldn’t do that at Dante’s place even if he had stuff with him. Which he didn’t. And he was trying to lean on that less. It was one thing to do it for pain relief or recreation, another not to have any other means of coping with his problems.

“Sounds good to me.” Dante came out of the kitchen, seeming glad the drama was over.

With some faint tension lingering, they all settled in front of the TV with beer and chips. Trev noticed Titus kept stealing glances in his direction, and finally, Trev mumbled, “What?”

“Are wereallygood?” Titus asked.

“Yeah. Well. We will be. I messed up by not telling you about my wedding. You made the wrong call with Sarah. It’s—”

“You’re both messy,” Dante cut in.

Titus laughed first, then Trev joined in. At least it felt okay hanging out with the guys. The game didn’t really register; he kept thinking about Leanne’s face, wounded and stricken. Would she look like that if she didn’t care at all?

Did I make a huge mistake? Well, it’s definitely not my first.

Chapter 26

Leanne had never felt less like celebrating.

But the other witches had done their usual incredible work with setting up the winter solstice. The field was magical after a fresh snowfall, with fairy lights shining through polished ice. Vanessa stuck close to her side, adorable in a cherry-red puffy coat with a fuzzy white hat and matching gloves. She looped her arm through Leanne’s and guided her to the stall where they were selling mulled wine, rich with cinnamon and cloves.

“Gorgeous. This is the best time of year to be a witch,” Vanessa said, after a long, luxuriant sip.

“You say that no matter what rite we’re celebrating.”

“That’s true. It’s good to be a witch. Period.”

Leanne tried to smile, but she couldn’t make her face cooperate. Instead, she glanced away, admiring the outdoor skating rink that had appeared by magic and would be no more than a damp patch in the dirt come morning. Witches glided hand in hand, bundled against the cold, and it would have looked like a Norman Rockwell painting, except there were no sparkling illusions in those pictures, with magic cascading in golden sparks.

“Do you ever wish things were different?” Leanne asked.

“I mean, yeah, obviously. Every time I go to the freezer and find I’m out of mint chocolate chip ice cream. But besides that, uh, what things?”

“Do you wish we could join the modern world? Come out, so to speak.”

“Wow. I don’t know. Sometimes when I’m dating a really fine mundane, I wish I could tell them what’s what. But I don’t know…”

“How well it would go?”

Vanessa nodded, eyes locked on distant fun. “Being Black and a known witch? I don’t know. But enough of that. Let’s find the party! And if we can’t find it, we’ll start it.”

Dammit, I actually want to talk about this, it’s—

Important.

The lights of comprehension switched on. So this was how Trev felt, back then. No, to be fair, it must’ve been worse for him because she was his wife. While Vanessa might be Leanne’s bestie, she didn’t share her life in the same way. But still, it hurt when someone chose not to hear you out. She hadn’t meant to hurt Trev, just as Vanessa hadn’t meant anything bad either.

More to the point, she couldn’t confide in Vanessa or anyone in their coven. Therewasone person at the Yule festival she could talk to, however. Leanne didn’t follow Vanessa; instead, she veered toward Gladys, who was peeling chestnuts and laughing at something Ethel said. There was a beautiful fire blazing up toward the ink-black sky—amazing that all this could be concealed by a bevy of skilled illusionists.

“Can we chat for a bit?” Leanne asked, trying to sound casual.

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