And then I blinked, and the man was gone. Just like that—poof—into thin air. For a split second, I almost thought I saw a bat flying away, but that couldn’t be possible.
I picked up my phone, dialing the number without a second thought. “Barrett?” I breathed out, trying to ignore the way my body was shaking as I walked into my office and sank down onto the couch.
“Baby.” His voice was soft. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “Something weird just happened.”
The street was empty—had I imagined it?
The rustling of branches filled the phone, and then his voice was much clearer. “Do you want me to come over there?”
I shook my head, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “No. I’m probably just seeing things that aren’t even there.” I forced out a laugh. “It’s okay. It’s fine. Maybe I just didn’t get enough sleep last night.”
He sounded concerned. “Are you sure? I can be there in a few minutes and check it out.”
“I’m sure,” I reassured him. “Don’t worry about me. We’re opening the doors now, so I’m just gonna go back to my office and work on some paperwork.”
“Promise you’ll call me if anything else happens?”
Just hearing those words from him already made me feel better. Knowing that he’d drop anything, within a moment’s notice? That was something I couldn’t take for granted. “I promise.”
We hung up, agreeing to meet later at the bar after I finished work for the day.
Sitting in my chair, I took a few deep breaths, trying to collect myself. Why had that freaked me out so much? It wasn’t like strange things didn’t happen in this town all the time. It was a town of witches after all. I’d grown up used to the unexplained and eerie things.
But that felt… different. More menacing. I could barely focus on my work, the anxiety plaguing me. Was he connected to the wards, somehow? Maybe I did need Barrett to come down here. He could sniff around and see if there was any trace of the blond man…
My office door opened, and Willow walked in, munching on a pumpkin muffin.
“Hi,” she said, her mouth full of food. “Sorry. S’ good.” She sat in the chair in front of my desk, a to go cup in one hand, and her treat in the other. She balanced her muffin on her belly. “Two months to go, and I feel like I’m going to be as big as a house before I deliver.”
I laughed. “It’s your shop. You don’t have to apologize to me.” She looked around the office, and I wondered if she was thinking about all of the memories she’d had here.
“You made it yours,” she said, a soft smile on her face. “This place… It was Luna’s dream, and I loved it because of her. Butnow, it feels like a part of my past versus a piece of my future. And I’m so proud of everything you’re doing.”
“Thank you for saying that,” I said, feeling the warmth in my chest. “For everything, really. For the longest time, I didn’t really know who I was.”
“And now?”
“And now…” I gave a hesitant smile. “I think I’m starting to.”
“He’s good for you, you know,” Willow said, reaching over and squeezing my hand. “Barrett.”
I bit my lip. “I don’t know… It’s still so new. And he’s going to leave, eventually.”
“Unless you ask him to stay.” She popped the last piece of muffin in her mouth and chewed.
I shook my head. “I couldn’t ask him to do that. His job… It’s important, you know?”
She nodded. “But that doesn’t meanyou’reany less important, babe.”
Warmth spread to my cheeks. “I just…” I justwhat?“It scares me, you know. How fast it feels. How much I like him.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me,” Willow started, looking down at her bump, like that said everything. In a way, I guess it did. They met last October, and a year later, they were expecting their first kid. “It was fast for us, too. But after a month together, I knew. He’s my soulmate, so sure, that played into it, but also… I couldn’t deny that I loved him.” She gave me a bashful smile. “Damien showed me how much he cared for me every day. There was no waynotto fall in love with him, demon and all.”
I looked away. “I don’t know if Ilovehim,” I whispered. It was too soon for that. Sure, I liked him, but liking him andlovinghim were two different things. Liking him and being willing to upheave my entire life for him was another. “Maybe I just don’t know what I want.”
“I think you do know. And I think it terrifies you.”
