Page 58 of Just A Little Magic

Owen

Are you sure? I don’t want to ruin your night.

Anders

Our night will be ruined only if you *don’t* come.

Rory

That is correct.

Jakob

^see above

Owen

Okay, I’ll be there.

If there were awards for foolish decisions made with your dick instead of your brain, I’d be the clear favorite to win. When I’d agreed to the month Barrett wanted, it was because the chance to get everything I’d ever desired was too tempting to turn down.

Now that I was in it, it seemed like a short-sighted plan. What hadn’t figured into my decision was how I would focus on enjoying myself when I knew he’d gracefully bow out. Unfortunately, now that I idled in his driveway with a kitty carrier on the seat next to me, I’d run out of time for that project. With a resigned sigh directed at myself, I put my car into park and shut off the engine.

“Hold on, Elizabeth, let’s get inside, and you can get out of there,” I told the meowing cat.

She’d gone easily enough into the carrier but was unhappy after I zipped it. Barrett must have heard me pull up because he opened the front door and started down the steps as I unloaded my overnight bag.

I’d always loved Barrett’s house. It backed up to a dedicated urban nature preserve, so the massive trees surrounding it were in no danger of being cut down for urban sprawl. It was a 1930s Cape Cod that sat at the end of a private cul-de-sac.

The original development had prioritized privacy, so even though he had neighbors, it felt like the house satalone in the woods. The house itself was a labor of love between Barrett and me. We’d spent countless hours hunched over sample books to find the right colors and patterns that fit his vintage style with a modern aesthetic. I was proud of how it turned out.

“Babe! Let me get your bag. You worry about Elizabeth.”

Barrett was freshly showered and wearing casual shorts and a beat up T-shirt. The ends of his hair were still damp and curled up a little. It was longer than he usually wore it, and he needed a haircut.

In the before times, I would have reached up and tousled his hair and told him I’d make an appointment for him. Our current situation made it difficult to know how to interact with Barrett without making it awkward.

I gripped Elizabeth’s carrier with both hands to keep them occupied. Her meows had gotten more insistent the closer we got to his house.

I didn’t want to get into a tug-of-war, so I let him take the bag, clutched Elizabeth a little tighter, and followed Barrett inside the house. When he glanced back at me and grinned, I knew something was up.

“Okay, Bear, you’re shit at keeping secrets. What are you hiding?”

“Me? I’m not hiding anything.”

“You are a terrible liar because your voice goes up at the end like it’s a question. So, yes, you are hiding something. Might as well just tell me.”

“Have I ever told you that you’re a pain in the ass?”

“Not recently, no.”

“Sorry for my oversight. You’re a pain in my ass, babe.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s my line,” I said as I swept past him into the kitchen.

His guffaws followed behind me, and for just a second, we were back to us. When I glanced around the house, I noticedthe knickknacks from the living room were stacked in the kitchen. “Are you redecorating?”

“Well, that’s kinda what I wanted to show you.” He grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the living room. “The reason Tye and his crew were delayed at Stone and Vine was because I had an emergency job for them to do here.”

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