Page 23 of Sweets and Sycamores
“What are you doing?”
She dragged the tips of her fingers from his forehead to the back of his head once, twice, pulling the locks tight behind his ears and gathering his hair in a ponytail.
“You’ll scare our customers if you keep huffing and puffing.” Dom heard the smirk in her voice.
Ourcustomers?
Dominic knew he was capable of scaring his customers just by being in a bad mood. That was feedback he’d gotten ever since he was young. The simple act of him blowing the hair out of his face wouldn’t scare them, but the rage it would provoke inside him for hours on end certainly would.
It would also be highly unprofessional to walk around the bakery with his hair let loose, so he didn’t argue any further. That was the only reason he allowed the Witch to touch him, to pull her soft fingers across his scalp. And he did not lean into that touch at all.
“Give me your band,” she ordered as her palm came into view. He placed the elastic in her hand, and she twisted it around his ponytail, forming a bun. “All done.” The Witch stepped away and came into sight, all tall and lean and annoyingly smiley.
Beautiful.
“Thanks,” Dominic mumbled, not embarrassed but not comfortable either. She waved a hand in dismissal.
“Don’t give it another thought.”
He wouldn’t. He shouldn’t. He really,reallyshould just forget about it. Not another thought of her touch. Just an employee helping her boss with another task. That was it.
But Dom knew that if he’d let his guard down, the memory of her hands on him might seize him completely.
Chapter 11
YOU AND ME BOTH
“So if you have to stay there, let’s meet another day,” Dominic snapped into the bakery’s telephone. “No. No. Because I can’t. And also, I don’t want to.” He’d ended up huffing and puffing anyway, and Allie couldn’t tame her smile. “Fine!” he shouted and slammed the phone on the receiver.
Allie did her best to distract the elderly couple of customers in front of her, but they shot nervous glances at her boss. She made quick work of packaging their baguettes and slices of apple pie and sent them on their way before Dominic noticed he had an audience.
Allie didn’t get much sleep the night before, and she’d gotten a head start on the day. It was about time she took responsibility for her tasks, and she was happy to do that instead of sulking around her room. She’d also resolved to be more like herself around her boss, now that he had agreed to let her stay. Less reserved, more…bubbly, her mother used to say. She had nothing to lose and wanted to make the most of the time in Sycamore Falls. Her nights would be entirely dedicated to magic practice, but she could enjoy her job and a few hours of strolling through the town here and there. In a few weeks, she would be back with the Silverbarks, back to the rest of her life.
Her mature Witch life.
The thought sat wrong with her and made her feel like she’d swallowed a cactus. Yet, once she mastered her power, she was sure the joy of being part of a coven, the sisterhood she had craved ever since she was young, would come more naturally. She’d be accepted and acknowledged by her peers and would dedicate her life to Witchcraft.
A frustrated grunt grabbed her attention.
“Is everything okay, Mr. Ranford?” she asked loud enough for him to hear only if he wanted to.
Dominic threw exasperated looks around the bakery as if searching for the cause of his irritation, but found nothing and no one besides Allie.
“I have to go meet the brides on the other side of town,” he spat through his teeth, like that was a death sentence.
“I thought they were supposed to come here,” Allie offered pointlessly.
“They were, but—you know what, I don’t even want to get into that. I need to have words with my sister,” he muttered.
She had learned this morning about the upcoming wedding of Harper and Tina, who were apparently close friends of Dominic’s sister. Allie loved weddings, and as an official employee of Dom’s Sweets—as official as one could get—she was excited to cater this event.
It came as no surprise that her grumpy boss displayed zero feelings about this wedding. And now, it seemed he either hated leaving the bakery during open hours, or moving meeting places without enough notice, or both. Most likely both.
“I’ll cover the bakery while you’re away,” Allie offered with confidence. Everything on the menu for the day was in stock, the lunch hour rush was almost over, and she was ready to take charge if it meant Dominic could go to the meeting without worrying about things here.
He crossed his arms over his chest and assessed her with those shining green eyes, narrowing them slightly. Allie saw the wheels spinning in his head, going through various scenarios of her being here alone. She waited patiently, willing some confidence into her pose, and glanced at his tense arms only once.
Twice.
