Chapter 10

Lily followedBraxton onto the ferry, disappointed that her time with him was ending. She'd really enjoyed herself over the past twenty-four hours. They'd worked well together while finding the food vendors. She'd known they would. But she hadn't anticipated a walk in the woods. She missed hiking and really hoped he was still up for taking on some trails with her. Though since he kept pulling away from her anytime she got close, she wasn't holding her breath.

But she could hardly blame him. Not only was the man cursed, but it was because of a potion made by his own mother. Talk about trust and abandonment issues. Braxton had to have them in spades. If she'd been in his shoes, she'd have stopped dating, too. She couldn't imagine being responsible for all the terrible things that had happened to the women he'd been interested in.

But none of them were descendants of Bethany Befana, the most powerful witch west of the Mississippi. No matter what Braxton said, it wasn't going to stop her from trying to help him. It wasn't just because she was drawn to him either. No one deserved to have to live in constant fear that if they got close to someone they'd be hurt. It was beyond cruel.

Lily didn't know if she was powerful enough to break such a curse, but no doubt the collective power of her family could tackle it. She'd have to do her research first, of course, but then she'd find a way to get Braxton his life back.

"Inside or outside?" Brax asked her.

"Inside. It's still a little cool after yesterday's storm."

He nodded and led them to the same seats they'd occupied the day before.

Lily sat across from him and pulled out her notebook. "When are you available to go check out some bands?"

He jerked his head up. "You want to go together?"

"Yes," she said patiently, understanding his hesitation now. "It's not a date. Don't worry. I won't jump you or anything."

"I should be so lucky," he said so quietly she almost didn't hear him.

Why did he have to keep flirting with her? If he expected her to keep her distance, he was going to have to knock it off. Though she knew why. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him. And as much as he wanted to deny himself, knowing that she was willing even after he'd explained his curse meant she was driving him crazy.

Good.

Because she was going to come out of her skin if she kept having to deny the fireworks going off between them.

"The store closes at six, so I can go any night. We probably need to do that sooner rather than later," he said.

Lily pulled out her phone and checked the calendars of a couple local bars. "Does tonight work? There are a few bands playing around here that I like."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "If you're already familiar with them, why do we need to check them out?"

Busted. She'd just wanted an excuse to spend time with him. The truth was she already knew who she wanted to hire. "Don't you want a say?"

He shrugged. "If you like them, I'm sure they'll be fine."

Frowning, she sent off an email to the band she liked, asking if they were available to play the event. When there was an almost immediate reply, she had to stifle a sigh. "Looks like Midnight Mage is in. You're off the hook."

"Maybe I'll go check them out anyway," he said as he stared out at the water.

Lily smiled to herself, already planning her outfit.

"There you are!" a woman cried as she stomped over to them.

Lily and Braxton both startled as they turned to the short, slim woman. Her curly ash-blond hair was piled up on her head in a messy bun, and she wore leggings and an oversized sweatshirt with a Westerly Island logo on it.

"How dare you stand me up for this… this girl." The woman waved a hand at Lily with a look of disgust on her face.

"I'm sorry," Braxton said, glancing from the woman to Lily and back again. "Do I know you?"

The woman let out a gasp as she clutched her chest with one hand and covered her eyes with the other. "I just can't believe you'd do this to me. Again. Don't you love me anymore? Have you ever loved me?"

"Brax?" Lily asked. "Who is this?"

He shook his head, looking panicked. "I have no idea."

"Now you're pretending you don't even know me? After all I've given up for you? After putting up with all your lying and cheating and broken promises?" Tears rolled down the woman's cheeks. "I should have known you were out with one of your side pieces. You'll never change." She buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders shook as she cried silently.

Other passengers on the ferry were staring, and Lily had no idea what to do or what to even think. Was this woman one of Braxton's exes? It didn't seem like it. She clearly seemed to think they were still dating. But Braxton didn't. He didn't even appear to know this person. One of them was lying, but Lily was too confused and shocked to make heads or tails of the dynamic.

"I just can't believe this is happening," the woman whimpered. "Not again."

Braxton finally seemed to shake himself out of his stunned state. He stood and moved over to the woman. "Ma'am?—"

"Ma'am?" she cried, staring up at him, her face red with anger. "You called me ma'am? How dare you?" She launched herself at him, beating on his chest with both fists.

Braxton raised his hands up in a surrender motion, trying to take a step back, but he was blocked by a row of seating.

Lily jumped up and grabbed the woman by the shoulders, pulling her back from Braxton. No matter what had happened, violence wasn't the answer.

The woman immediately froze and stood there, looking around as if she didn't have a clue where she was. "What…" She cleared her throat and then looked at Braxton, her expression turning to one of horror. "Oh no. I don't—I'm sorry." She shook her head, trying to stumble away from Lily, but Lily still had her hand on her arm, stopping her.

"Hold on," Lily said. "How do you know Braxton?"

The woman shook her head. "I—I don't. I don't think so anyway." She lifted her head and gave Braxton a pained look. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."

Braxton swore under his breath. "It's the curse."

Lily felt a cold dread slither through her body. Was that true? If so, why was some random stranger affected?

"Curse?" the woman asked as confusion clearly mixed with fear in her trembling limbs and wide eyes.

Lily turned her attention back to the woman. "What's your name?"

"Pia. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. This…" She waved a hand between herself and Braxton. "This isn't a thing. I don't even know this man." Then she peered at Lily. "But I know you."

Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You do? How?"

"You're that woman who writes that "Ask Endora" column, aren't you?"

"Yes," Lily said with a slow nod. The memory of the woman flashing Braxton in front of his store ran through her mind, and dread formed a ball in the pit of her stomach. She didn't really want to know, but she had to ask. "Have you read my column lately?"

She nodded. "Yes. That's what I was doing before…" Pia chewed on her bottom lip as realization seemed to dawn in her eyes. "Oh my gosh."

"What is it?" Lily and Braxton asked at the same time.

Lily couldn't shake the feeling that her column had something to do with the woman's outburst, but she hadn't advised anyone to verbally attack a stranger. Not that she could remember anyway. Her head started to pound. All she knew was that something had come over Pia, and she was almost certain it had to do with Braxton's curse.

"I have to get it. Hold on." The woman twisted out of Lily's hold and took off for the other side of the ferry.

Lily and Braxton glanced at each other and then followed close on her heels.

"Here it is." Pia pulled an old issue of the Befana Bay Bulletin out of a tote bag and handed it to Lily.

The date was from almost two years ago. Lily scanned it and felt her blood run cold. The letter was asking what to do about a cheating husband, and Lily's sarcastic advice was to confront them both in a public place and make the biggest, most embarrassing scene possible. At the end, she followed it up by saying the sensible thing to do was to talk to her partner and decide if there was anything left to save in their marriage, and then she suggested individual or couple's marriage counseling.

Braxton gently pulled the paper out of Lily's hands and read the column. When he was done, he handed it back to the woman and apologized.

"Oh, no. I'm the one who should be apologizing," she said, sounding earnest. "I just don't know what came over me." She let out a humorless laugh. "Maybe I'm finally losing it."

"You're not. Trust me," Braxton said. "It's me. I'm cursed." Then he grabbed Lily's hand and hauled her away from the woman. "He called back over his shoulder. "Maybe just stop reading ‘Ask Endora' for a while."

Lily hated to admit it, but he was right. That was twice now that people had taken her satirical advice and made fools of themselves when it came to Braxton, and it was all Lily's fault. She'd have to stop writing her column until they found a way to break the curse.

An announcement sounded over the intercom that it was time to disembark. Lily was surprised to see that everyone else had already moved to the front of the ferry. She hadn't even noticed them docking.

"This is my fault," Lily said as they made their way off the boat.

"No, it isn't. It's my mother's fault." His voice was low and full of anger.

"Okay, I'll give you that. But I'm going to fix this. Mark my words, Braxton Kirkwood; I will not let some vindictive witch ruin your life or mine."

Braxton stopped suddenly and looked down at her. "All you need to do is stay away from me. Once that happens, everything will go back to normal."

"You think so?" she asked, her voice defiant. "Even if that's true, what about you? Are you really going to live the rest of your life this way? Denying yourself happiness because of the effed-up crap your mother has heaped on you? I know you've been burned before, Braxton, but I'm not going to give up. You can tell me to mind my own business, but as far as I'm concerned, this is my business. You are my business."

She knew it was a little bit crazy to be making such a declaration when they hadn't even spent that much time together, but she wasn't delusional in thinking there was something real between them. The curse proved that. If they didn't have feelings for each other, then none of this would be happening.

Braxton just stared at her for a long moment. Then he pressed his lips together in a tight line and shook his head. "I didn't tell you about the woman I dated who owned a bakery, did I?"

"No." Jealousy climbed up her throat, but Lily swallowed it down. She didn't want to hear about his other girlfriends, even though she already knew they'd all ended in disaster.

"We dated a bit before I really understood what was happening with the curse. By the third date, everything had started to go wrong at her bakery. The oven died. The freezer went out. The point-of-sale system imploded. The entire staff came down with some mysterious flu. When the toilet blew up and spewed raw sewage everywhere, that's when I finally realized the shit had hit the fan. When she refused to break up because she didn't believe me, a life-sized ceramic pig literally fell out of the sky and smashed through the roof of her bakery."

"What?" Lily cried. "A flying pig? How is that even possible?"

"The city was doing some demolition, and someone got a little carried away with the explosives. That's not the point though. Don't you see? If we keep this up, the consequences are only going to get worse."

"Okay, fine," Lily said. "I get it. You're a walking disaster. You've accepted it, but I haven't, and I think it's time to fight back. One way or another, I'm going to figure out how to give you your life back."

Something soft and tender flashed in his blue eyes, making Lily want to wrap her arms around him and make sure he knew he wasn't alone in this. But then his expression hardened, and he said, "Don't say I didn't warn you." Then he walked off, leaving her standing there at the ferry landing.

"I'm going to fix this," she called after him. "And when I do, I expect a date of epic proportions."

She heard him snort, but he didn't look back.

With determination in her heart, she headed home, ready to get to work.