Chapter 16

"Spill it,"Dante said with a grin as he leaned against the checkout counter at The Enchanted Outdoors.

"Spill what?" Braxton said without looking up from his clipboard, though he knew exactly what his friend wanted. That was too bad for him because Braxton wasn't interested in sharing.

"What is going on with you and the feisty blonde? What happened last night?"

Braxton looked up at his friend and gave him a flat stare. "I don't kiss and tell."

"Ah-ha!" Dante threw his fist in the air as if he'd won something. "So there was kissing at least."

"No comment." Braxton walked out from behind the counter and headed to the break room. It was midafternoon, and he needed a shot of caffeine to keep him going.

"Dude. That's all I'm getting?" Dante sounded disappointed.

"There's nothing to tell. I walked her home, and that's it," Braxton finally relented.

Dante studied him for a long moment. "Considering your past behavior of swearing off relationships, I'd say it's a hell of a lot more than nothing."

Braxton would too, but he wasn't interested in analyzing it. He'd come to terms with the fact that there was something between him and Lily, and he wasn't willing to ignore it. If he thought about it too much, he was afraid he'd talk himself out of spending time with her. That was the last thing he wanted.

"Fine," Dante huffed. "I can take a hint. But just know that I think she's great for you, and if you mess it up you're an idiot."

"I'm well aware of that last point," Braxton said and gave his friend a self-deprecating smile.

The front doorbell chimed, and they both returned to the front of the store. A woman wearing a low-cut dress that showed off all her best assets walked wright up to Braxton and ran her hand down his arm. She gave him a warm smile and said, "Braxton Kirkwood, you're just the man I was looking for."

He glanced down at her hand and then took a step back, putting a little space between them. Clearing his throat, he said, "What can I help you with today?"

The woman let out a tinkling laugh. "You don't remember me, do you? We met a few weeks ago at the bookstore. I was looking for a cookbook, while you were looking at the home improvement section."

He frowned. That sounded vaguely familiar, but he didn't remember having much of a conversation with her.

"Let me refresh your memory. I'm Mallory, and you said you loved shortbread cookies." She opened the tote bag she was carrying and handed him a plastic bowl. "So I tried a new recipe. I thought you might want to try them."

He eyed the bowl, noted it was full of shortbread, and smiled at her. "That's very kind."

She stepped so close to him that he could feel her breath on his cheek. "Why don't you come over tonight and we can discuss them."

"Uh, that's a kind offer, but I'm afraid I can't." He backpedaled, placed the bowl of cookies on the counter, and typed out a quick text to Lily.

The woman continued to follow him around the store, making excuses to touch him and flirt with him for the next ten minutes. Even when Dante tried to distract her, the woman was relentless.

It wasn't until Lily walked in, made a beeline for the woman, and placed a soft hand on her shoulder that the woman finally came out of her trance. She quickly apologized and left, her face flaming red.

Braxton sighed. "Thank you." He wished he had some way of warding off unwanted advances other than using Lily as a human shield, but short of throwing someone out of the store, he just didn't know what that might be. And he certainly didn't want to use force on someone who was being compelled to act a certain way because of a curse. He just wasn't sure how to handle it all. Maybe he just needed to spend as much time with Lily as possible. His heartbeat sped up, and he decided that was an excellent idea.

"No problem," Lily said. "I was already on my way over. Do you have a minute to talk?"

"Okay, seriously. What is going on?" Dante demanded. "What was that all about? This isn't the first time some woman has thrown herself at you like she was under some sort of spell. And now I just watched Lily single-handedly send her on her way without so much as a word. I'm not crazy, right? Was that woman under a spell?"

Lily glanced at Braxton with her eyebrows raised.

He groaned and glanced around to make sure there weren't any customers in the store before he turned to his friend. "Yes, she was under a spell. And Lily here is the only one who seems to be able to interrupt the cycle."

"What spell?" Dante asked.

"Lucy wasn't happy when we broke it off, and she bought a curse from my mom to bind me to her. Now every time I date anyone, things go haywire. This time, women seem to be taking Lily's satirical advice literally and using it on me."

Dante just stared at him and shook his head. "You're telling me Katerina sold Lucy a curse that bound you to that vile witch?"

"Yes."

"And you're letting her stay at your house?" he asked incredulously.

Braxton sighed. "She promised to find a way to break the curse. That's the only reason I let her stay."

"And you believe her?" Dante looked like he was ready to murder someone.

"No, but I have to give it a chance." Braxton took Lily's hand in his and pulled her close to him.

Dante looked between the two of them and then nodded slowly. "I see."

"I thought you might," Braxton said.

Dante nodded. "I've got your back if you need anything. A buffer from spelled chicks, a day off to spend with your girl, a hand sending your mother the hell out of town. Name it. I'm there."

Braxton grinned at him. "Thanks, man."

Dante nodded and then looked at Lily. "Take care of him."

"I plan to." She smiled up at Braxton. Then as Dante headed to the other side of the store, she frowned. "You never told Dante about the curse?"

He shook his head. "I don't like talking about it. It's awful to tell people your own mother is a psycho. Not that Dante didn't already know she was a grifter and a cheat. But this is another level. The only people who knew were the few women I dated, you, and now Dante."

"What? Niko doesn't know either?" she asked, sounding shocked.

"Nope." Braxton shook his head.

Lily frowned, looking troubled.

"Don't worry, I'll tell him eventually," Braxton said. "It just hasn't come up." He reached down and pulled her to him. As her arms wrapped around him, Braxton's heart warmed, and he decided he never wanted to let go.

But when they heard the bell on the door chime a second later, he pulled back and smiled at Niko as he walked in.

Niko waved at Brax and then cleared his throat. "Hello, Lily, nice to see you again."

Lily glanced at him, her lips curving into a small frown. "Niko."

"I heard a rumor today that you're a Befana witch," Niko said.

"Guilty," she said, her voice flat. "My grandmother is Bethany Befana."

He gave her an approving nod. "That's a powerful line."

"Yeah, but it's not something we tend to brag about." Lily looked him up and down with suspicion. "Why do you care?"

The tension streaming off Lily was palpable, and Braxton wondered what had happened to make Lily so wary of his friend. Did it have something to do with him hooking up with her sister? Or maybe she was still troubled by Prim's intuitive feeling that something was off with Niko. Lily could be protective. He knew that firsthand.

"I don't. Just thought it was interesting." He turned to Braxton. "Do you have a schedule for those kayak tours that are booked? I want to put them on my calendar so I make sure and show up on the right days."

"Kayak tours?" Lily asked.

"Niko is taking them over while he's here to help us out," Braxton said.

"Really?" Lily asked, looking even more surly than she had when Niko first walked in. "So all three of you are working here now?"

"For the time being," Niko said. "Until I figure out my next move."

"Niko's always the unpredictable one," Dante said, coming up behind Niko and placing both hands on his shoulders, shaking him slightly until Niko twisted and put him in a headlock. The two continued to wrestle just like they had as kids until Niko let Dante go, and all three of them laughed.

"Boys," Lily muttered.

Niko's phone buzzed, and when he glanced at it, he turned back to Braxton and said, "I have to take this. It's important. Can we go over the schedule later today?"

"Sure," Braxton said with a nod.

As Niko left the store, Braxton wondered what the important phone call was about. He was happy to see his friend, but he had to admit that despite the playful wrestling, the guy who had suddenly arrived in Befana Bay was quite a bit different from the one he knew in high school. But that was to be expected. They'd all grown up in the past fifteen years. But Niko seemed to have an air of mystery about him that was starting to make Braxton a little uneasy, and he didn't know why.

Lily slipped her hand into Braxton's and said, "Do you have a minute? Are you busy?"

"No, it's been pretty quiet. Let's?—"

The bell chimed again, and this time his mother walked into the store. Her bright red hair was windblown, and she looked a little frantic as she glanced around the store. When she spotted Braxton, she rushed over to him. "There you are."

"Where else would I be?" he asked, annoyed that she'd come to the store in the middle of the day. It was hard enough knowing that she was living in his garage apartment. Having her intrude on his daily life was a step too far, especially after he'd expressly warned her she wasn't welcome in the store. He opened his mouth to say as much, but then his mother spotted Lily.

"Who's that?" Katerina pointed at Lily, and her lips twisted into a scowl.

"This is Lily Easton," he said and then bent down to whisper to Lily, "This is my mom, Katerina."

"You know you can't date anyone, Braxton," Katerina admonished as she stared at their entwined hands.

"That's not up for discussion," he said flatly. "Why don't you just tell me why you're here? Have you found Lucy yet?"

Katerina pulled her glare from Lily and suddenly looked contrite. "No, but I wanted you to know I set up a meeting with the town coven for tomorrow morning to ask them for their help."

"What time?" Lily demanded.

"I don't think that's any of your concern." Katerina sniffed, dismissing her.

Lily let out a humorless laugh. "Oh, it's my business, all right, since I'm the one dating your son. I'll be at that coven meeting whether you like it or not."

His mother looked horrified by Lily's declaration. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from that meeting. It's far too dangerous for a young witch like you."

Braxton glared at his mother, wishing he could physically throw her from his shop. If it hadn't been for the curse still being active, he might have.

"I don't think I'm going to take advice from a grifter witch, but thanks anyway," Lily spat out.

Braxton squeezed her hand, showing silent support. It felt good having someone by his side, standing up to his mother.

Lily returned his squeeze and pressed up on her tiptoes to kiss him on his cheek. "I have to go, but I'll call you later. We'll talk then."

When Lily dropped his hand, he ached to pull her back to him. But he kept his hands to himself as he watched her go.

The moment she was gone, Dante walked back over and let out a low whistle. "You've got a firecracker on your hands, Brax. I bet she's a handful."

Braxton glared at his friend. "That's enough."

"You're playing with fire, Braxton," his mother warned. "Something awful is going to happen if you keep this up."

"And who's fault is that?" Dante said accusingly.

"Stay out of this. It doesn't concern you." Katerina seethed as she glared at Brax's friend.

"It sure the hell does when you're the reason my best friend is cursed," Dante shot back.

Brax gave his friend a nod of solidarity. "Thanks, Dante, but I've got it from here."

Dante returned his nod and then scowled at Katerina as he retreated, giving Braxton and his mother space.

Braxton gave his mother a cold hard stare. "I'm tired of hearing what you think I can and can't do. No one asked for your opinion. So keep it to yourself. Got it?"

Katerina narrowed her eyes at him and looked like she wanted to spit nails. Braxton was braced for a diatribe, but when she spoke, she said, "I have to go. I'll let you know how the meeting goes tomorrow."

"You do that."

Katerina stalked out of the store, and as she trudged down the sidewalk, he said a silent prayer for patience.