Chapter 2

Braxton stood on the sidewalk,staring at Lily Easton and seething. "You think this is funny?" he barked in her direction.

Lily instantly sobered and stood up straight to stare him in the eye. "Yes. Objectively, it is funny."

"I suppose you would think that since it's what you wrote in your article." Braxton turned to the lady who was still shielding her son's eyes. "I am so sorry, ma'am. That sort of behavior is not acceptable. I can't for the life of me understand why Cynthee would do something like that."

"You can't?" The woman scoffed. "Seemed pretty clear to me what she was looking for. Perhaps you should seek a better class of company." She took her son by the hand and tugged him away from Braxton's shop, lifting her head and sniffing the air with judgment as she went.

The man Braxton had been helping chuckled and said, "I'll think about these kayaks and get back to you in a few days." He shook Braxton's hand and was still chuckling as he walked to his vehicle.

Lily hadn't moved and stood with her sister, a smirk on her face.

"What's that look for?" Braxton asked, irritated, but mostly at himself. Why was it that even now, when she was mocking him, all he wanted to do was grab her and kiss the smirk right off her pretty face? He clenched his fists, willing himself to stay away from her this time. She was the last thing he needed in his life.

"You read my column?" Lily asked, her smile widening to a full-fledged grin. "If you need some advice, all you have to do is ask. I'm here for you, Brax."

He scowled. "I wasn't reading your column for advice. I wanted to be prepared for the next crazy scheme you put into someone's head."

"And yet you weren't at all prepared for Cynthee," she teased with a wink.

Sage laughed, and when Braxton glared at her, she only laughed harder. "I'm sorry. But who could have predicted that someone would actually follow Lily's advice? Especially in broad daylight, right here in downtown Befana Bay?"

"How was I supposed to prepare for that?" Braxton asked, exasperated. Then he shook his head, wondering why he was so worked up. He knew that Lily's column was satire and that she wasn't to blame for some random woman's poor decision-making. Why was he taking his frustration out on her?

He knew why. It was because he couldn't stop thinking about her. All that silky blond hair and her quick wit. Everything about her just did it for him. He really needed to figure out how to get her off his mind. Instead, he was standing on the street, griping at her because he'd had to deal with a flasher who otherwise could have just asked him out. He'd have said no, of course. Braxton didn't date. Not these days. It was far too problematic. It was why he had to stay away from Lily… no matter how much he wanted her.

"For the love of goddesses everywhere!" Lily threw her hands up. "My column is satire. You do understand what that means, don't you? The disclaimer is right there under my byline."

"I'm not an idiot," Braxton mumbled but realized he wasn't doing a good job of proving it.

Lily gave him a skeptical look but said nothing as she took her sister's arm and started leading her up the street.

Yeah, she might have had a point.

"Smooth, boss," Dante, his best friend and newly hired assistant manager, said from the open front door. He was standing against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his chest, with an amused expression on his face. "You need some tips on how to talk to women? If so, let me know. I'll give you the friends-and-family discount."

"Funny," Braxton said dryly. "I thought you were working on inventory?"

"I was, but it looks like I finished just in time to see the show."

"You're not helping." Braxton brushed past Dante and strode back into the store, ready to forget the afternoon ever happened. "Let's just get back to work."

"Sure, boss," Dante called after him and added, "But that offer still stands, you know, if you need some help in the woman department!"

Braxton flipped the man off, praying for the day he could give him hell over someone he was dating. Unfortunately, the man was on a dry streak after a broken engagement six months earlier.

Not that I'm dating Lily, he reminded himself.

Once they were both back in the shop with Braxton behind the counter and Dante reorganizing a display of hiking trail books, Dante looked over at him and asked, "Why didn't you just ask her out?"

"Who? Cynthee?" Braxton asked, horrified. He'd liked the woman the few times he'd chatted with her in the store, but he'd never seen her that way. And after the debacle outside, he knew that even if he was in a position to date, he couldn't see them coming back from that mess.

"No, dude, I mean Lily. It's obvious you're into her, and she's perfect for you."

Braxton shook his head. "That's not going to happen."

"Why not?"

"It's complicated."

Dante gave him a disbelieving look. "It's actually pretty straightforward. You just call her up and ask her to dinner."

If Dante was anyone else, Braxton would shut him down and tell him to mind his own business. But they'd been friends since high school, well before they'd started working together just a few weeks ago. After Dante's broken engagement, he'd tried to stick it out back in Salem but found himself needing a change of scenery, and when Braxton offered him a job, he'd jumped at it. They'd both been happy to be near each other again after years of distance. And if there was one person he could confide in, it was Dante. Still, Braxton held back, not ready to divulge his reasons for keeping Lily at arm's length. "There are… extenuating circumstances. It's just not a good idea."

"Extenuating circumstances?" Dante asked with an incredulous laugh. "What does that mean? Did you get married while I was living Back East these past few years and have a wife hidden somewhere or something?"

Braxton let out his own bark of laughter. "I wish it was that simple."

Dante frowned at him, his expression suddenly serious as he peered at Braxton. "Dude, you're acting stranger than usual. Are you going to tell me what's going on with you?"

"Now is not the time," Braxton said as the bell chimed above the door. He'd tell Dante eventually. When he didn't feel like he was going to throw up from just thinking about it.

"Braxton! There you are." Bethany Befana floated into the sporting goods store, looking like she'd just stepped out of a coven meeting. She was wearing a long, flowing, black-lace dress, red lace-up boots, and a collection of crystals around her neck. She was a powerful witch who lived in the large house at the end of Witch Tower Road and seemed to be the witch who watched over everything in Befana Bay.

"I didn't realize I was lost," Braxton said, happy for the distraction from his conversation with Dante. "What can I do for you today?"

"As you know, the midsummer celebration is coming up." She placed a light hand on his bicep. "And I was hoping you could help me with a few of the details."

"Sure," he said automatically, always happy to help with any of the town events. He'd felt like an outsider most of his life, and it wasn't until he'd moved to Befana Bay that he'd felt like part of a community. He knew that was a direct result of being willing to chip in whenever needed. "Anything you need."

"Excellent. I was hoping you'd say that." She gave him a warm smile, but then it quickly faded as she studied him.

"What is it?" he asked automatically.

"When's the last time you had your energy cleared? It's feeling pretty heavy."

He glanced away. "Not too long ago. Nothing seems to last long."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I bet I have just the thing. Are you free tomorrow afternoon? We'll do that cleansing and then talk about the midsummer celebration."

Braxton knew her cleansing wouldn't work. The only one who could clear his dark energy was his mother, and the gods knew that wasn't going to happen. Still, he nodded, knowing he wasn't going to be able to talk her out of trying. "I'll be there. Just let me know the time."

"Four o'clock for afternoon tea. Come hungry." She winked at him and then slipped out of the store.

"Afternoon tea?" Dante asked with a quirked eyebrow. "As in crustless sandwiches and fruity herbal tea?"

"I'm not much of a fan of the tea, but Bethany's scones are worth the price of admission," Braxton said with a chuckle.

"If you say so." Dante shook his head and went back to work reorganizing the displays.

Braxton disappeared into the back of the store to his office, relieved to have avoided another conversation about his nonexistent dating life.