I wanted him to kiss me.
We were friends, and now I feel like I’ve ruined it for both of us. Ben’s pretty much just confessed he doesn’t have many friends, and I love playing cards with him and just hanging out together. All worries over Dru aside, I feel like I’ve lost something precious, and I’m full of regret. “Ben . . .”
“Mmm?” He’s deliberately not looking at me.
“Do you think it’s Livia? Remember, they fought at the restaurant. And Dru threw a sandwich at her mole.”
“Not Livia,” he says. “They’ve been friends since ancient Rome. I believe Livia helped Dru get rid of her first husband. They’re contentious and fight like cats and dogs, but they’re more sisters than friends. Livia wouldn’t do it.” He shakes his head. “I know Livia. She’s harmless.”
She didn’t seem so harmless when Dru smacked her with a sandwich. “You’re positive? It seems like an obvious sort of thing that it would be her.”
“Livia wouldn’t hide her spell,” he explains. “She’d want Dru to know it was her.”
Oh. I guess that makes sense in a weird sort of way. If it’s not Livia, then who? Dru’s a harmless, sweet old lady. She’s a Rose. No one ever wants to harm a Rose . . . except a Dorothy. I frown at that. The only Dorothy is Ben, but he adores his aunt. He would never.
And speaking of Ben . . . I lick my lips, deciding to broach the topic I truly want to talk about. “I’m sorry about last night. We really shouldn’t have kissed, you know? And it’s my fault for getting carried away and encouraging you.” He probably thinks I’m no more than a baby, at twenty-five years old to his five hundred. I probably embarrassed him with my attention, and what guy wouldn’t be interested in a girl throwing herself in his lap?
“It’s fine.” His voice is hard, and he still won’t look at me. “We won’t speak of it again.”
“Great,” I say brightly, wishing it felt as great. “And since we’re going to be working together to help Dru, I feel like we should talk about . . . the whole parents thing.”
Ben looks at me warily, like a cornered animal. His eyes are so dark and full of emotion. “I don’t want to talk about it, Reggie.”
“I just—” I swallow hard. “I’m going to take you at face value, Ben. You’re my friend, and you say you won’t hurt me, and I believe you. If you, ah, killed them, you must have had a reason.” I pause, then add, “Please tell me you had a reason.”
His throat works, and he stares at me with those dark, dark eyes. “I said I don’t want to talk about it, Reggie.”
“Right. Okay.” I guess if I murdered my parents, I wouldn’t feel chatty about it, either. I study his face as I pull out a fresh strip of bandages. Ben’s expression is tight and unpleasant, but I could swear there’s that wounded emotion in his eyes. Something in all this doesn’t fit. Or maybe I’m just trying to make sense of a handsome, lonely five-hundred-year-old warlock that I had a crush on.
Still have a crush on, which really says something about me, doesn’t it?
I wrap the bandages around his wound after packing it with a bit of absorbent padding. I give it a little pat once I’m done, pleased at the tidiness of my work. “I’ll check it for you again later tonight.”
Ben says nothing. His expression is unreadable, and he just flexes his hand and stares down at it.
I get to my feet, turning away. “Maybe I should see if Penny needs help.”
“Reggie—”
I glance back at him. Our eyes meet. His jaw moves, as if he’s considering words he wants to say to me, and I wait, hoping.
After a long, tense moment, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a heavy silver cuff identical to the one on my left wrist. He says nothing, simply holds it out to me.
Right. Because I’m going to be temporarily filling in as his familiar—his battery—to help cure Dru.
I reach out for it and our fingers brush. Startled, I glance up at him, and the heat and intensity in his gaze steal the breath from my lungs. My eyes remain locked to his even as I put the bracelet on. It feels heavy on my wrist, but comfortable and warm, as if it belongs there.
Before I can say anything I might regret later—or kiss him until that hot yearning disappears from his eyes—I race out of the room to find Penny.
* * *
A SHORT TIME later, Penny has all the spell components bagged up for us and is chatting to fill the silence. Ben and I haven’t spoken to each other since I put on his cuff, and the uncomfortable feeling in the room is palpable. “So,” Penny says cheerily. “I’ll charge this to Drusilla’s account since it’s for her, and we’ll settle up some other time. I’ve also packed a few other common components that you might be low on, just in case, and threw in a reorder sheet in case you want to sign up for automatic re-ups every month.” Penny beams at us. “Can I do anything else to help? You guys want some coffee? Or some CBD? There’s a great one for helping you sleep at night—”
“You really are the best, Penny,” I tell my friend, smiling. “I’m sorry this ruined our coffee date for this morning.”
She waves a hand, her eyes shining with excitement. “This is way more thrilling than coffee! Please call me if you need anything. I will be there in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. I promise!”
I have no doubt she would. Penny so desperately wants to be an apprentice that it practically oozes from her pores. Whoever gets her as a familiar is going to be the luckiest person alive, because she’s going to give 110 percent at all times. I take the bag and glance over at Ben. “Shall we go?”
He shrugs, looking moody and unreadable. So basically typical Ben.
“Oh!” Penny cries out. “I almost forgot. Do you want Gwen’s contact info?”
That makes Ben stiffen, his eyes going wide.
I turn back to Penny, frowning. “Who’s Gwen?”
She blinks at me. “Another one of Dru’s old familiars? She’s a client. I figured you’d want to contact her prior familiars and see if they had any ideas as to who would be throwing out curses. Is that not part of your plan?”
“No,” Ben says quickly. “We’re not contacting Gwen.”
I cast a frown at him over my shoulder. “Actually, I think that’s a great idea. Can we have her info?”
“No,” Ben says again.
I ignore him and put my hand out. Penny’s eyes are wide, but she quickly prints out a sheet from the computer and hands it over to me.
“I’ll call you,” I promise her. “Thanks again.”
“Tell me all the details!” Penny calls after us as we leave. “I want to hear everything!”
We get into the car, and Ben’s jaw is clenched tight. I’m about to comment on it when my phone pings with a text again. Shit. This time, I suppose I can’t avoid it. Juggling the bag of components in my arms, I pull out my phone and flick the screen. I’ve missed three calls, and a line of texts pops up on my screen.
NICK: Bad news, my friend.
NICK: Okay, I wanted you to call me, but since you must be busy, I’ll just let you know over text. Today a bunch of new credit card statements came in with your name on them. I didn’t open them, but you and I both know what that means.
NICK: I’ll hold onto them for you. Call me when you get a chance.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit. I close my eyes, biting back a groan of pure frustration, and lean against the seat. Could today get any worse? Maybe I’m already cursed, and that’s why I’m stuck in the car with my murderous crush while my boss is hexed into permanent sleep and my parents are running credit cards up in my name again.